Temple University Athletics
Temple Women's Basketball Has Record-Setting Night In Win At Saint Louis
2.27.08 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 27, 2008
SAINT LOUIS- Wednesday night was guaranteed to be a memorable evening at Saint Louis' Bauman-Eberhardt Center. It was after all, the final contest to be played in the historic building. It turned out to be a memorable night for a different reason, as the Temple women's basketball team set program records in free throws made and attempted in a 77-66 win over the Billikens (10-18, 5-8). The Owls (18-11, 11-2 A-10) went to the charity stripe a record 55 times, converting a record 32 attempts. Ashley Morris led all scorers with 22 points, while LaKeisha Eaddy had 20 points. Shenita Landry and Lady Comfort rounded out double figure scorers with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The game was played mostly at the free throw line, thanks to 57 fouls, 54 made shots and 92 attempted shots between the two teams. In fact, just 89 of the game's 154 total points came from the field.
The first half was extremely physical, with both teams being whistled for a combined 28 fouls. Temple went to the line a staggering 26 times, converting 15 for nearly half of its 36 total points, while the Billikens were 11-of-19 from the charity stripe. After 20 minutes of play, nine of the game's 10 starters were playing with at least two fouls. By the end of the contest, two Billikens had fouled out and four were playing with four fouls. Landry, Comfort, Eaddy and Shanea Cotton all finished the game with four fouls for Temple.
The Owls struggled in the first three minutes, going scoreless and allowing the Billikens to go on a 6-0 run for the early lead. Shanea Cotton finally got Temple on the board at 17:12 but SLU continued to roll and built a 14-7 advantage by 14:20. All five of TU's points came from the free throw line during that stretch. Morris finally gave Temple its second field goal of the game at 13:34 and sparked a 7-0 run to tie the game at 14 with 11 minutes remaining. The game remained tied for the next six minutes, with neither team able to hold the lead for more than one possession. The Billikens broke the stalemate at 6:29, putting together a 7-0 run to open up a 30-24 lead just two minutes later. Eaddy ended the TU scoring drought with a jumper at 3:52 and began a 7-0 run that put Temple back on top, 31-30. The game stayed tight for the remainder of the half, but a contested trey by Lindsay Kimmel with 23.5 seconds left allowed the Owls to take a 36-34 lead into the break.
Temple began the half with a turnover and a foul, allowing SLU to tie the game at 36 just a minute into the second stanza. Shenita Landry got the Owls on the second half board with a jumper at 18:46 but the Billikens refused to back down and answered to tie the game yet again. This all too familiar pattern continued for most of the half, that was until Temple turned up the defensive pressure. Eaddy made two free throws with 7:13 remaining, sparking a 12-0 run that gave Temple a 69-60 lead, its largest of the game. Lauren Woods converted two at the charity stripe for SLU's first points in over three minutes to make it a seven point game (69-62) with four minutes to play. The Owls had various chances to extend its lead to double digits but could not perform at the charity stripe. Thank goodness for the law of averages. With its 27th trip of the half, Eaddy made two free throws to make it a 10-point game. Though the Billikens continued to foul, the Owls prevailed with a 77-66 result.
Morris made 10-of-14 from the line, while Eaddy was 10-for-15. Comfort led Temple with eight rebounds, to aid in the 46-38 rebounding advantage.
Theresa Lisch led SLU with a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Maggie Hennegan had 15 points. Hayley Leake and Katie Paganelli chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Temple returns home for its final game of the regular season on Saturday when it hosts Massachusetts at 2 p.m. The contest will also mark the final Liacouras Center game for seniors Lady Comfort, Ashley Morris, Candice Borrows and Nicole Pittman. All four will be recognized in a pre-game ceremony.
