Temple University Athletics
Women's Basketball Travels To Illinois For Sunday Night Match Match-up
11.21.08 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 21, 2008
Champaigne, Ill.- The Temple women's basketball team (1-1) takes to the skies again when it travels to Illinois (3-0)for a Sunday night game against the Fighting Illini. Tip off is set for 8:30 p.m. EST and be streamed live and free of charge on bigtennetwork.com. This is the first meeting between the two schools.
Against the Big Ten
Temple is 3-7 all-time against the Big Ten, not including the years that Penn State was a part of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The last time the Owls defeated a Big Ten opponent was last season, when Temple knocked off then #22 Purdue, 61-47, in the Paradise Jam.
One of the Weekend's Best
Graham Hays of ESPN.com has billed the game as one of the contests to watch this weekend, as it features offspring from two of the nation's best programs. Temple head coach Tonya Cardoza spent 14 years under Geno Auriemma at UConn, while Illinois' Jolette Law learned from Rutger's coach Vivian Stringer, first as a player at Iowa and then later as an assistant with the Scarlet Knights.
Last Time Out
DeWanna Bonner netted 29 points to lead four players in double figures as #21/20 Auburn defeated Temple, 95-76, on Nov. 17. Down just 37-34 at the break, the Owls could not capitalize on a 50% shooting clip, thanks to 29 total turnovers. Shaqwedia Wallace netted a career-high 21 points and dished five assists to lead TU, while Shanea Cotton was also in double figures with 17 points and a team-high six rebounds. Shenita Landry came on strong in the second half, finishing with 13 points and six rebounds.The first half was extremely tight, as it featured nine ties and 11 lead changes. The Owls shot nearly 52% from the field but committed 16 turnovers to hinder their progress. The visitors were able to take care of the ball a little better in the second half but could not find an answer for Auburn's Alli Smalley, who netted 16 second-half points to lead her team to victory.
Wallace leads Temple in scoring and assists, averaging 17 ppg and dishing seven assists. Cotton is second with 14.5 ppg, while LaKeisha Eaddy is third with 12.5 ppg. Landry rounds out double figure scoring with 12 ppg and a team-high 11.5 rpg.
Illinois improved to 3-0 on the season with a 65-55 victory over border rival Missouri Wednesday night. Lacey Simpson led a balanced attack and equaled her career-high with 18 points and six steals in a game that featured seven ties and 10 lead changes. Illinois shot 52 percent in the second half and 44 percent for the game, while holding Missouri to just 35 percent from the field.
Jenna Smith leads the Illini in scoring, averaging 20.3 ppg, while Simpson is second with 16.3 ppg and a team-high 8.3 rpg.
Lucky #13
If Shaqwedia Wallace keeps playing like she has in the Owls' first two games, she will be a shoe-in for the Atlantic 10's Most Improved Player. The sophomore is averaging 17 ppg, including a .667 performance from long range. In the season opener against Bowling Green (11/14), she had 13 points and seven boards in 21 minutes but it was her performance against Auburn (11/17) that really turned heads. Wallace led Temple with a career-high 21 points, five assists, two steals and four rebounds. She was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line and made 3-of-5 from long range.
