Temple University Athletics
Staley's Owls Fall Short at Virginia, 71-65
11.29.06 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 29, 2006
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - Despite a 30-point performance by senior captain Kamesha Hairston, including 22 in the first half, Temple could not hold off a second-half charge by the Virginia Cavaliers and fell, 71-65, Wednesday night. The loss spoiled the return of head coach Dawn Staley, who was a three-time All-American and two-time National Player of the Year ('91, '92) at Virginia. Hairston finished with a double-double, adding 12 rebounds and four steals. Temple falls to 3-2, while Virginia improves to 5-2.
Hairston got the Cherry and White started, scoring 10 points, including six in a row, in the first nine minutes of the game. Monica Wright and the Cavaliers stayed right with her, keeping the score tied for the first six minutes of the half. A 6-0 Temple run gave the Owls the lead (17-14) with 11:14 to play. TU increased its lead to as much as five points, but five straight turnovers allowed the Cavaliers to take a 24-21 advantage at 7:21. The evenly matched teams continued to battle, trading the lead for the remainder of the half. A six-point Hairston run to end the half gave the Owls a 39-33 lead. Temple shot a blistering 61.5% from the field, as compared to Virginia's 35%, but committed 11 team turnovers.
Shenita Landry scored first for Temple to make it 41-35 but two straight Temple turnovers and an 11-4 run, sparked by seven points from Sharnee Zoll put Virginia on top, 46-43, with 16:15 to play. A Landry lay-up tied the game at 46 with 15:18 to play but a 5-0 Virginia run made it 51-46 just two minutes later. Temple began to fight, but wasn't able to get any closer than one point until two free throws by Hairston at 6:51 tied the score again at 55. The tie was short-lived however, as the Cavs went on a 4-0 run to make it 59-55 at 5:50. A Fatima Maddox lay-up at the four-minute mark tied the game at 61 and a free throw by Landry put Temple on top for the first time since the opening minutes of the stanza, but the Owls began to tire and the Wahoos rattled off a 8-0 run to make it 69-62 with under a minute to play. Maddox hit a trey with 17 seconds remaining, cutting Virginia's lead to four (69-65) but it was too late, as the Cavaliers took the game, 71-65.
Temple finished with a 44.4% shooting percentage, thanks to making just 29% of its shots in the second stanza. The Owls also committed 19 turnovers, which didn't help the cause. Landry added a career-high 14 points, thanks to an eight-of-12 performance at the charity stripe, while Maddox chipped in with 11. LaKeisha Eaddy dished five assists on the evening.
Monica Wright led Virginia with 26 points, 16 of which came in the second stanza. Lyndra Littles had 18 points and Zoll finished with eight assists and 12 points.
Temple continues its ACC road trip with a game at NC State on Saturday at 2 p.m.
