Temple University Athletics
Women's Basketball Looks To Make History At LaSalle On Saturday
2.1.08 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 1, 2008
PHILADELPHIA-The Temple women's basketball team (12-10, 5-1 A-10, 3-0 B5) is looking to continue its historic Big Five run when it travels to LaSalle (9-12, 1-5 A-10, 1-1 B5) on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Owls, who have already won a record-setting 17 consecutive city series game, hope to become the first team in history to win four straight Big Five crowns. TU is also currently riding a five-game winning streak.
Series Record
This is the 36th meeting between the Temple Owls and the LaSalle Explorers. LaSalle leads the series, 20-15, but Temple has won the last nine meetings. The teams last played on February 12, 2007, when Temple defeated LaSalle, 68-55.
Queen of the City
Ashley Morris was named the Big Five Player of the Week for the week ending Jan. 27. This is the second Big Five honor for Morris this season. She had a tremendous performance in games at Richmond and URI. Against the Spiders, the 5-5 guard scored 22 points, including 17 in the second half, to help TU to a come from behind win. She also led the Owls in scoring in their 48-34 victory over URI with nine points and a game-high five assists.
Temple Ties
Explorer Assistant Coach Stacey Smalls is quite familiar with Dawn Staley and the Temple squad. Smalls was an All-Atlantic 10 point guard from 1999-2003, leading TU in assists every single year of her career. She finished with 359 career assists, the fourth best total in Cherry and White history.
Last Time Out
Lady Comfort nailed two free throws with six-tenths of a second remaining to give Temple women's basketball its fifth consecutive win, 17th consecutive win in Big 5 play and a share of the 2008 title, with a 70-67 victory over Saint Joseph's on Wednesday. Comfort finished with a game-high 24 points, including a career-best 12-of-13 from the line. Ashley Morris followed with 14 points and five assists, while LaKeish Eaddy had 12 points. Shenita Landry grabbed a career-high six steals.
Morris leads Temple in scoring and assists, averaging 14.2 ppg and dishing 84 assists. Comfort is averaging 9.2 ppg and a team-high 8.0 rpg. Eaddy has a team-high 37 steals, while Landry is contributing a solid 21 blocks, 25 steals performance.
La Salle dropped its fifth Atlantic 10 Conference game of the season as the Charlotte 49ers took a 74-52 decision Wednesday. Two scoreless droughts by the Explorers of four minutes in the first half helped the 49ers jump out to a 21-5 lead just nine minutes into the contest, and they kept La Salle at a distance the rest of the game. Margaret Elderton led the Explorers with 14 points - her 10th game in double figures in the last 12 - as Morgan Robertson chipped in 11, and Carlene Hightower grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds to go with nine points.
Hightower leads two Explorers in double figures with 16.2 ppg, and a team-high 6.5 rpg. Jamie Walsh is second with 10.3 ppg and a team-high 53 assists. Hightower also leads the squad in blocks (10) and steals (37).
