Temple University Athletics
Temple Women's Basketball Stopped By #5/11 Duke, 87-52
1.5.09 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 5, 2009
Durham, N.C.- Chante Black led four Blue Devils in double figures with 15 points as #5/11 Duke (12-1) defeated the Temple womens basketball team (8-5), 87-52, on Monday night in Durham. The Owls were able to keep it close in the first 10 minutes of the game but Dukes stifling full court pressure defense proved to be too much for the visitors. Shanea Cotton led all scorers with 18 points, 16 of which came in the second half.
Kristen McCarthy and Shaqwedia Wallace each had nine points, while Shenita Landry grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
Dukes pressure defense proved to be too much for Temple to handle, resulting in 18 first-half turnovers and just a 7-for-24 performance from the field. The Blue Devils shot 40.5%, while earning 12 steals, to take as much as a 27-point lead. The second half wasn't much better and Temple finished with 29 turnovers.
Neither team was able to score on their first few trips down the floor, resulting in a scoreless game for nearly four minutes. Cotton finally got Temple on the board with a jumper at 16:30 but then committed her second foul on the next possession, allowing the Blue Devils to tie the game with two free throws. Duke continued to come up empty handed from the field and it wasn't until a lay-up at 15:15 that the Blue Devils earned their first field goal. Despite their cold shooting, Dukes pressure defense was able to keep the Owls at bay, resulting in an 11-2 advantage by the 14 minute mark. BJ Williams finally gave TU its second field goal three minutes later to spark a 4-0 run that made it 13-8 at 11:30. That would be as close as Temple could get, however, as Dukes pressure defense forced 10 straight turnovers and a 21-2 run that gave the home team a 22 point advantage (32-10) by the eight minute mark. After allowing Dukes lead to swell to as many as 27 points, Temple put together a 7-0 run to get within 20 points (41-21) with just under three minutes to play. Duke wasn't finished yet, however, and was able to take a 47-22 lead going into halftime.
Temple continued to struggle in the second half, making just eight field goals and getting only as close as 25 points. Cotton was the lone bright spot for the Owls, scoring 16 of Temples 27 second half points, as the game finished with an 87-52 result.
Shay Shelby netted 14 points, while Joy Cheek scored 13 points. Jasmine Thomas chipped in with 11.
Temple returns home to Philadelphia to wrap up its six-game road trip and begin Atlantic 10 play at Saint Josephs on Sunday, January 11 at 2 p.m.
