Temple University Athletics
Morris Schools Charlotte on Staley School Day
2.6.08 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 6, 2008
PHILADELPHIA - Senior Ashley Morris and junior Shanea Cotton put on quite a show for the thousands of local children on hand for Dawn Staley Day, as both netted career highs to lead the Temple women's basketball team to a 66-53 victory over Atlantic 10 rival Charlotte (14-10, 5-3) on Wednesday from the Liacouras Center.
Morris netted a career-high 32 points behind seven three-pointers. She was nearly unstoppable in the second half for the Cherry and White ( 14-10, 7-1), where she scored 25 of her 32 points, including all seven three-pointers. Morris also added five assists and three rebounds. Cotton posted a career-high 16 points and just missed her second career double-double with nine rebounds. Cotton did most her damage in the first half, where she scored 13 of her 16 points. Junior Shenita Landry also played a big roll in the victory, scoring seven points and pulling down nine rebounds.
"Both played like they didn't want to lose," said head coach Dawn Staley about the performances of Morris and Cotton. "The played liked they knew that we needed to separate ourselves from some of the other teams in our conference. They were really exceptional today."
The win the is seventh straight for the Cherry and White, all of which have been Atlantic 10 conference games. The win also sets up a showdown this weekend at Xavier, who also sits atop the conference standings with a 6-1 conference mark.
A large crowd of local children were on hand for the Sixth Annual Dawn Staley School Day, which invites local children to learn about the importance of literacy. The Owls improve to 6-0 on Dawn Staley School Days.
The first half was all about Cotton. With many Owls struggling to find their stroke early on, her 13 first-half points held off an eager 49ers squad. After a back-and-forth first half, the Owls took a 30-26 lead into the locker room.
It was a tough, hard fought conference game throughout the second half. Up 30-26 to start the second half, the Owls created some separation by starting the half off with a 9-2 run, increasing the lead to 39-30. But the balanced scoring attack of the 49ers crawled their way back into the contest. A free-throw by Charlotte's Danielle Burgin made it a 46-44 game. That's when Morris caught fire. She would score 14 of the Owls next 17 points to lead a 17-4 run for the Cherry and White. Her three-pointer with 5:59 remaining made the score 60-48, essentially icing the game for the Owls.
The Owls are back in action on Saturday, when they travel to Xavier (16-6, 6-1) in a battle for first place in the Atlantic 10. Action is slated to begin at 6:00 p.m.
