Temple University Athletics
Women's Basketball Advances To Atlantic 10 Final With 56-51 Win Over Dayton
3.9.08 | Women's Basketball
March 9, 2008
PHILADELPHIA- The top-seeded Temple women's basketball team (21-11) survived a pesky Dayton Flyer team (25-8), 56-51, to advance to its seventh Atlantic 10 championship game. After a deadlocked tie at halftime, the Owls held the Flyers without a point for over eight minutes in the second half but Dayton came alive in the waning moments, nearly denying the Cherry White a trip to Monday's final. Temple will face Xavier, who defeated George Washington in the second semifinal, on ESPN2 at 5 p.m.
Ashley Morris and Lindsay Kimmel posted nearly an identical performance from their quarterfinal game, with Morris tallying 14 points and seven assists and Kimmel chipping in with 12. Lady Comfort earned her seventh double-double of the season with10 points and 11 rebounds, 10 of which were defensive.
Despite long scoring lapses, the Flyers finished with a 40% shooting percentage to Temple's 38.6%. The Owls continued to be a strong presence in the paint, earning a 41-32 rebounding edge.
Temple raced out to a 7-1 lead, holding the Flyers without a field goal for nearly three minutes. Dayton wasn't down for long, however, as they put together a 6-2 run to tie the game at nine with just under 15 minutes to play. The Owls desperately tried to separate themselves yet again, thanks to four straight points by Shenita Landry but Dayton refused to back down. A Brittany Holterman jumper gave Dayton its first lead (17-15) with 10:50 remaining but LaKeisha Eaddy answered to tie the game yet again. The game remained tight for the remainder of the half, with the score either tied or just two points apart. The Owls had various chances to pull away but kept turning the ball over, resulting in a 28 all tie at the break.
Morris struck first in the second half but Dayton again responded to keep the game tied for the first five minutes. Kimmel and Morris combined for three straight treys to spark an 11-5 run and give the Owls a six point advantage, 43-37, at the 14 minute mark, the largest differential since the opening minutes of the game. That seemed to be the beginning of the end for Dayton, as fatigue began to set in and the Flyers went scoreless for over eight minutes. Temple took full advantage, increasing its lead to 13 points (54-41) with just under four minutes to go. Karah Cloxton's jumper at 3:30 ended Dayton's scoreless drought and began a 9-2 run in the final minutes of the game that nearly got the best of the top-seeded Owls. Comfort and Landry made one free throw each during that stretch but it proved to be enough as Temple walked away with the 56-51 win.
"When they made that run at the end, I wasn't worried at all," commented Morris. I knew that we would hold them off and pull through. In the past we couldn't do that but now we can."
Kiki Lund was the lone Flyer in double figures with 10 points.
Temple improves to 7-4 overall in A-10 semi-final games and 26-21 in the A-10 Tournament overall.
