Temple University Athletics
Temple Women's Basketball Locks Up Second Seed With 59-49 Win At George Washington
3.1.09 | Women's Basketball
March 1, 2009
WASHINGTON- Shenita Landry and Kristen McCarthy each scored 15 points to lead the Temple women's basketball team (20-8, 11-3 A-10) to a 59-49 win over the George Washington Colonials (17-12, 9-5 A-10) on Sunday afternoon in the teams' regular season finale. With the win, the Owls finish tied for second place in the Atlantic 10 with Charlotte but will be the #2 seed in the upcoming Atlantic 10 Tournament, thanks to a win over the 49ers during the season.
LaKeisha Eaddy chipped in with 13 points and game-highs of seven assists and five steals, while Landry had a game-high nine rebounds. The senior was also nearly perfect from the free throw line, sinking 9-of-10 attmepts. Jasmine Stone had one of the best games of her career, scoring 10 points, eight in the first half, and grabbing eight boards.
Though neither team shot particularly well from the field, Temple shot a tad better, making 37% of its shots. The Owls also won the rebounding battle, 43-38.
It was a defensive battle from the first whistle with neither team able to score on its first few trips down the floor. The Colonials sank a free throw at 18:12 and followed that up with their first field goal to take a 3-0 lead with 17:28 left. Kristen McCarthy finally got the Owls on the board with a jumper at 16:56 and sparked a 10-0 run to put Temple up 10-3 at the 14 minute mark. GW ended its four minute scoring drought with just its second field goal at 13:50 and added three more to close the gap to two points (10-8) at 12:40. The Colonials continued to chip away at the Temple defense and soon took a 20-17 advantage at 6:50. The Owls weren't down for long, however, as they used a 6-0 run, including four free throws from Shenita Landry, to take a 23-20 lead at 4:30. Temple was able to extend its lead to seven points (30-23) going into halftime, its largest of the game.
GW started the second half scoring with a lay-up at 19:40 but McCarthy answered with a three-pointer and a Landry bucket 30 seconds later made it a 10-point contest (35-25). Both teams struggled offensively over the next few minutes but the Colonials were able to make it a single digit game yet again, putting together a 5-2 run for a 37-30 game at 13:23. McCarthy stepped up and ended her team's four minute scoring drought to make it an 11-point game yet again (41-30) at the 11 minute mark. Temple began to crack a bit under the pressure, committing multiple turnovers and fouls, allowing GW to claw back yet again, getting within six points (44-38) at the nine minute mark. That differential would hold for nearly four minutes until a 4-0 GW run cut the Temple lead to just two points (46-44) at 4:23. Shenita Landry answered with a jumper to end the Cherry and White's four minute scoring drought and began a 10-1 run that gave the Owls a 55-44 lead with two minutes remaining. The Colonials still had one more surge left in them, however, and went on a 5-0 run to make it a six point game (55-49) with just under a minute to play. Temple was ready, icing four free throws down the stretch to give the Owls a 59-49 victory.
Parrish led three Colonials in double figures with 13 points, while Jessica Adair and Tara Booker had 12 points a piece.
The Owls continue on to the 2009 Atlantic 10 Tournament in Charlotte's Halton Arena March 6-9. Temple will take on the winner of the #7/10 game on Saturday, March 7 at 5:30 p.m.
