OWLS WOMEN OPEN CONFERENCE PLAY WITH A WIN AT UMASS

Amherst, Mass. -- The Temple women's basketball team (6-6, 1-0) extended its winning streak to three games as it opened Atlantic 10 Conference play with a win at Massachusetts (2-10, 0-1) 67-57 on January 3. The Owls jumped out to a 23-7 lead in the first half before the Minutewomen battled back to trail by seven at halftime 34-27. In the second half, Temple pushed the lead to as many as 17 points and UMass again cut the margin to seven with 1:46 to play but that's as close as the game would get. The win marked the 25th victory for coach Dawn Staley at the helm of the Owls program.

"I think we were hungry to play," said coach Staley. "We were coming off a big win for us and you worry when your team has a couple days off but the Atlantic 10 is a big conference for us and we know every game is a big game in conference play," she continued.

Senior guard Natalia Isaac led Temple in scoring with 23 points on 6-12 shooting. Isaac was 3-7 from three-point range, hit 8-10 from the free throw line and added three assists to her stat line. Fellow senior Athena Christoforakis (14) was the only other Owl to score in double figures, shooting 6-9 (66 percent) from the field. Senior center Lisa Jakubowicz paced the Temple rebounding effort with eight boards while scoring eight points. Junior Chrissy Cruz added seven rebounds and two steals before fouling out.

Katie Nelson led UMass in scoring with 18 points. Jennifer Butler (17 points) added a game-high 11 rebounds to her double-digit scoring.

Temple shot nearly 45 percent from the field and over 45 percent from the three-point arc to help establish early control of the game. The Owls' defense forced 19 UMass turnovers, collected 11 steals and limited the Minutewomen to 35 percent shooting.

Temple continues its road trip when it visits Rhode Island on Sunday, January 6. Tip-off is at 2:00 p.m.

Temple University Athletics

OWLS WOMEN OPEN CONFERENCE PLAY WITH A WIN AT UMASS

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