Temple University Athletics
Women's Basketball Wraps Up The 2008-09 Regular Season With Crucial Game At George Washington
2.27.09 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 27, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C.- The Temple women's basketball team (19-8, 10-3 A-10) wraps ups the regular season with a trip to Atlantic 10 rival George Washington (17-11, 9-4 A-10) on Sunday at 1 p.m.. Fresh off their big win over #13 Xavier, the Owls are looking to lock up their seeding for the A-10 Tournament March 6-9 in Charlotte. Sunday's game can be seen live on CBS College Sports Television.
Series Record
This is the 48th meeting between Temple and George Washington with GW leading the series, 28-19. The teams last played on January 19, 2008 and Temple edged the Colonials, 68-66.
It's Anybody's Game
With just one regular season game to go, the Atlantic 10 race is really heating up. Xavier has locked up first place with a 12-1 A-10 record, Charlotte is second with a 10-3 mark, Temple is third with a 10-3 record and George Washington is fourth at 9-4. A Temple win and a Charlotte loss today would put the Owls tied for second but the Cherry and White would be seeded second due to a win over Charlotte earlier in the year. A Temple win and a Charlotte win would put the Owls in third place and a Temple loss would leave TU in fourth place.
Scouting the Owls
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 # 13 Xavier on Wednesday. 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. Shaqwedia Wallace led the Temple scorers with 18 points off the bench. Shenita Landry followed with 14 points, while LaKeisha Eaddy had 12 points and five assists which moves her to No. 5 on TU's career assists chart with 356 helpers. Xavier led only once in the game, 8-6, before Temple pushed its 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.
Landry leads four Owls in double figures with 12.5 ppg and a team-high 9.3 rpg, while Wallace is second with 11.7 ppg. Shanea Cotton is third with 11.4 ppg and Eaddy is last with 11.1 ppg and has dished a team-high 146 assists thus far this season.
Scouting the Colonials
Yolanda Lavender's potential overtime-inducing layup was waived off for failing to beat the final buzzer as George Washington fell at Charlotte, 59-57, Wednesday. GW rebounded Ashley Spriggs' missed free throw with 5.4 seconds left and pushed to midcourt to call timeout with 3.6 seconds remaining. Lavender took the inbounds in the backcourt, drove deep into the lane and banked-in a running floater as time expired. However, officials called off the basket because Lavender didn't release the shot until after the buzzer. Jessica Adair led GW with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, followed by senior Antelia Parrish's 10 points and game-high eight rebounds. Lavender finished with eight points and five assists.
Adair leads three Colonials in double figures with 13.3 ppg and 7.4 rpg, whileParrish is second with 11.2 ppg. Lavender rounds out the double figure scorers with 10.3 ppg.
Streak Breakers
With Wednesday's upset of #13 Xavier, Temple broke the Musketeer's 15-game winning streak and handed them their first A-10 loss. The victory also perserved Temple's record of being the only team in A-10 history to go undefeated in regular season play and win the Conference tournament. TU is on a bit of a run of its own, having won eight of its last nine games.
The Only One of Her Kind
After leading the Owls to an upset of #13 Xavier (2/25), Tonya Cardoza became the first coach in Temple women's basketball history to defeat a ranked team in her first season.
The Kimmel Center
Temple sharpshooter Lindsay Kimmel made her presence known in the game vs. #13 Xavier, hitting three huge second-half treys to keep the Musketeers at bay and put the Owls ahead by 12 points.
