TEMPLE WOMEN OVERCOME RALLY TO WIN AT FORDHAM

Bronx, N.Y. - The Temple women's basketball team (16-10, 11-4) withstood a furious comeback en route to a 73-59 win over Fordham (5-21, 3-12) on February 22 at the Rose Hill Gymnasium. The Owls started the game well and held a double-digit lead for much of the first half before the Rams battled back and trimmed Temple's advantage to 29-22 at halftime. In the second stanza, Fordham continued to rally and led by as many as two points on six different occasions but the Owls were able to maintain their poise and hit big shots when it mattered most to put the game away down the stretch. Temple outrebounded the Rams 46-32 and held an edge in many of the game's defensive categories, but the biggest difference in the game was free throw shooting. The Owls shot 29-36 from the charity stripe, while Fordham shot just 9-11.

"We kept our composure and we were able to establish some chemistry and continuity," said coach Dawn Staley. "We made some shots and that turned the game around," she added.

It may have been "Senior Night" at Fordham, but it was Temple's underclassmen who gave the team a lift. Junior guard Stacey Smalls led the Owls with a game-high 16 points. Freshman Ari Moore (11) and senior Athena Christoforakis (10) were the other double figure scorers for Temple. Christoforakis was the Owls' top rebounder with seven boards while Moore added six.

Patty Williams led Fordham with 14 points. Mobolaji Akiode (13) was the only other Ram to score in double figures.

Next up for Temple, a return to the friendly confines of the Liacouras Center to face the La Salle Explorers on Sunday, February 24. Game time is 2:00 p.m. An Owls win means that Temple would claim the Big Five title outright and enter the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament as the number one seed in the Eastern Division.

Temple University Athletics

TEMPLE WOMEN OVERCOME RALLY TO WIN AT FORDHAM

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