Temple University Athletics
Temple Women's Basketball Holds Off Ball State For 78-73 Victory
12.22.08 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2008
Muncie, Ind.- Down by two points at the break, the Temple womens basketball team (6-4) used a 28-point swing in the final 12 minutes of the game to earn a hard fought 78-73 victory over Ball State (6-4) on Monday night in Muncie, Indiana. Freshman Kristen McCarthy netted 11 of her career-high 15 points during that stretch to allow Temple to improve to 11-2 against Mid-American Conference teams.
Shenita Landry led the Owls with 16 points before fouling out in the final minute of action, while Shanea Cotton had 12 points and a team-high seven boards. Shaqwedia Wallace posted 10 points and six boards.
Temple struggled to make shots for most of the first half, earning many of its 30 points from the free throw line. The Owl defense was able to keep it close and allow the offense to catch up and finish the stanza with a 40% shooting clip. The Cherry and White were much more successful in the second half, making 53% of its shots to finish with a 47.4% percentage. The teams both grabbed 34 rebounds
Neither team was able to score on its first couple trips down the floor, thanks to two straight turnovers a piece. Wallace got the Owls on the board at 18:21 but the Cardinals answered with an 8-0 run to take an early 9-2 lead. Eaddy finally broke the four minute Temple scoring drought with a jumper at 14:10 and began an 8-2 TU run to make it 12-10 with just under 11 minutes to play. The lead was short-lived, however, as Ball State got back to work and built a 19-14 lead with just over nine minutes remaining. Temple refused to quit on defense however, and were able to steal points at the free throw line, tying the game at 20 with 6:39 left to play. Eaddy drove the lane to give Temple a 22-20 lead and the Owls kept plugging away to increase their lead to as many as four points (28-24) at 2:34. TU failed to score for the final two minutes of the contest, however, allowing Ball State to take a 32-30 lead at halftime.
Ball State increased its lead with a 5-0 run to begin the second half, making it 37-30 just a minute into the half. Shanea Cotton finally got Temple on the second half board with a lay-up at 18:55 but the Owls quickly were bogged down by fouls and found themselves continuing to play catch-up. A Wallace jumper got TU within one (43-42) at 15:17 and two free throws by Cotton put the visitors on top by one just 30 seconds later. Those free throws proved to be a part of a nine point swing for Temple over the next two and a half minutes, giving the Owls a five point lead. The Cardinals refused to go away quietly, however, cutting the lead to just one point on two occasions before the Owls put together a 9-0 run to make it 66-56 with five minutes remaining. Kristen McCarthy was on fire during that stretch, scoring nine points. The Cardinals continued to push but were only able to get as close as five points, 78-73, the final result.
Emily Maggart totaled a game-high 22 points to lead the Cardinals, while Porcia Green had a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. Audrey McDonald rounded out double figure scorers with 12 points. Kiley Jarrett dished 12 assists.
Temple continues its road trip, traveling to Tulane for a game on Sunday, December 28 at 5 p.m.
