Temple University Athletics
Temple Beats Dayton, 62-52, in Double-Header Opener
1.31.09 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 31, 2009
PHILADELPHIA - Temple women's basketball utilized balanced scoring to hold off a pesky Dayton team on Saturday afternoon for a 62-52 win at the Liacouras Center.
The Owls improved to 13-7 overall and 4-2 in the Atlantic 10, while the Flyers fell to 13-9 overall and 2-4 in A-10 play.
"We came out of the locker room really excited," TU head coach Tonya Cardoza said. "Once we stepped onto the court, we looked really tired. We put our subs in, and they did a good job."
Dayton jumped out to an eight-point lead, 10-2. The Flyers held the lead throughout the opening stanza, leading by as many as nine points twice. Temple diligently chipped away, utilizing a 10-0 run with less than three minutes left to take the lead. Junior point guard LaKeisha Eaddy nailed back-to-back three-point buckets to first tie the game then give the Owls their first lead. The teams were tied 32-32 at intermission.
"It was huge," Cardoza said of Eaddy's back-to-back threes. "It gave us the lead. When you get the lead, the mindset changes. We thrive off of that."
In the second half, the Owls went ahead by six, 41-35, before UD's Justine Raterman nailed a trey to come within one, 41-40. After a couple of traded baskets, Temple went on an 8-0 run over a four-minute span to go ahead by nine, 53-44 with 10:06 to go. TU pushed its lead to 12, on a three by freshman Kristen McCarthy, and held on for the double-digit victory.
Eaddy finished with 12 points. Senior Shanea Cotton and sophomore Shaqwedia Wallace came off the bench to score 12 points each. Sophomore Marli Bennett followed with 10 points, while senior Shenita Landry and McCarthy added eight points apiece. McCarthy also grabbed a game-high and career-high 10 rebounds.
"She's just so athletic," Cardoza said of McCarthy. "She sees the ball and goes and gets it. She's like Dennis Rodman."
Kristin Daugherty led Dayton with 15 points. Casey Nance followed with 14, while Raterman finished with 10.
"Dayton is a really good, young team," Cardoza said. "They have three freshmen that start."
Overall, Temple out-rebounded Dayton, 51-32. Temple committed 21 turnovers while forcing just 12.
Temple travels to Fordham on Wednesday, Feb. 4 for a Noon game during Rams' School Day activities.
