Jan. 17, 2010

Box Score

Season Stats

DALLAS (SMU) - Jillian Samuels tied her career-high with 20 points, becoming the 17th player in SMU history to score 1,000 points in a career, while leading SMU to a 70-59 win over Tulane Sunday in Moody Coliseum.

Samuels went 6-for-9 from the field, including 2-for-3 from 3-point range, and made 6-of-7 free-throw attempts in SMU's come-from-behind win.

The Mustang (13-4, 3-1 Conference USA) started the game just 1-of-6 from the floor, trailing Tulane (13-4, 2-2 C-USA) 6-2 after the first five minutes of play. Before the second media timeout, Tulane had extended the lead to 14-5. The Mustangs cut the lead to three, 26-23, with 3:11 left in the first half, and Samuels hit a 3-pointer with six seconds left in the half to cut it back to three at halftime, 33-30.

The Mustangs scored the first four points of the second half, taking their first lead of the game, 34-33 with 18:40 left. The lead stayed in the balance for the next five minutes until a pair of Christine Elliott free throws with 13:48 left in the second half gave SMU a 42-41 lead. The free throws were the first two points of an 11-0 Mustang run that lasted until the 9:20 mark and gave SMU a 10-point lead, 51-41. Tulane never got within six points the rest of the way.

Elliott finished the game with 12 points and nine rebounds, and Brittany Gilliam added eight points. SMU shot 47.9-percent from the field, making 23-of-48 attempts, including 5-of-12 from behind the arc, 41.7-percent, and the Mustangs went 19-for-21 from the charity stripe. Tulane went 23-of-52 from the field, 44.2-percent, but hit just 26.7-percent of 3-point attempts, 4-of-15.

The Mustangs take on the top team in Conference USA Saturday when they face East Carolina at 5 p.m. in Moody Coliseum.