Temple University Athletics
Women's Basketball Nearly Topples #8 Duke, 64-53
11.23.07 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 23, 2007
St. Thomas, USVI- Lady Comfort led three players in double figures with 15 points and 10 rebounds but it was not enough to overcome a poor shooting night as Temple fell, 64-53 to #8 Duke (5-0) on Friday night in the 2007 Paradise Jam. The Cherry and White got as close as three points with two and a half minutes remaining but could not finish. The Owls shot just 32.7% from the floor and just 56% from the free throw line as they drop to 1-3 and 0-2 against ranked teams this season. LaKeisha Eaddy had 11 points, while Shenita Landry finished with 10 points and seven boards.
The Cherry and White did manage to edge the Blue Devils in rebounding, grabbing 42 boards to Duke's 41. Carrem Gay posted a double-double for Duke (13 points, 12 boards), thanks to six points and nine rebounds in the second half. Chante Black scored 13 points, while Jasmine Thomas chipped in with 11.Temple's stifling defense caused Duke to struggle from the field in the first half, keeping the game tight throughout most of the stanza. The Owls weren't much better, causing the contest to be low-scoring and foul plagued. Shenita Landry got the scoring started for Temple with a driving lay-up at 19:07 but the Blue Devils answered with a basket by Joy Cheek to tie the game a minute later. Ashley Morris began a 3-0 Temple run that made it 5-3 at the 16 minute mark. Duke put together a run of its own to take a slight 7-5 lead but Temple continued to push and led 10-7 with 11 minutes to play. The teams traded the lead for the next few minutes, with neither able to get any short of offense going, due in part to the fact that each team was being whistled for a foul about every 30 seconds. By the 6:42 mark, the Blue Devils had already been whistled for 10 fouls. The tide soon turned, however, and the Owls sunk back into their bad turnover habit, committing three straight and allowing Duke put together a 10-0 run to take a 28-19 lead at 1:45. Lady Comfort gave Temple's its first basket in three minutes at 1:23 and Morris stole the ball to cut Duke's lead to five (28-23) at 1:12 but that would be the last field goal of the half for the Owls, as Duke put together a 4-0 run to end the ugly half with a 32-23 result. Duke managed to finish with a 50% shooting percentage to TU's 36%. Temple did perform well on the boards, earning a 21-19 advantage.
The Blue Devils began the second half much like they ended the second half, with three straight fouls. Eaddy made three straight free throws to begin the scoring and Comfort gave Temple its first field goal at 18:07 and Eaddy added one more to make it 34-30 at 17:30. Cheek got hot and scored four straight points to give Duke a six point cushion but Eaddy's first career three-pointer helped to make it a two point contest (38-36) at the 15 minute mark. Two free throws by Comfort at 14:19 tied the score at 38 but a 5-0 run by the Blue Devils put Duke up 43-38 at the 12 minute mark. Landry got the rebound off a missed Shanea Cotton and closed the gap to three points (43-40) at 11:53 but Wanisha Smith answered with a trey to spark a 5-0 Duke run and make it an eight point contest (48-40) with nine minutes to play. Over the next few minutes, both teams fought hard for possession but the Blue Devils continued to roll. Rookie Dawnnae Roberts couldn't have picked a better time to shine, as she hit two straight treys to get Temple within four, 55-51, with just under three minutes to play. Temple's full court pressure and two free throws by Comfort got the Owls with three points 56-53 at 2:30 but that would be the last points that TU would score, as Duke went on a 8-0 run to end the game with the 64-53 result. Ashley Morris dished a team-high three assists. The Owls will face #20 Purdue tomorrow night at 6 p.m. EST. Purdue fell to Duke in the teams' opening game, 53-41, on Thursday night.
