Temple Remains Unbeaten in A-10 With 63-59 Win At UMass

Jan. 18, 2007

Amherst, Mass.-Fatima Maddox scored 21 points and Kamesha Hairston added 19 more as Temple (14-4, 4-0 A-10) survived a tough Massachusetts (10-9, 0-4 A-10) squad, 63-59, on Thursday night at the Mullins Center.  Maddox was three-of-seven from long range and dished a team-high five assists to give the Owls their 10th straight win. 

Maddox sank a trey at 19:40, sparking a five minute run and giving Temple an early 12-2 lead.   Maddox was on fire in the opening minutes, scoring eight of TU's 12 points.  UMass' lone field goal during that stretch came from Kate Mills at 19:17.  Kim Benton finally broke the six minute scoring drought for the Minutewomen and the Tatham sisters added five more, using the Owls' five minute scoring drought to close the gap to just one point (12-11) at 10:18.  Hairston finally got Temple on the board again at 9:55 but UMass was able to keep pace, preserving the one-point game.  Maddox scored five straight points to give the Owls a bit of breathing room (21-15) by the six minute mark.  The Minutewomen refused to back down, however, and put together a 9-2 run to take a 26-25 lead with 2:09 remaining.  Hairston put TU ahead by one with a minute to go but a Tamara Tatham lay-up as time expired gave the UMass a 28-27 advantage going into halftime.  Maddox finished the half with 13 points, thanks to a three-of-five shooting performance from behind the arc.  

LaKeisha Eaddy got Temple started with a steal and a lay-up in the early seconds of the second stanza but the Minutewomen answered, allowing the teams to trade the lead for the next few minutes.  A three point play by Mills put UMass on top, forcing Temple to play catch-up.  Maddox answered with a three-point play of her own to make it 41-37 at 13:20.  Temple was able to stay on top of the tight game until a free throw by Sakera Young tied the game at 44 at 9:43.  The game continued to be deadlocked until a trey by Stefanie Gerardot at 6:42 put the Minutewomen back on top by one (51-50).  The tenacious Temple defense continued to put pressure on UMass, keeping the score tied yet again.  Hairston sank one free throw to make it 58-57 at 2:05 but Diatema Hill answered with a jumper to put UMass back on top.  As the clock wound down, the Owls patiently moved the ball around and Eaddy sank a jumper with 29 seconds to go to make it 62-59.  Hairston made the front end of a two-shot foul to make it 63-59 with 12 seconds remaining and the Owls were able to hold on for the win.

Lady Comfort grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and had a career-high four blocks to pace Temple's defense.  Eaddy added five assists, five rebounds and five points, while Shenita Landry gave an unbelievable defensive effort, diving for loose balls at every chance she could. 

Mills led UMass with 23 points and eight rebounds and Tamara Tatham had 18 to lead the Minutewomen.

Temple returns home to Philadelphia for the next month, beginning with a game against Rhode Island on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.  The game is the second half of a men's and women's doubleheader.

Temple University Athletics

Temple Remains Unbeaten in A-10 With 63-59 Win At UMass

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