Temple University Athletics
Temple Women's Basketball Ends 2008 With 75-71 Overtime Thriller At Tulane
12.28.08 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 28, 2008
New Orleans, La.-Lindsay Kimmel sank six three-pointers, including one in a crucial five point swing in extra time, to lead the Temple women's basketball team (7-4) to a 75-71 overtime victory at Tulane (8-4) on Sunday night. Kimmel finished with a career-high 18 points, while senior Shanea Cotton contributed a game-high 21 points and eight rebounds. Shenita Landry earned her fifth double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds to help the Owls earn their second straight victory. LaKeisha Eaddy earned her first career double-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and a team-high seven assists and six steals.
Tied at 66 with two and a half minutes remaining in overtime, Kimmel sank her sixth trey and Landry was fouled setting a screen, resulting in a five point swing that gave Temple a 71-66 lead. The Green Wave desperately tried to force a second overtime period but Landry came through in the clutch yet again, converting a three-point play to make it 74-70 with just 29 seconds left to play.
Perhaps it was the muggy weather. Or maybe it was the holiday hangover. Whatever the reason, Temple started it final game of 2008 with a horrid half of basket, committing 18 turnovers , 13 fouls and a litany of missed lay-ups, allowing Tulane to take a 36-29 lead at the break. Surprisingly, the Owls shot 46% from the field, thanks in large part to lethal three-point shooting by Lindsay Kimmel, who was three-for-three from long range. The Owls took better care of the ball in the second half, finishing with 26 turnovers but did not shoot as well, ending the game with a 42.9 shooting percentage.
Tulane jumped out to an early 8-0 lead, thanks to four straight Temple turnovers. Cotton finally got the Owls on the board with a free throw at 17:55 but it wasn't until 17:09 that the Cherry and White sank its first field goal. Landry's jumper made it 8-3 and sparked a 4-0 run that made it a three point game, a differential that would hold for four minutes. Temple kept plugging away and eventually tied the game at 12 when Lindsay Kimmel sank a three-pointer at 12:30. Landry gave the Owls their first lead of the game, converting a three point play with just under 12 minutes to play but the lead was short-lived as the Green Wave forced six straight turnovers and went on a 6-0 run to make it 18-15 three minutes later. Landry broke the five minute Temple scoring drought with a basket at 7:41 and Kimmel added back-to-back threes to put TU back on top, 25-22. Tulane kept it close, however, resulting in a back and forth game for the remainder of the half. Temple began to fall apart in the last two minutes, committing five fouls and multiple turnovers and allowing the Green Wave to earn eight points from the free throw line to make it a 36-29 result at the break.
Cotton came out of the gate with a 5-0 run to cut Tulane's lead to two points (36-34) and hold the Green Wave without a field goal until the 18 minute mark. The game became very sloppy and physical over the next few minutes, with neither team able to convert much on offense. The squads eventually settled back into the back and forth game that characterized the first half, with the Green Wave holding a slight two-point edge. Cotton was repeatedly sent to the free throw line but had trouble converting, resulting in most of the offensive power coming from Kimmel's hot outside shooting. The sophomores fifth trey of the game put the Owls on top, 49-48 at 10:25 and sparked a 5-0 Temple run to give TU a 52-48 advantage with 10 minutes remaining. Tulane came roaring right back, however, with a 7-0 run to take a 55-51 lead at 8:19. The Owls then clamped down on defense, tying the game at 55 with five and a half minutes to play. The game remained tight for the remainder of the half, with the Owls making the Green Wave earn seven straight points from the free throw line. Down 62-60 with under a minute to go, Cotton sank a jumper with 34 seconds left to tie the game at 62 and keep Temple's victory hopes alive. Tulane held for the last shot but was not able to convert, sending the game into overtime.
Tulane struck first in the overtime period but Cotton answered with a lay-up to keep the game tied at 64. Unfortunately for the Owls, Cotton fouled out on the very next possession. Thankfully, Temple's guards were able to keep pace and Kimmel's sixth three-pointer at 2:29 resulted in not only the usual three points but two more from the free throw line by Landry, who was also fouled on the play. Tulane made it a three-point game (71-68) with a made jumper at 2:06. The Owls had a chance to increase their lead but missed four straight free throws, allowing the Green Wave to cut Temple's advantage to just one point (71-70) with 56.9 seconds remaining. Landry came through in a big way, converting a three-point play with 29 seconds left to give Temple a 74-70 lead. Tulane attempted to extend the game but Eaddy iced a free throw with five seconds left, allowing Temple to escape with the 75-71 victory.
Megan Valicevic led Tulane with 15 points, while Ashley Langford had 14 points. Brett Benzio rounded out double figure scorers with 10 points.
Temple returns to Philadelphia to kick off the new year on Friday, January 2 when it travels Penn. Tip off is set for 7 p.m.
