The women’s basketball team opened the season 5-0 but heads to Rutgers tommorrow after a loss.
The women’s basketball team looked like two completely different squads during Thanksgiving break, as the Owls defeated the Eastern Michigan Eagles soundly before struggling against the Hartford Hawks.
EASTERN MICHIGAN
The Owls dominated from behind the arc Tuesday, sinking seven of their 10 shots from 3-point land.
Temple came out of the gate with authority and outscored the Eagles 10-1 in the opening 6 minutes 4 seconds. By the time the opening 20 minutes had passed, the Owls seized a commanding 32-17 lead. It didn’t get much better for Eastern Michigan, as the Owls continued their hot shooting by going on a 12-2 run in the opening minutes of the second half. Ultimately, the Owls were never in real danger of losing and finished with a 64-46 victory.
Junior guard Shaqwedia Wallace led the way for the Cherry and White, scoring 13 points while dishing out six assists. Wallace didn’t do it all herself, however, as four Owls scored in double digits.
Senior forward Jasmine Stone provided a spark off the bench, scoring 11 points and falling one rebound short of a double-double. The double-double is something Temple coach Tonya Cardoza has set as a benchmark for Stone.
“Coach has been stressing to me that I should be getting a double-double,” Stone said. “That’s my biggest thing. I’m all about rebounding.”
Senior point guard LaKeisha Eaddy’s assist in the second half gave her 399 for her career, good for second on Temple’s all-time list.
Junior guard Cassie Schrock led the way for the Eagles with 15 points and nine rebounds.
HARTFORD
After moving to 5-0 with the victory against Eastern Michigan, the Owls traveled to Connecticut to play the Hartford Hawks. The Hawks, less than two weeks after defeating No. 23 Louisville, proved to be too much for the Owls and beat Temple, 65-54.
The Cherry and White were outmanned in the beginning and trailed by as many as 14 points in the opening half. The deficit grew as large as 20 points in the second half before the Owls fought back. Temple scored seven straight points from the free-throw line to cut the Hartford lead to 10 points.
Racing against the clock, the Owls started to foul Hartford and hoped the Hawks would prove inept at sinking shots at the charity stripe. Unfortunately, the Hawks didn’t miss enough shots, as junior guard Jackie Smith made four straight free throws to put her team up 14 points. A late 3-pointer by Wallace cut the lead to 11 points, but it would never get closer than that.
Wallace led the way yet again for the Owls, scoring 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Stone continued her strong play, scoring 11 points while grabbing 13 rebounds to give her a double-double, her first of the season.
Junior guard Mary Silva came off the bench for the Hawks and scored a game-high 20 points. Smith was perfect at the free-throw line, scoring all eight of her points there.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Owls (5-1) travel to New Brunswick, N.J., tomorrow to play Rutgers (4-3). The Scarlet Knights recently played in the Paradise Jam Tournament, where they beat Southern California and Mississippi State before losing to Texas. Senior guard Brittany Ray leads Rutgers with 15 points per game.
Kyle Gauss can be reached at kylegauss@temple.edu.
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