Temple University Athletics
Temple Women's Basketball Tops Penn, 81-70 For Third Straight Win
1.2.09 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2009
Philadelphia, Pa.- Shenita Landry netted 19 points to lead five players in double figures in Temple's (8-4, 1-1 B5) 81-70 victory over Big Five opponent Penn (3-8, 0-3 B5) on Friday night. The Owls trailed for most of the contest, until a strong second half push by junior Ranecia Fields allowed the visitors to extend their lead to as many as 12 points. Fields had a career-high 18 points, including the 10 of TU's final 13 points of the game.
Shaqwedia Wallace finished with 16 points, 10 of which came in the first half, while BJ Williams and Shanea Cotton contributed 10 points apiece. Landry grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and Williams, Fields each dished three assists. Freshman Kristen McCarthy had a strong performance of seven points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
This is the first time since the 2005 Atlantic 10 Championship game that five players have scored in double figures.
The very physical game featured 48 fouls between the two teams, resulting in 44 points from the charity stripe. The Quakers failed to net a field goal for the final four minutes of the game, instead scoring its final 10 points from the free throw line. Penn also did most of its damage from the long range, going 10-for-21 from beyond the arc. Temple held a slight rebounding edge, grabbing 41 boards to Penn's 40.
Landry struck first in the first half but Penn answered with an 11-3 run to take an 11-5 lead just four and a half minutes into the game. Wallace finally broke the three minute field goal drought with a jumper at 15:20 to make it a four point game (11-7) but the Quakers continued to roll and took a 23-11 lead with just over 11 minutes to play. Hot three-point shooting gave the Quakers their largest lead of the game, 14 points, at 10:50. The Owls weren't finished yet however. Landry's jumper at the 10 minute mark sparked a 24-8 Temple run that put the Owls on top 36-34 with 10 seconds remaining. Just when it looked like the Owls were going to take a lead into halftime, Carrie Beamer sank a three-pointer just as time expired to give the Quakers a 37-36 advantage at the break.
The teams traded baskets to begin the second stanza, resulting in a tight first few minutes. With the score tied at 40, the Quakers put together a 6-0 run to make it 46-40 at 14:31. The Owls struggled to keep pace but refused to allow the Quakers to get ahead by more than seven points. Landry's jumper at 7:35 sparked a 9-0 Temple run to give the Owls a 63-59 lead at the five minute mark, their first since the waning seconds of the first half. The Owls continued to fight, led by a feisty Fields, and were able to build a 12-point lead (78-66) with 40 seconds remaining in the contest. Field made her ninth and 10th free throw with 12 seconds left for the 81-70 result.
Biemer finished with a game-high 21 points, while Kelly Scott chipped in with 19.
Temple continues it road stand on Monday, traveling to Durham, North Carolina to take on the sixth-ranked Duke Blue Devils at 7 p.m.
