Temple University Athletics
Temple Women's Basketball Opens Up Conference Play With A 58-53 Win At Saint Joseph's
1.11.09 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 11, 2009
PHILADELPHIA- Shenita Landry and Shaqwedia Wallace combined to sink three free throws in the final 30 seconds of the game to give the Temple womens basketball team a 58-53 win over Saint Josephs on Sunday. The Owls improve to 9-5 overall, 1-0 in the Atlantic 10, and are in a three-way tie for first in the Big Five, posting a 2-1 record in city play.
Landry led all scorers with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Wallace scored 13. LaKeisha Eaddy had 12 points and dished four assists. Temple out-rebounded the Hawks, 39-24.
The first half was extremely tight, as it featured eight ties and four lead changes. Both teams shot well, with the Hawks making 58.3% of their attempts and Temple sinking 50%. Temple was led by Landry, who had 11 first-half points. The second half continued to be tight, but Temples defense proved to be the difference, forcing the Hawks to go scoreless for long periods of time.
Brittany Ford was the entire offense for Saint Joes in the first five minutes of the game, scoring all five points to keep pace with the Owls. Temple struggled to put points on the board in the opening minutes, but its stellar defense allowed for a tie game (5-5) by the 15 minute mark. The game remained tight for the next few minutes, with neither team able to get more than two points ahead of the other. A 7-1 TU run gave the Owls an 18-13 lead at the 11 minute mark, the largest advantage of the contest. The Hawks came storming back, however, to tie the game at 23 with just over seven minutes to play. Three straight Temple turnovers allowed Saint Josephs to regain the lead, making it a 28-25 game with five and a half minutes to play. Temple wasn't down for long, and a Landry lay-up tied the game at 31 with just under two minutes to play. With the game tied at 33 with just over six seconds left to play, the Hawks sank a jumper at the buzzer to take a 35-33 lead going into halftime.
Neither team was able to score on its first two trips down the floor but Lindsay Kimmel finally got the Owls going with a three-pointer at 18:05 to make it 36-35. The teams traded the lead for the next few minutes until a 4-0 Saint Josephs run gave the Hawks a 44-40 advantage with just over 14 minutes to play. Eaddy finally broke the four and a half minute scoring drought with a driving lay-up at 11:55 and sparked a 11-2 run to give the Owls a 51-46 lead with seven and a half minutes to play. Saint Josephs continued to struggle from the floor, suffering long scoreless stretches, allowing the Owls to enjoy a 54-48 lead with just over five minutes to play. Just when it seemed that Temple was on its way to victory, the Owls committed four straight turnovers, allowing the Hawks to make it a one-point game (54-53) with a minute and a half remaining. The score remained unchanged for the next minute, until Wallace sank two free throws with 31.6 seconds left to make it a three-point game (56-53). Landry iced two free throws with 2.3 seconds left to give the Owls the 58-53 win.
Ford led the Hawks with 11 points, while Jenna Loschaivo contributed 10 points.
Temple returns to the Liacouras Center for the first time in a month, hosting the Rhode Island Rams on Wednesday, January 14 at noon.
