Tonya Cardoza’s reunion with top-seeded Connecticut was not meant to be, as her Owls fell hard to Florida, 70-57, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Temple lost to Florida, 70-57, despite 47 points from the frontcourt. But poor outside shooting doomed the Owls, who lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.
The men’s team has played itself out of at-large contention while the women’s recent surge has made them close to a “lock” for the NCAA Tournament later this month.
The Owls beat the Spiders, 65-52, behind junior guard LaKeisha Eaddy’s 21 points. A showdown with No. 17 Xavier, which is undefeated in the A-10 at 11-0, looms Wednesday.
Striving to turn the ball less than 15 times a game, the Owls are averaging 19 turnovers per game this season.
That has become a problem for coach Tonya Cardoza and her squad, who have a 0.82 assist-to-turnover ratio.
A career-high 19 points from freshman forward Kristen McCarthy led the Owls to a 76-56 win over the Billikens. Three other players also scored in double-figures behind 52 percent shooting from the field.
Newly arrived freshman Juan Fernandez isn’t the only first-year point guard gracing the Liacouras Center court these days, though he gets the most hype. Junior LaKeisha Eaddy has had to make the move to the