Temple University Athletics
TEMPLE WOMEN GET DEFENSIVE IN WIN OVER RUTGERS
12.16.01 | Women's Basketball
Junior guard Stacey Smalls led Temple in scoring with 12 points on 5-8 shooting. Senior Athena Christoforakis added nine points and a team-high eight rebounds while freshman Ari Moore posted a career-high eight points, all in the first half. The Owls, who trailed 31-23 at halftime, opened the second half on an 8-0 run by turning on their trademark defensive pressure. Temple forced 23 Rutgers turnovers in the game, 16 coming in the second half.
"It was a tough battle," said Temple coach Dawn Staley. "These are the kind of games you want to play in, these are the kind of games you want to win. Fortunately we won this game," she continued.
Nikki Jett led the Scarlet Knights with a game-high 14 points and Davalyn Cunningham added a game-high 10 rebounds but Rutgers shot just 5-24 (20.8 percent) down the stretch.
"Temple was extremely well coached and executed very well," said Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer. "Temple was relentless on defense. That was the most aggressive man-to-man defense we have faced this year," she continued.
Next up for the Owls, a cross-country trek to visit Santa. Not to the North Pole, but to Santa Clara, California to take on the Santa Clara Broncos on Wednesday, December 19. Tip-off is at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.
