Temple University Athletics
TEMPLE'S STALEY AND CHRISTOFORAKIS TO MEET IN OLYMPIC MEDAL ROUND
8.23.04 | Women's Basketball
ATHENS, GREECE (08/24/04) - Former Temple women's basketball player Athena Christoforakis will match-up against the Owls' current head women's basketball coach Dawn Staley in the Olympic medal round quarterfinals. Christoforakis' Greece team will play host to Staley's U.S. squad in Athens on August 25. Live coverage of the quarterfinals begins at 7:00 a.m. EDT on USA Network cable. Greece (2-3) advanced to the medal round by defeating Japan, 93-91, to earn the fourth seed in Group A while the United States (5-0) remained unbeaten with a 100-62 win over China.
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 is competing in her first Olympics.
Staley, who is 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). Staley, the reigning Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, 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.).
While the USA vs. Greece match-up should make great theater for Temple fans, U.S. coach Van Chancellor sees a danger for the heavily favored Americans in playing the host nation. "I really dread playing Greece," commented Chancellor. "To play them in front of about 15,000-20,000 people, at home, with everybody in the crowd pulling for them. To me we've got a tough bracket. Play them if we win this game we play the winner of Russia - Czech (Republic). So boy, is that tough. I hate to just play a team here at home, I really do. We got a few horses don't misunderstand me now, but I really hate to play them."
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 is competing in her first Olympics.
Staley, who is 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). Staley, the reigning Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, 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.).
While the USA vs. Greece match-up should make great theater for Temple fans, U.S. coach Van Chancellor sees a danger for the heavily favored Americans in playing the host nation. "I really dread playing Greece," commented Chancellor. "To play them in front of about 15,000-20,000 people, at home, with everybody in the crowd pulling for them. To me we've got a tough bracket. Play them if we win this game we play the winner of Russia - Czech (Republic). So boy, is that tough. I hate to just play a team here at home, I really do. We got a few horses don't misunderstand me now, but I really hate to play them."
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