Temple University Athletics
FLORIDA HANDS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL A 62-49 LOSS
1.2.04 | Women's Basketball
Freshman guard Britney Jordan was the only other Owl to score in double figures with a career-high 13 points in just 15 minutes of action. Junior guard Cynthia Jordan, who had led the Owls in scoring in their two prior games, had five points but led the team in assists with six and steals with three.
Vanessa Hayden led Florida with 15 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. Hayden also set a new Liacouras Center record with seven blocks in the game. Tashia Morehead also had a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards while Bernice Mosby (13 points) and Tishona Gregory (12 points) rounded out the quartet of double figure scorers for the Gators.
The game was a back and forth battle in the first half until Temple's shooting went cold as it missed 14 straight field goal attempts over an eight-minute span and Florida used that span to go on the better part of a 17-2 run to finish the opening period with a 25-13 lead. The Owls never quite recovered as the Gators outscored them 37-36 in the second stanza to seal the win.
"We tend to lose our composure when we miss shots," said coach Dawn Staley. "That has been our nemesis all season. These type of teams, you have to have discipline when you play them and we did not have enough discipline tonight."
Florida (10-3) had the advantage in nearly every statistical category, including rebounding (47-33), blocked shots (10-1), steals (11-5) and shooting percentage (41 percent to 34 percent). Temple (4-6) was slightly better at taking care of the basketball as it forced 19 turnovers while committing 17.
Temple will next host Fordham on Tuesday, January 6 in its Atlantic 10 Conference opener. The game has a special 12 noon tip-off as it is the Second Annual Staley School Day.
