Freshman Mecailin Marshall scored a career-high 34 points for Tulane on Tuesday night, but the Green Wave fell to East Carolina 65-61 at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse. With this result, Tulane’s record drops to 8-15 overall and 3-8 in the American Athletic Conference, while East Carolina improves to 18-7 and 10-2 in conference play.
East Carolina had a shooting percentage of 41.6 percent compared to Tulane’s 36.4 percent. Tulane outrebounded the Pirates 41-31 and led in offensive rebounds with a 15-10 margin. However, turnovers were a key factor as Tulane committed 22 compared to East Carolina’s 12, leading to a significant difference in points off turnovers—21 for the Pirates and five for the Green Wave.
Marshall’s performance marked the highest point total by a Tulane freshman since at least 1999. Her 34 points are also the most by any freshman in the American Conference this season and rank sixth nationally among freshmen this year. She made more than half of Tulane’s field goals, going 11-for-20 from the floor and accounting for four of the team’s seven three-pointers.
The rest of Tulane’s scoring was distributed among six players, with Amira Mabry contributing seven points as the next highest scorer. Dyllan Hanna led with 12 rebounds, nearly matching her career high, while Kendall Sneed tied her own season-best with nine assists. Hanna and Kanija Daniel each recorded two blocks, and Marshall led with two steals.
The game saw several lead changes throughout its quarters. After an early exchange of baskets, East Carolina took control late in the first quarter but Tulane kept it close. The teams continued to trade leads into halftime, with Tulane holding a narrow advantage at intermission.
In the second half, East Carolina went on a run early in the third quarter before Marshall helped keep Tulane within reach. The Pirates regained momentum at the end of the third quarter and extended their lead early in the fourth period with an eleven-point swing. Despite a late surge by Marshall—including free throws following a technical foul and a three-pointer that cut East Carolina’s lead to four points—Tulane was unable to complete the comeback as time expired.
Tulane will travel next to face North Texas on Saturday, February 14 in Denton, Texas. The game is scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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