Temple University Athletics
Temple Upsets #13 Xavier, 74-65
2.25.09 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2009
PHILADELPHIA - Head coach Tonya Cardoza became the first coach in Temple women's basketball history to upset a ranked team during her inaugural season as her Owls claimed a 74-65 win over No. 13 Xavier in Atlantic 10 Conference action in the home finale on Wednesday evening at the Liacouras Center.
The win marked TU's 21st consecutive home win in A-10 play while snapping the Musketeers' 15-game win streak and handing them their first loss in conference play this season.
"It was big, because it keeps us alive," Cardoza said. "We played three of the top four teams in the league and held our own. We put ourselves in good position for postseason play."
The Owls improved to 19-8 overall and 10-3 in the Atlantic 10, while the Musketeers fell to 24-5 overall and 12-1 in A-10 play. Playing before the home crowd for the final time, TU seniors Shanea Cotton and Shenita Landry were honored during a pregame ceremony.
"Give credit to Temple," Xavier head coach Kevin McGuff said. "They played really hard and deserved to win."
Temple struck first as freshman Kristen McCarthy nailed a three-point basket. XU quickly tied the game before the Owls made two additional treys, one by Cotton and one by junior LaKeisha Eaddy. The Musketeers only led once in the game, 8-6. Temple utilized a 10-2 run to pull ahead by nine, 24-15. The Owls pushed their lead to as many as 16 points before entering the locker room at halftime with a 39-25 advantage. TU finished with six three-pointers in the first half alone.
In the second half, Xavier opened with a 13-4 run to come within five points, 43-38, but that's as close as XU would get. Temple responded with three treys from sophomore Lindsay Kimmel to go ahead by 12 points, 59-47. But Xavier cut the lead to six, 70-64 with 51 seconds to go. Sophomore Shaqwedia Wallace then made four straight free throws to seal the win. The student section stormed the court in celebration.
"Lindsay came in and knocked down critical threes when we needed it," Cardoza said. "For the younger players, it was good to be in this type of game and know that you can win this type of game."
Wallace led the Temple scorers with 18 points off the bench. Landry followed with 14 points, while Eaddy had 12 points and five assists which move her to No. 5 on TU's career assists chart with 356 assists.
Special Jennings led Xavier with 14 points. Jerri Taylor added 13 points, and Ta'Shia Phillips had 10 points. April Phillips finished with nine points and a game-high 10 boards.
"Our lack of defense and intensity on the glass," McGuff said were XU's downfall. "Temple played hard and played well. They were the aggressors. They hustled."
Overall, Xavier out-rebounded Temple, 41-35. Temple shot 43 percent (24-56) from the field, while the Musketeers shot 36 percent (21-59). The Owls went 85 percent from the free throw line (17-20), while XU shot 69 percent (18-26).
"I thought about the Rutgers game at halftime," Cardoza shared, "And I said we're not going to let this one slip away."
Temple travels to George Washington (17-11, 9-4 A-10) on Sunday, March 1. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. The game will be televised by CBS College Sports.
"It's a must-win game for if we want to go to postseason play," Cardoza said.
