Temple University Athletics
Women's Basketball Hosts UMass In Regular Season Finale
2.28.08 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 28, 2008
PHILADELPHIA-Seniors Candice Borrows, Lady Comfort, Ashley Morris and Nicole Pittman hope to end their Liacouras Center career on a high note when the women's basketball team (18-11, 11-2) hosts UMass (13-15, 5-8 A-10) in its regular season finale on Saturday. Game time is set for 2 p.m. The Owls are currently tied for first place in the A-10 and a win would give them the A-10 regular season title as well as the top seed in the Conference tournament next weekend.
Series Record
This is the 45th meeting between the Temple Owls and the UMass Minutewomen. Temple leads the series, 26-18. The teams last played on January 18, 2007, when the Owls defeated UMass, 63-59.
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 Temple set program records in free throws made and attempted in a 77-66 win over the Billikens. The Owls 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. 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 TU. Comfort led Temple with eight rebounds, to aid in the 46-38 rebounding advantage.
Morris leads Temple in scoring and assists, averaging 15.3 ppg and dishing 118 assists. Comfort is averaging 9.4 ppg and a team-high 8.2 rpg. Landry is posting a solid defensive effort of 26 blocks and 33 steals but Eaddy is tops in thefts with 42.
Behind 22 points from Pam Rosanio and Alisha Tatham's first career double-double, UMass defeated St. Bonaventure, 70-50, on Wednesday. Tatham, playing in the final home game of her career, set career-highs in points (15) and rebounds (14), while Kate Mills added 10 points, seven assists, and a career-high eight blocks. The Minutewomen used a 24-2 run over eight minute span early in the second half to blow open a close game.
Mills leads two Minutewomen in double figures with 17.6 ppg and a team-high 6.9 rpg, while Rosanio is chipping in with 16.1 ppg. Sakera Young is tops in assists, dishing 102.
Against All Odds
Entering the 2007-8 season, Temple was picked to finish fourth in the Atlantic 10. Fast forward 29 games and the Owls are on the brink of becoming Conference regular season champions. If Temple and George Washington should both win today, the teams will be co-champions but the Owls will take the top seed in the 2008 A-10 Tournament because of a win against the Colonials on Jan. 19.
Let's Get Physical
Wednesday's game at Saint Louis was quite a physical affair. Temple went to the line a program record 55 times, blasting the old record of 41, which was last reached against Rutgers on Dec. 13, 2004. Against the Billikens, the Owls made 32-of-55, which was also a program record. In that same Rutgers game in 2004, the Cherry and White made 31 of the attempted 41.
Dominate in `08
Temple struggled to find its identity in the latter part of 2007 and early part of 2008. The Owls seemed to have gotten their mojo back, however, as the squad has won 11 of its last 12 games. Temple's lone loss during that stretch was a 64-55 battle at Xavier on Feb. 9.
