Temple University Athletics
OWLS SUFFER TOUGH LOSS IN HOME OPENER AT PRESEASON WNIT
11.9.01 | Women's Basketball
Senior forward Christoforakis led the Owls with a career-high 23 points to go along with her game-high 11 rebounds to open the season with a double-double.
"Athena is starting to take a picture of the floor and seeing where she can exploit her opponents' weaknesses. She gets 10 rebounds on pure heart and will. If she could box out, she would get 15," said coach Staley.
Junior guard Smalls recorded 16 points, two assists, and two steals. Junior guard/forward Cruz added 10 points, five rebounds and two assists. Temple also had some positive contributions from the bench. Sophomores Toni Belafonte and Christena Hamilton combined for 9-for-10 shooting from the free throw line. Freshman forward Ari Moore posted four points, one block, and one steal in 11 minutes.
"Ari came in and gave us a lift," said Staley. "She is starting to see where she can contribute offensively and defensively."
Temple fell short in the rebounding (42-33), steals (11-7), and assist-to-turnover (13/23 to 7/19) battles, despite shooting 54 percent from the floor. The Owls never stopped fighting, tying the score six times and taking the lead twice in the second half, but the Purple Aces feasted at the free throw line where they shot 32-40 while the Owls managed 23-33 from the charity stripe.
Evansville's Latasha Austin literally stole the show with five steals and a game-high 25 points. Shannon McKibbon-Puelston led Evansville on the boards with eight rebounds.
Temple has a little over a week to recover from this loss as the Owls will travel to Kentucky on Saturday November 17, 2001 to play the Wildcats of the Southeastern Conference at 7:00 p.m. at the Memorial Coliseum.
