Temple University Athletics
HAIRSTON'S BANNER DAY GIVES #24/25 OWLS 14TH STRAIGHT WIN, 64-62, OVER XAVIER
1.30.05 | Women's Basketball
-- Chants of Kamesha could be heard as the buzzer sounded, signifying the end of #24/25 Temple's nail biter against Xavier on Sunday afternoon. Kamesha Hairston earned every last cheer as the sophomore poured in a career-high 31 points and hit a last second shot to lead the Owls over the Musketeers, 64-62. Hairston tied her career-high of 16 points in the first half, going eight-for-nine from the field. Candice Dupree chipped in with 17 points and three blocks. Today's win allowed the Owls (17-3, 9-0 A-10) to stay undefeated in A-10 play and continue their 14-game winning streak. Coming into today's game, Temple and Xavier (13-6, 7-1 A-10) were the only two teams that were still undefeated in conference play.
Temple struggled a bit in the first half, allowing the Musketeers to take a slight lead in the opening minutes. Tara Boothe started off the scoring for Xavier with a driving lay-up at 19:45. Cynthia Jordan answered with a lay-up just ten seconds later to tie the game at two. It looked as if this game would be just like all the rest, with Jordan and Dupree teaming up to score a majority of the Owls' points. However, both failed to make most of their shots and Dupree hit just two of eight attempted baskets in the half. As the rest of her team began to struggle, Hairston stepped in and scored 12 straight points to keep the Owls competitive with the Musketeers. Hairston's final basket of that stretch cut Xavier's lead to just two with just over nine minutes remaining. Dupree finally got on the board with a lay-up at 8:40 to tie the game at 16. It seemed to be just the confidence booster that Dupree needed, as she scored six more points to allow Temple to take the lead. Ari Moore, who was 0-8 at this point, hit a jumper with 1:12 remaining to give TU a 29-24 advantage at halftime.
The second half was the kind of half that basketball fans dream of. The score was tied seven different times and when one team had a lead, it was by no more than one possession. Though each minute was more exciting than the next, it was the final three minutes that were the most action-packed. Hairston hit a three-pointer at 2:56 to put Temple up 56-55. Miranda Green answered with a lay-up (57-56) and Suntana Granderson added another at 2:22 to make it 59-56. Dupree hit two foul shots to put Temple within one point at 1:11. Hairston earned her fifth steal on Xavier's next possession and ran down the court for a lay-up to make it 60-59 with 46 seconds remaining. Kristy Wallner gave the Musketeers a two-point advantage (62-60) with 30 seconds left after converting a three-point play. Hairston hit a jumper to tie the score at 62 with 16 seconds remaining. As the Musketeers came down the court, the Owls set up their now infamous defense, knowing that they had to get a stop in order to win the game. As the shot went up, Dupree jumped into the air and blocked the ball, giving the Owls possession with just five seconds remaining. Moore was chosen to inbound the ball and when she couldn't get it to Jordan, decided to send a hail mary pass down the court where Dupree was waiting. As the triple team closed in, Dupree saw Hairston unguarded in front of the basket and passed it out to the sophomore who put up the winning shot at the buzzer.
Hairston added a career-high five steals and eight rebounds to her made-for-television performance. She missed just four shots the entire game, going 15-19 from the field. Dupree grabbed seven boards, while Jordan scored nine points and earned four steals.
Booth scored 18 points to lead four Musketeers in double figures. Green and Wallner added 13 points a piece, while Granderson had 11 points and three steals.
Temple is off until next Sunday, when it travels to Duquesne for a game at 2 p.m.
