NEW ORLEANS - While fans around the country gathered around televisions for the big game, Green Wave fans enjoyed a Super Sunday of their own as the Tulane University women's basketball team defeated Conference USA foe SMU, 75-63 on Sunday afternoon in Fogelman Arena.

Senior center Brett Benzio led five Green Wave players in double-figures with a career-high 22 points while chipping in with seven rebounds and three blocks. The victory was Tulane's fifth in a row as the Green Wave improved to 17-5 on the year and 6-3 in C-USA play. SMU, meanwhile, fell to 12-10 overall and 5-4 in league action.

"I thought we played very well, especially on offense of late," Tulane head coach Lisa Stockton said. "We didn't turn the ball over a lot and we shot pretty well. They came back because the defense broke down we were able to switch up our defenses a little bit and shut them down.

"We've got to learn that teams this good are going to come back on you. You have to respond, and that's on both ends of the floor. We responded offensively tonight but defensively, we broke down. Those upperclassmen came in and shut them down."

Tulane led by as many as 15 at 43-28 with 16:35 left to play in regulation, but SMU refused to go away and cut the Green Wave advantage to just a pair at 45-43 just over four minutes later. A 3-pointer by freshman guard Danielle Blagg created a bit of separation and the two teams traded baskets over the next 1:46. From there Benzio hit a free throws to spark a 7-0 Tulane run to stretch the lead back to double-digits at 59-49 with 4:42 to go.

The Mustangs cut the lead down to eight three times down the stretch but could get no closer as the Green Wave hit all 12 of their free-throw opportunities over the final 1:10 to come away with their fifth-consecutive win by double-digits.

Tulane hit a season-best 57.8 percent of its shots from the field (26-of-45), including an 11-of-17 performance in the second half (.647). The Green Wave defense held SMU to a 35.4 shooting percentage (23-of-65), forced 15 turnovers courtesy of nine steals, and turned the Mustang miscues into 23 points.

"There's no question about why we're winning," Stockton added. "We are playing better. We're not turning over the ball. We're shooting the ball better. When we've had those games where we lost some in conference, we just didn't take care of the ball. Those two things are becoming really solid."

Junior guard Olivia Grayson finished second to Benzio in scoring with 16 points on the strength of a 10-for-10 free throw performance while junior guard Tyria Snow tallied 11 and the freshmen duo of Danielle Blagg and Tiffany Dale scored 10 each. Dale, who made her first career start on Sunday against the Mustangs, shared game-high block honors with three swats and added three rebounds, a trio of assists and a steal. Blagg came off the bench to sink 4-of-8 field goals, with two of her makes coming from beyond the 3-point arc, and pull down four rebounds. Snow, meanwhile, led the team with six assists and five steals.

"I've just got a give credit to my teammates," Snow said. "It's a whole-team effort. Those players are getting open and when they get open, they hit shots. I'm able to give them the pass so it's a credit to my teammates for making the open looks."

SMU opened the scoring with an Akil Simpson layup 29 seconds into the contest before Benzio tied the game with a layup and Grayson followed suit with a shot off the glass the next time down the court to give the Green Wave the lead for good.

Benzio's layup sparked a 15-1 Tulane run and the lead swelled to as many as 13 in the first half as Green Wave sat on top 21-8 with 8:40 to play before halftime. SMU whittled the advantage down to six at 23-17 with 5:22 remaining in the opening stanza only to see Tulane respond and take 11-point leads twice later in the frame. Simpson scored the final three points of the half, however, and the Wave went into the locker room on top by eight.

The Mustangs' Brittney Hardy made it a six-point game in the opening moments of the second half, but Benzio scored 11 straight points for Tulane during an 11-2 rally over the next 3:07 to set the stage for SMU's mid-game come-back attempt and the Green Wave's answer late.

"The nice thing is we are having different players emerge," Stockton said. "You look at (Jamie) Kaplan, who the other day had such a big game. I thought Tiffany Dale had a great game here, and obviously I think this is one of Brett's better games of her career tonight."

Simpson led SMU with a game-high 25 points and completed a double-double with 10 rebounds while handing out a pair of assists and tallying one steal. Alisha Filmore added 15 points while Sabrina McKinney and Raven Short posted three assists each.

Tulane returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 9, when the Green Wave travel to Texas to take on C-USA foe Houston at 7 p.m. in Hofheinz Pavilion. From there, the Wave will play at UTEP on Sunday, Feb. 12, before returning home for a Feb. 16 showdown against Rice.

For tickets to that game and future Green Wave home events, contact the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office either in person, over the phone at 504-861-WAVE (9283) or via the Internet at www.TulaneGreenWave.com. The Ticket Office located on the first floor of the James W. Wilson, Jr. Center on Ben Weiner Drive, is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.