Temple University Athletics
Follow Women's Basketball On The Radio During The Atlantic 10 Championships
2.26.01 | Women's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA (Feb. 26) - Fans can follow the Temple women's basketball team (18-9, 11-5) on its quest to win the Verizon Atlantic 10 Championship and an invitation to the NCAA Tournament on the radio. Temple is seeded third in the conference and has earned a first round bye. The Owls will face the winner of #6 La Salle vs. #11 Fordham on Saturday, March 3rd at 6:00 p.m. The game will be carried on WZZD 990 AM with Jeff Skversky and Danny Pommells calling the action. Should the Owls advance, the schedule will be as follows:
Sunday, March 4th at 4:00 p.m. WFIL 560 AM
Monday, March 5th at 5:00 p.m. WZZD 990 AM
Key performers for the Owls this season have been sophomore guard Stacey Smalls, who led the team in scoring (11.2 ppg.), assists (3.65 apg.) and minutes (32.3 mpg.). Junior Athena Christoforakis, a transfer and the only Staley recruit on the roster, ranked second on the team in scoring (10.7 ppg.) and was the team's leading rebounder (8.2 rpg.). Junior center Lisa Jakubowicz ranked third in scoring (10.5 ppg.) and second in rebounding (7.0 rpg.) Senior guard Natalia Isaac, who can gain another year of eligibility by meeting certain academic requirements, really came on strong at the end of the season. Although she averaged 7.7 points per game on the season, Isaac erupted for 38 points in the season finale, a thrilling 72-69 overtime victory against Massachusetts before the largest women's basketball crowd (2,263) in Temple history at the Liacouras Center. Her point total ties her with Temple Hall of Famer, Donna Kennedy, for third highest all-time single game total in Temple women's basketball history.
Coach Dawn Staley boldly stated prior to the season that she expected her Owls to compete for the Atlantic 10 Championship. Though Staley is not exactly Charles Dickens her Great Expectations led to the Owls finishing the regular season as the third seed heading into the Atlantic 10 Championship and what seemed to have been a rather far-fetched prediction has entered the realm of possibility. She made believers out of her team from the beginning and now others are starting to believe in the team as well.
