Next step: NCAAs in Norfolk

Temple earned a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will play No. 9 seed James Madison in Norfolk, Va., Sunday.

Forgive coach Tonya Cardoza if she starts accidentally writing 2009 on her checks. After all, a year later, the women’s basketball team is in an eerily similar position to the one it was in last March.

Monday, Temple (24-8 overall, 11-3 Atlantic Ten Conference) drew the No. 8 seed in the Dayton Regional of the 2010 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship. The Owls will face No. 9 James Madison (26-6 overall, 13-5 Colonial Athletic Association) Sunday in Norfolk, Va. If the Owls beat the Dukes, they would face No. 1 Connecticut in the second round, assuming the Huskies win their 73rd straight game by defeating No. 16 seed Southern University.

Last year, the Cherry and White drew the No. 9 seed in the Trenton Regional. They lost to No. 8 Florida in the first round. If they had defeated the Gators, the Owls would have faced UConn in the second round.

Cardoza, who was an assistant coach at UConn from 1994-2008, admitted feeling a bit out of sorts about the way things repeated themselves.

“There actually was some [déjà vu],” Cardoza said. “Waiting until the last bracket and seeing Connecticut and us right there with them was definitely déjà vu.”

Even with UConn looming, the Owls need to stay focused on beating their first-round opponent. JMU has some impressive wins this year, including victories against Georgetown and No. 14 Virginia.

Leading the way for the Dukes is junior guard Dawn Evans, who leads the team with 24.8 points per game. Few are more efficient at scoring than Evans, who finished tied for third nationally in scoring. She also leads the Dukes with 4.7 assists per game. Freshman guard Tarik Hislop is second on the squad with 10.2 points per game.

The Dukes like to force their opponents to turn the ball over. Four of their five starters, including Richmond transfer Sarah Williams, average a steal or more per game. Williams ranks among CAA leaders with 1.5 steals per game.

“James Madison is a really good team,” Cardoza said. “They’re a tough team with an All-American player. They have some good post players, and their coach does a really good job. [Evans] runs their team. She’s looking to push the tempo. She can shoot the ball from deep, so you can’t sag off of her, but she can go by you as well.”

Temple fell to No. 5 Xavier, 57-55, in the A-10 Championship last week and had to depend on an at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament rather than an automatic berth. Still, just reaching the A-10 Championship game should have helped the Owls move higher than an 8 seed, Cardoza said.

“I’m not [happy with the seeding],” Cardoza said. “I thought maybe getting to the championship game of the A-10 we might have bumped ourselves up to a 7 seed. Not that it would have been an easier matchup, but [an 8-9 matchup]can go either way. Like I said, JMU is a good team, so it’s going to be a tough battle for both teams.”

“I had a feeling that they would put us in the UConn bracket,” sophomore forward Kristen McCarthy said. “We’re excited just to make the Tournament. We’re fortunate. There are a lot of teams that aren’t even in the Tournament at all. It’s exciting.”

The loss to the Musketeers still lingers in McCarthy’s mind. When Xavier received a No. 3 seed in the Tournament, the California native let loose a loud display of emotion that drew laughter from her teammates and a look of shock from her coach. While the loss was disheartening at first, the team will use it as motivation, McCarthy said.
“It still hurts,” McCarthy said. “I still think about it every day, and it still upsets me. I think that’s going to motivate us even more. We lost by two in overtime to a great team. I definitely think if we can play with Xavier like that, then we can play with any team.”

For players like senior forward Jasmine Stone and senior guard LaKeisha Eaddy, this is the last chance to make some noise in the NCAA Tournament.

“There are a lot of different emotions,” Eaddy said. “I know that this is my last chance to try to make a Sweet 16 or an Elite Eight. You tell the [freshmen on the team] that this is an experience and not everybody gets to play in the NCAA Tournament. You have to go out there and play like it’s your last because it could potentially be your last game of the season.”

Tipoff is set for 30 minutes after the UConn – Southern game ends at the Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN.

Kyle Gauss can be reached at kyle.gauss@temple.edu.

Owls shine on Senior Day

On a day in which the senior class was honored, an underclassman stole the spotlight on the court. Sophomore forward Kristen McCarthy led all scorers with 22 point as the women’s basketball team beat George Washington, 61-51.

The Owls came out of the gates hot, scoring the first 11 points of the game. The Colonials fought back, however, taking the lead at 22-21 with a little more than five minutes remaining the first half. A three-pointer and four free-throws by McCarthy helped the Owls bounce back, putting the lead at 34-26 at halftime.

George Washington closed the gap to three in the second half, but could never get closer than that. Both teams shot poorly, with the Owls making 33.9 percent of their shots while the Colonials made 32.6 percent of theirs. Both teams played sloppily, producing 32 turnovers between them.

“Today’s game wasn’t pretty whatsoever,” Temple coach Tonya Cardoza said. “We started off hot and I think we relaxed and took a step back, thinking it would be really easy. GW, their record is 6-21 but every game that I’ve watched, they fight to the very end. Their record definitely doesn’t indicate the type of team they have.”

McCarthy shot seven-of-15 from the field, including two-of-four from beyond the arc. McCarthy reached double-figure scoring for the seventh straight game. McCarthy has averaged 20.7 points per game. Despite this recent success, McCarthy’s approach hasn’t changed.

“We’re just running the offense and in the flow of things I’m just taking my shots,” McCarthy said. “Fortunately they’re going in. I just keep playing.”

Three seniors were honored before the game for their commitment to the program. Senior guard LaKeisha Eaddy had six assists and four points while senior forward Jasmine Stone scored 13 points while grabbing seven rebounds. Senior guard Kristie Watkins-Day scored five points in 28 minutes of play.

Eaddy also had a steal, giving her 237 for her career, which tied her with Pam Balogh for first on Temple’s All-Time list. Being amongst the All-Time Temple greats has yet to hit the Columbia, MD, native, she said.

“I haven’t really had a chance to think about it,” Eaddy said. “I’ve been playing and trying not to focus on breaking records. I’ve been focusing on helping my team the best I could. To actually know that I’m up there and I could possibly be number one in it is an accomplishment for me. It’s something I can look back on.”

Next up for Temple is a trip to Upper Marlboro, MD, to participate in the Atlantic Ten Conference Tournament. The Owls have secured a first round bye in the tournament. The extra time off will be beneficial, Cardoza said.

“I think we all need a couple of days off away from each other,” Cardoza said. “Not that there’s anything going on, but I think sometimes you need to take a step away from the game. We’ve been going at it, without a real break, since Christmas. We definitely need a couple of days off to get our heads back on and refocus on the next chapter, and that’s the A-10.”

The Cherry and White are slated to be a #3 seed in the tournament and will play the winner of the #6/#11 match-up. Tipoff is set for Mar. 6 at 8pm.

Kyle Gauss can be reached at kgauss@gmail.com

Richmond serves as final road test

Temple faces a Spiders team that has not beaten an Atlantic Ten opponent with a winning record.

Fresh off a loss to Dayton last Saturday, Temple coach Tonya Cardoza and the women’s basketball team (20-7 overall, 9-3 Atlantic Ten Conference) travel south to face junior guard Brittani Shells and the Richmond Spiders (16-10 overall, 5-6 A-10).

Shells, an All-A-10 first-team and All-Conference defensive team selection, leads the conference with 16.5 points per game. The 5-foot-7-inch Camden, Del., native also leads Richmond with 2.3 assists per game. Her performance has not gone unnoticed, as she was recently named one of 12 finalists for the Nancy Lieberman Award, which is given annually to the nation’s best point guard.

Last year, Shells averaged 15.1 points per game to help lead Richmond to the A-10 Championship game, where the Spiders fell to Charlotte, 59-54. Richmond finished the season with a 24-10 record and earned a berth in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament.

Two starters are gone from last year’s squad, including guard Johanna McKnight. Without McKnight, who finished second on last year’s team with 10.9 points per game, the Spiders have lacked a solid scorer to complement Shells. After Shells, no Richmond player averages in double figures. However, sophomore guard Abby Oliver has provided a consistent scoring threat off the bench for the Spiders, scoring 9.3 points per game. On the year, Oliver has shot 43.7 percent from the field, including 41.8 percent from 3-point range.

Richmond has had some impressive victories against Atlantic Coast Conference teams, with one win coming at home and one on the road. After defeating Clemson, 86-67, the Spiders traveled to Wake Forest, where they defeated the Demon Deacons, 64-54.

There have also been some embarrassing losses for Richmond. The Spiders, like every other team who has faced the Connecticut Huskies this year, left Storrs, Conn., disappointed. Shells was limited to 12 points, and Connecticut rolled to an 86-37 victory. The Spiders also put up a lackluster performance against A-10 foe Dayton earlier in the season, losing to the Flyers, 83-31.

The Spiders have yet to beat a conference foe that possessed a winning record. Richmond’s A-10 wins have come against Rhode Island, La Salle, Massachusetts, Fordham and George Washington, five teams with a combined 40-93 record.

Statistically, Richmond is the A-10’s worst team when it comes to defending the 3-pointer and allows opponents to shoot 36.2 percent from beyond the arc. The Spiders live off turnovers, as they lead the league with 11.2 steals and a turnover margin of +5.04 per game.

The Spiders are a fairly large team, with six players checking in at 6-foot or taller. In spite of this, Richmond is 10th in the A-10 with a mere 2.4 blocks per game.

The last time the two teams faced off, the Owls relied on stellar shooting to defeat the Spiders, 65-52. Former Owl Shenita Landry led the way for the Cherry and White, scoring 12 points to go along with 12 rebounds. The Owls as a whole shot 49 percent from the field.

Temple leads the all-time series, 9-3, and the Owls have won four straight games and eight of the last nine meetings. Richmond last won Feb. 12, 2006.

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Robins Center in Richmond, Va.

Kyle Gauss can be reached at kyle.gauss@temple.edu.

Richmond serves as final road test

Temple faces a Spiders team that has not beaten an Atlantic Ten opponent with a winning record.

Fresh off a loss to Dayton last Saturday, Temple coach Tonya Cardoza and the women’s basketball team (20-7 overall, 9-3 Atlantic Ten Conference) travel south to face junior guard Brittani Shells and the Richmond Spiders (16-10 overall, 5-6 A-10).

Shells, an All-A-10 first-team and All-Conference defensive team selection, leads the conference with 16.5 points per game. The 5-foot-7-inch Camden, Del., native also leads Richmond with 2.3 assists per game. Her performance has not gone unnoticed, as she was recently named one of 12 finalists for the Nancy Lieberman Award, which is given annually to the nation’s best point guard.

Last year, Shells averaged 15.1 points per game to help lead Richmond to the A-10 Championship game, where the Spiders fell to Charlotte, 59-54. Richmond finished the season with a 24-10 record and earned a berth in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament.

Two starters are gone from last year’s squad, including guard Johanna McKnight. Without McKnight, who finished second on last year’s team with 10.9 points per game, the Spiders have lacked a solid scorer to complement Shells. After Shells, no Richmond player averages in double figures. However, sophomore guard Abby Oliver has provided a consistent scoring threat off the bench for the Spiders, scoring 9.3 points per game. On the year, Oliver has shot 43.7 percent from the field, including 41.8 percent from 3-point range.

Richmond has had some impressive victories against Atlantic Coast Conference teams, with one win coming at home and one on the road. After defeating Clemson, 86-67, the Spiders traveled to Wake Forest, where they defeated the Demon Deacons, 64-54.

There have also been some embarrassing losses for Richmond. The Spiders, like every other team who has faced the Connecticut Huskies this year, left Storrs, Conn., disappointed. Shells was limited to 12 points, and Connecticut rolled to an 86-37 victory. The Spiders also put up a lackluster performance against A-10 foe Dayton earlier in the season, losing to the Flyers, 83-31.

The Spiders have yet to beat a conference foe that possessed a winning record. Richmond’s A-10 wins have come against Rhode Island, La Salle, Massachusetts, Fordham and George Washington, five teams with a combined 40-93 record.

Statistically, Richmond is the A-10’s worst team when it comes to defending the 3-pointer and allows opponents to shoot 36.2 percent from beyond the arc. The Spiders live off turnovers, as they lead the league with 11.2 steals and a turnover margin of +5.04 per game.

The Spiders are a fairly large team, with six players checking in at 6-foot or taller. In spite of this, Richmond is 10th in the A-10 with a mere 2.4 blocks per game.

The last time the two teams faced off, the Owls relied on stellar shooting to defeat the Spiders, 65-52. Former Owl Shenita Landry led the way for the Cherry and White, scoring 12 points to go along with 12 rebounds. The Owls as a whole shot 49 percent from the field.

Temple leads the all-time series, 9-3, and the Owls have won four straight games and eight of the last nine meetings. Richmond last won Feb. 12, 2006.

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Robins Center in Richmond, Va.

Kyle Gauss can be reached at kyle.gauss@temple.edu.

Second half surge pushes Owls past Duquesne

After a slow start in the first half the women’s basketball team (20-6, 9-2), got a boost in scoring from sophomore guard Kristen McCarthy in the second half en route to a 52-41 win over Duquesne, a team that the Owls were tied with for second place in the Atlantic Ten Conference.

“Coming into the game, we knew it was going to be difficult, Duquesne is a very tough and scrappy team.” Coach Tonya Cardoza said. “We knew second place was on the line and we knew they weren’t going to roll over and die.”

Both teams struggled to score, but for different reasons. Duquesne could not get many scoring chances as they shot 5-19 from the floor and Temple couldn’t get their shots to fall as they went 9-34 from the floor. McCarthy, the team’s leading scorer, picked up two quick fouls and finished with two points by the end of the first half.

“She [Cardoza] always tells me to calm down and I tried to do that, I don’t know if I did that too well.” McCarthy said. “I just think some of my shots were rushed and I need to let the game come to me.”

“To be honest, there was so much on the line fighting for second place that we were a little antsy, a little too anxious instead of just calming down and being composed.” Cardoza added.

The team calmed down after halftime and McCarthy found her scoring touch, scoring 16 points to finish the game leading the team with 18 total points.

“She searched for the game, she went out there trying to make things happen for her team and that’s not so much about scoring, but just being competitive and wanting to win and wanting to make sure she led her team.” Cardoza said. “She just needed to relax and calm down.”

It also helped that the team began to attack the Dukes on the glass.

“We got ourselves some second-chance opportunities by crashing the boards.” Cardoza said. “We had Tasha [freshman center Natasha Thames] come in and grab 11 rebounds, we just got to have her get some put backs so she can get some double doubles.”

Thames 11 rebounds led the team as they out-rebounded the dukes 50-25. Temple continued to stymie Duquesne on offense. None of the Dukes scored in double digits. Junior forward Kelly Britcher lead the team with nine points. Senior guard Keri Pryor, redshirt junior forward Samantha Pollino and sophomore Alex Gensler, who each average 12.3, 12.7 and 11.6 points per game respectively, combined for 10 total points.

Up next, the Owls go on the road to face Dayton on Feb. 20 and Richmond on Feb. 24 before returning home for their season finale against George Washington Feb. 27. Tipoff is at 1 p.m. at the Liacouras Center.

Game Notes: Temple has won 20 games for the seventh straight season… The Owls have won five straight games and 10 of their last 11… Kristen McCarthy is the A-10 Player of the Week after putting up 42 points against Charlotte on Feb. 13.

Brian Dzenis can be reached at brian.dzenis@temple.edu

McCarthy’s 42 puts Temple past 49ers

Sophomore guard Kristen McCarthy broke three different scoring records in the women’s basketball team’s (19-6, 8-2) 79-68 win over reigning Atlantic Ten Conference champion UNC Charlotte (15-10, 8-3).

She set a new career high in points as she had a double double with 42 points and 11 rebounds. Her 42 points are the most points scored in the Liacouras Center by a women’s basketball player since Natalie Issac scored 38 points against Massachusetts in the 2001 season.

With less than a minute left in the game, McCarthy had 39 points, which was two shy of the team record for most individual points scored in a game, which was set by Marilyn Stephens against George Mason during the 1983 season. McCarthy had the opportunity to tie the record with 55 seconds left.

“I honestly didn’t know how many points I had till the second to last free throws, my teammate got my attention on the bench and said ‘If you get these two free throws, then you’ll get 40,’” McCarthy said. “Then I got nervous on the I missed the first free throw.”

She made the second free throw and was fouled again at the 33 second mark, where sank the two more free throws she needed to surpass the record.

“I’m proud of her, she put her team on her back and took them to victory.” Coach Tonya Cardoza said.

“I just want to keep improving, I don’t want to be satisfied with anything that I do.” McCarthy added. “My goal is to play professional basketball and while I’m here I just want to make my teammates better and make myself better as much as I can so that we can win the A-10 and go far in the NCAA [tournament].”

Senior guard LaKeisha Eaddy also had a good game for the Owls with 14 points and five assists. Charlotte was able to keep the game fairly close with a 26-point performance from junior guard Shannon McCallum.

“She’s a beast on the other side, she’s hard to defend, but I thought we did a good job as best as we could, but then we had someone who could score for us.” Cardoza said. “We scored 79 points, we haven’t seen the 70’s in a while, especially in this building [the Liacouras Center] too, we haven’t been shooting the ball well, but today was a good day for us.”

Senior forward Ashley Spriggs also chipped in 13 points for the 49ers.
Up next, the Owls face Duquesne, a team that they are currently tied for second place in the A-10. Tipoff is at noon in McGonigle Hall on Feb. 17.

Game Notes: The Owls have won 9 of their last ten games… Junior forward Marli Bennett is the reigning A-10 player of the week after averaging 11 points and eight rebounds a game in the team’s two wins last week against St. Joseph’s and La Salle… Temple’s next two upcoming opponents currently are among the top four teams in the A-10.

Brian Dzenis can be reached at brian.dzenis@temple.edu

McCarthy’s 42 lift Temple past 49ers

Sophomore guard Kristen McCarthy broke three different scoring records in the women’s basketball team’s (19-6, 8-2) 79-68 win over reigning Atlantic Ten Conference champion UNC Charlotte (15-10, 8-3).

She set a new career high in points as she had a double double with 42 points and 11 rebounds. Her 42 points are the most points scored in the Liacouras Center by a women’s basketball player since Natalie Issac scored 38 points against Massachusetts in the 2001 season.

With less than a minute left in the game, McCarthy had 39 points, which was two shy of the team record for most individual points scored in a game, which was set by Marilyn Stephens against George Mason during the 1983 season. McCarthy had the opportunity to tie the record with 55 seconds left.

“I honestly didn’t know how many points I had till the second to last free throws, my teammate got my attention on the bench and said ‘If you get these two free throws, then you’ll get 40,’” McCarthy said. “Then I got nervous on the I missed the first free throw.”

She made the second free throw and was fouled again at the 33 second mark, where sank the two more free throws she needed to surpass the record.

“I’m proud of her, she put her team on her back and took them to victory.” Coach Tonya Cardoza said.

“I just want to keep improving, I don’t want to be satisfied with anything that I do.” McCarthy added. “My goal is to play professional basketball and while I’m here I just want to make my teammates better and make myself better as much as I can so that we can win the A-10 and go far in the NCAA [tournament].”

Senior guard LaKeisha Eaddy also had a good game for the Owls with 14 points and five assists. Charlotte was able to keep the game fairly close with a 26-point performance from junior guard Shannon McCallum.

“She’s a beast on the other side, she’s hard to defend, but I thought we did a good job as best as we could, but then we had someone who could score for us.” Cardoza said. “We scored 79 points, we haven’t seen the 70’s in a while, especially in this building [the Liacouras Center] too, we haven’t been shooting the ball well, but today was a good day for us.”

Senior forward Ashley Spriggs also chipped in 13 points for the 49ers.

Up next, the Owls face Duquesne, a team that they are currently tied for second place in the A-10. Tipoff is at noon in McGonigle Hall on Feb. 17.

Game Notes: The Owls have won 9 of their last ten games… Junior forward Marli Bennett is the reigning A-10 player of the week after averaging 11 points and eight rebounds a game in the team’s two wins last week against St. Joseph’s and La Salle… Temple’s next two upcoming opponents currently are among the top four teams in the A-10.

Brian Dzenis can be reached at brian.dzenis@temple.edu

Owls cruise past Massachusetts

Despite playing in the biggest storm of the heaviest winter in Philadelphia history, junior forward Shaqwedia Wallace and the women’s basketball team stayed hot, defeating Massachusetts, 66-54, on Wednesday night.

The Owls fell behind quickly off of a three-pointer by UMass junior guard Megan Zullo but quickly bounced back. The Cherry and White took the lead with little more than 18 minutes remaining in the first half and never trailed again.

That’s not to say the game wasn’t competitive.

Led by guard Diatema Hill’s 18 points, the Minutemen rallied to bring the score to 27-22 at halftime. Another three-pointer by Zullo 25 seconds into the second half cut the lead to two.

Sophomore forward Kristen McCarthy answered the call for the Owls, making consecutive shots from beyond the arc to give the Owls an eight point lead. Temple broke away for good with a 10-0 run halfway through the second half, putting the score at 54-34.

The Cherry and White shot 48.3 percent in the second half after shooting 38.5 percent in the opening 20 minutes. The difference between the two halves was largely intensity, Temple Coach Tonya Cardoza said.

“I thought in the second half we came out with a lot of fire,” Cardoza said. “I thought we picked up our defensive intensity to make some shots. We were able to get some wide open threes. I thought, defensively, that we really did create some easy opportunities for ourselves.”

Wallace, coming off the bench for the seventh straight game, led all scorers with 22 points while hitting four three-point attempts. Wallace’s offensive prowess is something that the Owls are going to need if they hope to stay successful, Cardoza said.

“We need that offensive weapon,” Cardoza said. “After a while if [Wallace isn't] shooting the ball or making shots, people are going to sag in and not let Jasmine [Stone] or Tasha [Thames] get shots in by the basket. It was good to see her looking to shoot the ball. She shot the ball really well.”

The Owls outrebounded UMass, 42-26. Due to their domination of the boards, the Cherry and White had 23 second chance points. The Minutemen, by comparison, had 10.

Senior guard Kristie Watkins-Day, starting in place of the injured BJ Williams, scored seven points in the win. McCarthy scored 13 points while grabbing nine rebounds and dishing out five assists.

Temple returns to the court on Saturday night against Charlotte. The 49ers eliminated the Owls in last year’s Atlantic Ten Conference Tournament. As the first half of a doubleheader, the game is set for a 1pm tipoff.

Game Notes: Williams, out with a strained calf, sat out her second consecutive game. She’s expected to return for Saturday’s game against Charlotte…The Minutemen shot 90 percent from the free-throw line…Senior forward Jasmine Stone filled up the stat sheet, scoring four points to go along with seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks and three steals in only 17 minutes of play.

Kyle Gauss can be reached at kyle.gauss@temple.edu

Owls fall to St. Bonaventure

The women’s basketball team (15-6, 4-2) remained neck and neck with St. Bonaventure (16-6, 4-3) for most of the game, but the Owls’ defensive miscues cost them down the stretch as they fell 64-54 to the Bonnies, snapping a five-game winning streak.

“This is a very tough loss to swallow.” Coach Tonya Cardoza said. “Obviously, St. Bonaventure is a great team and they know what our weaknesses are and took advantage of it.”

One of their weaknesses was their inability to contain St. Bonaventure senior forward Dana Mitchell. In the past season, Mitchell had two big games against the Owls and this game was no exception as she lead the team with 18 points and five rebounds. She was one of four other players who scored in double-digits for the Bonnies.

“She’s just unstoppable, you can’t guard her one on one.” Cardoza said. “Even when you do a good job and stop her, she can shoot over you whether it’s a fade away or whatever.”

The Bonnies got off to a quick 6-0 start in the game, but Temple quickly came back and the two teams traded the lead for most of the half. Most of the scoring for both sides was done inside and in the paint.

“Their style of play is to put the ball on the floor and get to the basket.” Cardoza said.

Neither side had much success from beyond the arc. St. Bonaventure finished 3 for 8 from three-point territory and sophomore guard Kristen McCarthy had Temple’s lone three-pointer out of the teams nine shots.

St. Bonaventure had a slim 26-25 lead going into halftime. Helping the Owls keep pace with the Bonnies were McCarthy and senior center Jasmine Stone. McCarthy led the team 16 points and Stone had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

As the second half rolled around, McCarthy and Stone continued to keep the game close and sophomore guard B.J. Williams had a second-half scoring surge. She would go on to finish with 11 points and 7 assists.

With about seven minutes left in the game, St. Bonaventure began to pull away as Stone and senior guard Lakeisha Eaddy were both tagged with fouls in less than a minute. The Bonnies took advantage of those two fouls and to take a 46-41 lead and things finally began to unravel for the Owls.

“I think we started getting a little bit frustrated because we didn’t get calls the we thought we should have gotten and sort of got rattled.” Cardoza said. “Then we lost concentration down at the other end where whether we were supposed to switch or stay and gave them wide open shots.

“It was almost like panic mode on the offensive end for us.” She added.

As time winded down, St. Bonaventure continued to stifle the Owls offense and rely on their near-perfect free throw shooting to hold on for the win. The Owls next two will be away games even though the team will never leave Philadelphia. The Owls will face St. Joseph’s on Feb. 2 and La Salle on Feb. 6.

Brian Dzenis can be reached at brian.dzenis@temple.edu

Game Notes: Lakeisha Eaddy scored five points, which puts her at exactly 1,000 points for her career.

Defense shuts down Penn for Big 5 win

It did not take long for the women’s basketball team (14-5, 3-1) to pull away from Penn (1-14, 0-1) and their struggling offense as they rolled to a 55-31 win over the Quakers.

Penn struggled mightily on offense. Junior forward Jerin Smith came off the bench for a career-high 16 points while the Penn’s whole starting lineup managed eight points throughout the entire game. The Quakers never made a three-point basket as they went 0 for 13 from beyond the arc. They also went through long stretches with out any points. It took them six minutes to get on the scoreboard at the beginning of game while Temple already had 14 points. In the second half, the Quakers managed only four points through the first 10 minutes.

Sophomore guard Kristen McCarthy continues to be one of the team’s most consistent scorers as she led the team with 13 points. Freshman center Victoria Macaulay had a breakout performance against the Quakers, putting up career highs in points and blocks with 12 and three respectively. Two other players tied some of their own career highs with freshman forward Natasha Thames scoring 10 points and sophomore guard B.J. Williams had 10 assists.

“That’s [the career highs] not important,” Macaulay said. “We could have played better.”

The team had one of its best defensive games of the season with 31 points being the lowest total for any opponent they played so far this season and forced the Quakers into shooting just 25 percent from the floor. The team also had a season-high eight blocked shots and forced 18 turnovers.

“Today they missed a lot of easy shots,” Coach Tonya Cardoza said. “Even though we held them, you do that to another team and maybe they don’t miss that same shot, so we have to get better at communicating and not giving up wide open layups, not letting people get offensive rebounds and have career games against us.

“We still have a lot of work to do.” She added.

With the win, Temple has now won four games in a row and played their final non-conference opponent of the regular season, while Penn has lost its fifth straight game. The team will go on the road to face St. Louis on Jan. 27 before returning home to the Liacouras Center on Jan. 30 to face St. Bonaventure as part of a double-header with the men’s team. Tipoff is 3 p.m.

Game Notes: Temple is now 2-1 this season against Big 5 opponents… They are 45-15 all-time against Penn. The Owls have won the previous five straight contests and 12 of the last 14… Penn senior guard Sarah Bucar fell a minute short of playing through the entire game. She has played through an entire game seven times this season… Penn will finish the season winless against the Big 5.

Brian Dzenis can be reached at brian.dzenis@temple.edu

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