Temple University Athletics
Temple Falls to No. 15 Rutgers, 64-60
12.1.08 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 1, 2008
PHILADELPHIA - Temple women's basketball held an 11-point lead over No. 15/11 Rutgers at halftime, but the Owls couldn't hang on for the upset, falling by just four, 64-60 on Monday night at the Liacouras Center.
The Owls stand 3-2 on the season, while the Scarlet Knights improved to 3-2.
"We knew Rutgers wasn't going to roll over and die," said first-year Temple head coach Tonya Cardoza. "We knew they'd make a run."
Temple opened the game with a 7-1 run with senior Shanea Cotton scoring all seven Owl points. TU took advantage of Rutgers' poor shooting (31 percent) and turnovers (12) with its tenacious defense, building its lead over the nationally ranked opponent to 15 points before intermission. Cotton finished the stanza with 11 points.
The fiery Scarlet Knights, who entered their third consecutive road game with two losses, bolted out of the locker room en route to a 12-2 run. RU didn't get its first lead of the game until junior Epiphanny Prince converted two of her 12 second-half free throws with 10:44 remaining in the game. Temple tied the game twice over the next two minutes, but Rutgers continued to build upon its lead, going ahead by as many as seven with 1:21 to go. The Owls didn't give up as sophomore Lindsay Kimmel nailed back-to-back three-point buckets, cutting the score to two, 62-60 with five second to go. Prince made good on a pair of free throws to seal the win for the Scarlet Knights.
"We were lucky to win the game," said Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer. "Temple came at us well, and we didn't do as well as I would have liked. Temple played hard and with intensity."
Cotton led the Owls with a career-high 18 points. Senior Shenita Landry followed with 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Junior LaKeisha Eaddy and Kimmel finished with nine points each.
"The plan for us was to execute our plays," Cotton said. "We didn't get the ball I the paint in the second half as much as we did in the first half."
Prince was the Knights' scoring leader, finishing with 25 points, including 13-of-14 from the charity stripe. Brittany Ray and Kia Vaughn followed with 10 points each.
"I don't like moral victories," Cardoza said about the Owls' two games against ranked opponents. "In both games we hurt ourselves. We've proven we can play with Top 25 programs. It's about time we knock one of them off."
Temple continues its five-game homestand on Wednesday, Dec. 3 when the Owls host Dartmouth at 5:30 p.m. at the Liacouras Center. The game is the first of a doubleheader with the Temple men's team which hosts Miami (Ohio) at 7:30 p.m.
