Temple University Athletics
Temple Escapes Drexel, 61-50, Behind 18 Points From Hairston
11.17.06 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 17, 2006
Philadelphia- After building a 15-point halftime lead, the Temple women's basketball team narrowly escaped a season opening loss at Drexel, 61-50, on Friday night at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. The Dragons took a one-point lead with just over two minutes to play but a 13-1 Temple run and three huge blocks by freshman Jasmine Stone down the stretch allowed Temple to improve to 1-0 and 6-1 in season openers under Dawn Staley. Kamesha Hairston led the Owls with 18 points, 14 of which came in the first half, while Stone finished with 13 rebounds, nine points and five blocks.
The Owls were on the fire in the first half, shooting a blistering 56% from the field and earning a 20-12 advantage on the boards. TU jumped out to a 4-0 lead, holding the Dragons scoreless until 18:11. Jen Stjarnstrom got Drexel on the board with a jumper but Temple continued to dominate, thanks to eight straight points by Hairston, and with just under 15 minutes to go, Temple was on top 12-4. The Dragons struggled to hit shots, allowing the Owls to continue to build their lead, which swelled to as much as 15 by the two minute mark. Temple wasn't perfect, however, as the Owls committed seven turnovers in the final six minutes of the half.
The second half was a much different story. Temple fell apart and, thanks to early foul trouble, nagging turnovers and torrid shooting, saw its once strong lead whittle down to just four points. Temple just couldn't seem to hit a shot and by the six minute mark, the struggling squad had made just four field goals. Gabriela Marginean hit a jumper with four minutes to play to make it 46-44 and a trey by Allison Lupiello put the Dragons, who had never led, ahead by one point (49-48) with 2:15 to play. Hairston, who couldn't have picked a better time to exercise her leadership skills, fought hard for a lay-up to put Temple back on top, 50-49 with 1:55 remaining. The senior captain sparked a 13-1 run to allow Temple to escape with the win. It wasn't without a little help from her young friends, however. Stone's three big blocks in the final minute and a half forced a desperate Dragon squad to put Fatima Maddox on the line. Maddox delivered and sank six free throws in the waining seconds for the 61-50 result.
Maddox finished with 10 points, three steals and four assists, while LaKeisha Eaddy led TU with four steals and four assists. Marginean had a double-double for Drexel with 18 points and 11 boards, while Narissa Suber tallied 12 points. Temple returns to the Liacouras Center on Monday for its home opener against Georgia Tech at 7 p.m.
