Temple University Athletics
#16 WOMEN RUN THROUGH A-10 AND BIG 5 UNDEFEATED WITH 69-46 WIN OVER SAINT JOSEPH'S
2.27.05 | Women's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA-Temple (24-3, 16-0 A-10) finished an unforgettable regular season today, becoming just the fourth team in Atlantic 10 history to go undefeated in the A-10 with a resounding 69-46 win over the Saint Joseph's Hawks (6-22, 4-12 A-10). The 16th-ranked Owls extend their winning streak to 21 games and go into next week's A-10 tournament as the #1 overall seed. Today's win also crowned Temple the 2004-05 Big 5 champion, after the Owls went 4-0 through the city series.
Senior Ari Moore led three players in double figures, scoring 15 points off of 3-of-5 shooting from the long range. Moore also led TU in rebounding with five. Cynthia Jordan netted 13 points, while dishing four assists and Kamesha Hairston added 10 points and four steals. The Owls shot a stifling 52.8% from the field, which virtually every player on the Temple roster netting at least one point, and were able to capitalize on the Hawks' 20 turnovers.
Though the first half consisted of various stretches where neither team scored a basket, the Owls jumped out to an early 17-8 lead, thanks in part to two treys by Moore. Timisha Gomez sank a three-pointer at 11:24 to cut Temple's lead to six points and begin a 8-2 run that would put the Hawks within three points (19-16) with 5:46 remaining. That would be as close as Temple would allow SJU to come, as they opened up a 15 point lead to take a 38-23 advantage into the half. Play throughout the half was slow, due to 19 first-half fouls, 11 of which were charged to Temple. It was St. Joe's 8-of-10 performance from the charity stripe that allowed it to survive, as the team shot a meager 7-of-25 from the field.
The second half was all Temple as it extended its lead by as much as 24 points before Coach Staley cleared the entire bench.TU's bench not only kept the lead but actually extended it to 25 points for the 69-46 final. Senior Rachel Marcus scored her first collegiate basket and added two blocks to ensure the win.
Junior All-America candidate and defending A-10 Player of the Week Candice Dupree was held to just six points, all of which came in the second half, and four rebounds, totaling a season low for the Owls' leading scorer.
Temple travels to Washington, D.C. this weekend in the hopes of bringing home its third A-10 title in four years. The Owls will compete on Saturday, March 5 at 12 p.m. against the winner of the Saint Joe's/LaSalle game on Friday.
