Temple University Athletics
Temple Women's Basketball Handles Central Michigan, 83-45, In 2007-08 Season Debut
11.12.07 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 12, 2007
PHILADELPHIA-Senior center Lady Comfort led three players in double figures with 16 points and eight rebounds as Temple (1-0) overwhelmed the visiting Central Michigan Chippewas (1-1), 83-45, on Monday night at the Liacouras Center. Senior Ashley Morris chipped in with 15 points, eight assists and no turnovers, while newcomer Lindsay Kimmel had 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting from behind the arc.
Junior transfer Shanea Cotton led all players with 12 rebounds, including 10 in the first half, and nearly missed a double-double, scoring nine points. The Owls dominated the boards, 51-21, and had 22 assists to the Chippewas' eight.
Temple took an early lead in the opening minutes of the game, denying CMU a field goal until a Kendra Holman trey at 17:06. The bucket sparked an 8-2 Chippewa run that give the visitors a 9-7 lead at 15:45. The teams traded the lead for the next few minutes until a 7-0 run and a four minute CMU scoring drought gave the Cherry and White the lead for good. Two free throws by Cotton began an 18-5 Temple run to close out the half and allow the Owls to walk into the locker room with a 38-20 advantage. Morris led all first-half scorers with nine points and the Owls shot an impressive 45.5% from the field.
Angel Chan began the second stanza with a field goal for the Chippewas to make it 38-22, but that would be as close as CMU could get, as the Owls just kept plugging away to the eventual 38-point (83-45) differential. TU shot an impressive 66.7% in the second half to finish the game shooting 55% from the field.
The Chippewas made just 15 field goals the entire game, thanks to Temple's stifling defense, and finished with a 27.8% shooting percentage. Chan lead CMU with 17 points, including 14 in the second half and Shonda Long contributed 10 points.
Dawn Staley, in her eighth season, is now 7-1 in home openers.
Temple next flies to Georgia this weekend, taking on #9 Georgia on Friday, November 16 and Georgia Tech on Sunday, November 18.
