Temple University Athletics
TEMPLE'S STALEY AND CHRISTOFORAKIS SEEK GOLD IN ATHENS
8.2.04 | Women's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA - Athens has as one of its attractions the Temple of Athena and this summer it will also have Temple's Athena. Former Owls' women's basketball player Athena Christoforakis, who played for Temple under current head coach and U.S. Olympian Dawn Staley, will be going for the gold as a member of the Greek National Team in the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Christoforakis played for the Owls during the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons and helped Temple capture its first-ever Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball Championship. A junior college transfer, she scored nearly 700 points and grabbed over 500 rebounds in her two years wearing the Cherry & White, averaging 11.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. In her senior season, she was the Owls' second-leading scorer and top rebounder as Temple earned an NCAA Tournament bid for the first time since 1989. Christoforakis has played professionally in both Italy and Greece and will be competing in her first Olympics.
Staley, who will be participating in her third Olympic Games, is seeking her third gold medal. Should the U.S. capture the gold in Athens, Staley will become one of only three women in U.S. history to earn three consecutive Olympic gold medals in women's basketball (current teammates Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoopes are the other two). Dubbed simply "The leader" by U.S. teammate Yolanda Griffin, Staley already has an unrivaled legacy as a player at every level. Following the Olympics she will resume her "summer job" as a point guard for the WNBA's Charlotte Sting as the season has been suspended during the Summer Games. She currently ranks third on the team in scoring (8.1 ppg.) and tops the Sting in assists (4.3 apg.).
The U.S. team's first Olympic game will be against New Zealand on August 14, but on August 5, they will play an exhibition game against a team comprised of WNBA players in New York's Radio City Music Hall. Greece will also tip-off in its first Olympic contest on August 14 against Russia.
Christoforakis played for the Owls during the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons and helped Temple capture its first-ever Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball Championship. A junior college transfer, she scored nearly 700 points and grabbed over 500 rebounds in her two years wearing the Cherry & White, averaging 11.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. In her senior season, she was the Owls' second-leading scorer and top rebounder as Temple earned an NCAA Tournament bid for the first time since 1989. Christoforakis has played professionally in both Italy and Greece and will be competing in her first Olympics.
Staley, who will be participating in her third Olympic Games, is seeking her third gold medal. Should the U.S. capture the gold in Athens, Staley will become one of only three women in U.S. history to earn three consecutive Olympic gold medals in women's basketball (current teammates Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoopes are the other two). Dubbed simply "The leader" by U.S. teammate Yolanda Griffin, Staley already has an unrivaled legacy as a player at every level. Following the Olympics she will resume her "summer job" as a point guard for the WNBA's Charlotte Sting as the season has been suspended during the Summer Games. She currently ranks third on the team in scoring (8.1 ppg.) and tops the Sting in assists (4.3 apg.).
The U.S. team's first Olympic game will be against New Zealand on August 14, but on August 5, they will play an exhibition game against a team comprised of WNBA players in New York's Radio City Music Hall. Greece will also tip-off in its first Olympic contest on August 14 against Russia.
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