Going against South Florida, which was picked to win the American Athletic Conference, Tulane was without its injured starting backcourt and a key backup-turned starter Saturday.
And, the Bulls wasted little time jumping on the Green Wave, quickly taking control in the first quarter on the way to a 20-point halftime lead at Devlin Fieldhouse.
Tulane, however, fought back and overcame the deficit, only to fall 70-63 to South Florida, which was led by forward Romi Levy's career-high 32 points.
It was the Green Wave's third consecutive AAC loss, matching Tulane's conference start to last season. Tulane (7-7, 0-3), with starting guard Kyren Whittington having sprained her knee in the previous game at Tulsa, and Kaylah Rainey nursing a pulled hamstring, will try to end the skid at home Tuesday against East Carolina. Starting point guard Kierra Middleton also is out after tearing an ACL early in the season.
“I'm proud of how we fought back,” Tulane coach Lisa Stockton said. “We know that this time will be a challenge for us. I'm so proud of our team's fight. I thought we gutted it out. It got away from us in the second quarter.”
Forward Marta Galic led Tulane with 23 points and center Hannah Pratt added 16.
South Florida (10-6, 2-1) held Tulane to 2-of-16 shooting in the second quarter in outscoring the Green Wave 20-9 on the way to a 41-21 halftime lead. However, the Wave, picked to finish sixth in the AAC preseason poll, came back in the second half behind Galic and Pratt to take a 63-62 lead on a 3-pointer by Galic with 1:53 left.
But that was the Wave's last points. The game's key moment came with 37.9 seconds left and the Bulls leading 64-63 after Levy sank two free throws. Galic drove left and was called for an offensive foul. Levy was then fouled intentionally and made two more free throws with 24.1 seconds left.
Levy, who was coming off her previous career high of 24 points in a loss to Charlotte on Wednesday, gave the credit to coach Jose Fernandez, who is in his 24th season.
“We knew Tulane was going to do better in the second half,” said Levy, a transfer from Auburn. “Coach Jose was the one who helped us get out of that hole we were in, calling plays and all. And, we stayed true to our principles and got stops at the end.”
Galic scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, all from the 5:23 mark on, including nine between the four-minute mark and 1:53. Pratt had seven in the fourth, including a big 3-pointer at 4:34 that followed a 3-pointer by Galic and brought the Wave to 59-54.
“I can't wait to see the replay of that (charging) foul,” she said. “But (the players) talked at halftime about how we can play better than we did in the first half, even with the injuries.”
Tulane next will host East Carolina at 2 p.m. Saturday.