Temple University Athletics
Sunday, January 10
Cincinnati, Ohio
3:00 PM
Temple University
at
Xavier
Women's Basketball Travels to #16/14 Xavier for A-10 Opener on ESPN2
1.7.10 | Women's Basketball
Game Notes vs. Xavier
PHILADELPHIA - Temple women's basketball will open the Atlantic 10 season on Sunday, Jan. 10 at #16/14 Xavier (10-3) in a nationally-televised game on ESPN2. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m. in Cincinnati, and fans can also watch online at ESPN360.com.
After starting the season 9-1, Temple (10-4) has struggled against some tough opponents recently and lost three of its last four contests. Two of those losses were to top-12 teams Duke and Florida State, and both were games in which Temple held a lead at some point in the second half.
The Owls' contest against Xavier will be their third in a row against a nationally-ranked opponent, as the Musketeers are 16th in the AP Poll and 14th in the ESPN/USA Today Poll.
Junior Qwedia Wallace and sophomore Kristen McCarthy lead the Owls with 12.8 and 11.7 points per game, respectively. Senior Jasmine Stone leads the team in rebounds at 8.6 per game, good enough for fourth place in the A-10. Stone is also currently the highest-percentage shooter on the team at 45 percent from the field. Wallace leads from behind the arc at 34.5 percent.
SCOUTING XAVIER
Xavier started the season 7-0 before dropping back-to-back games to Michigan State and Michigan. The Musketeers have gone 3-1 since then, losing only to 11th-ranked LSU. Xavier has defeated two ranked teams this season, Arizona State and Kansas. Leading the Musketeers is redshirt junior forward Amber Harris with 14.7 ppg and 8.5 rpg. Ta'Shia Phillips is close behind in scoring at 13.2 ppg, and leads the team with 9.3 rpg.
SERIES RECORD
Xavier holds a slight, 9-10 advantage all-time against Temple, and the two teams have had a strong rivalry the past few years. The Musketeers were ranked 13th when the Owls defeated them at home on Feb. 25 of last season, 74-65. In 2007-08, Xavier beat Temple 47-42 in the A-10 Tournament Championship game, as well as 64-55 in Ohio in the regular season. In 2006-07 Xavier barely beat Temple, 54-53 in the A-10 Semis. Temple had barely won a month earlier in the regular season, 59-58 at home.
HANGING TOUGH WITH THE BEST
They didn't win either game, but the Owls showed they can compete with some of the best in their last two contests. Against #8/9 Duke, Temple lost by only eight points, and held a lead as late as the eight-minute mark of the second half.
At Florida State, the Owls led halfway through the second half after erasing a 13-point first-half deficit, but could not complete the comeback and lost, 77-64.
HOT START
Temple's 9-1 start matched the best in the last 28 years, since the 1981-82 team started at 9-0.
ATLANTIC 10 OPENERS
Temple is 14-13 all-time in Atlantic 10 openers and has won five out of the last six.
BATTLE OF THE BOARDS
Temple hung tough with #8/9 Duke, but ultimately lost on the glass. Duke earned a 40-27 edge in rebounds, leading to a 20-9 advantage in second chance points.
NOW ACCEPTING CHARITY
Temple did not shoot above 70 percent from the free throw line in five of its first eight games, but the Owls have improved drastically since then. Temple has averaged 75.4 percent shooting from the charity stripe in its last six games, going 86-of-114 from the line.
TEMPLE VS. THE POLLS
While Temple is only 12-88 all-time against ranked opponents, seven of those wins have come in the last five years. The Owls are 7-18 since the 2004-05 season. Their most recent win vs. a ranked opponent was Feb. 25, 2009 against #13 Xavier.
MACAULAY ON THE RISE
True freshman Victoria Macaulay has averaged only 9.2 minutes per game overall this season, but has played a much bigger role in Temple's last three games. She has averaged 7.7 points per game in 16.3 minutes per game over those three, and has shot 71.4 percent from the field.
HEIGHTENED SECURITY
Temple has held 10 of its 14 opponents this season to 55 points or fewer, and currently ranks 31st in NCAA Division I in scoring defense at 55.4 ppg.
HIDE YOUR VALUABLES
The Owls have a knack for coming up with the ball and forcing turnovers, as evidenced by their 11.4 steals per game which is tops in the A-10 and 26th in NCAA Division I. Temple's 20 team steals at Dartmouth were the most in a single game for any A-10 team so far this season.
RPI HOVERING AROUND 25
Temple is currently 26th in the nation in RPI according to CollegeRPI.com, and 23rd according to realtimerpi.com.
NEXT UP...
After their toughest stretch of the season, facing three ranked opponents, the Owls will continue their A-10 schedule with back-to-back home games against Fordham (6-9) and Saint Joseph's (6-8).
1,000-POINT WATCH
LaKeisha Eaddy has scored 966 points heading into the game at Xavier.
PHILADELPHIA - Temple women's basketball will open the Atlantic 10 season on Sunday, Jan. 10 at #16/14 Xavier (10-3) in a nationally-televised game on ESPN2. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m. in Cincinnati, and fans can also watch online at ESPN360.com.
After starting the season 9-1, Temple (10-4) has struggled against some tough opponents recently and lost three of its last four contests. Two of those losses were to top-12 teams Duke and Florida State, and both were games in which Temple held a lead at some point in the second half.
The Owls' contest against Xavier will be their third in a row against a nationally-ranked opponent, as the Musketeers are 16th in the AP Poll and 14th in the ESPN/USA Today Poll.
Junior Qwedia Wallace and sophomore Kristen McCarthy lead the Owls with 12.8 and 11.7 points per game, respectively. Senior Jasmine Stone leads the team in rebounds at 8.6 per game, good enough for fourth place in the A-10. Stone is also currently the highest-percentage shooter on the team at 45 percent from the field. Wallace leads from behind the arc at 34.5 percent.
SCOUTING XAVIER
Xavier started the season 7-0 before dropping back-to-back games to Michigan State and Michigan. The Musketeers have gone 3-1 since then, losing only to 11th-ranked LSU. Xavier has defeated two ranked teams this season, Arizona State and Kansas. Leading the Musketeers is redshirt junior forward Amber Harris with 14.7 ppg and 8.5 rpg. Ta'Shia Phillips is close behind in scoring at 13.2 ppg, and leads the team with 9.3 rpg.
SERIES RECORD
Xavier holds a slight, 9-10 advantage all-time against Temple, and the two teams have had a strong rivalry the past few years. The Musketeers were ranked 13th when the Owls defeated them at home on Feb. 25 of last season, 74-65. In 2007-08, Xavier beat Temple 47-42 in the A-10 Tournament Championship game, as well as 64-55 in Ohio in the regular season. In 2006-07 Xavier barely beat Temple, 54-53 in the A-10 Semis. Temple had barely won a month earlier in the regular season, 59-58 at home.
HANGING TOUGH WITH THE BEST
They didn't win either game, but the Owls showed they can compete with some of the best in their last two contests. Against #8/9 Duke, Temple lost by only eight points, and held a lead as late as the eight-minute mark of the second half.
At Florida State, the Owls led halfway through the second half after erasing a 13-point first-half deficit, but could not complete the comeback and lost, 77-64.
HOT START
Temple's 9-1 start matched the best in the last 28 years, since the 1981-82 team started at 9-0.
ATLANTIC 10 OPENERS
Temple is 14-13 all-time in Atlantic 10 openers and has won five out of the last six.
BATTLE OF THE BOARDS
Temple hung tough with #8/9 Duke, but ultimately lost on the glass. Duke earned a 40-27 edge in rebounds, leading to a 20-9 advantage in second chance points.
NOW ACCEPTING CHARITY
Temple did not shoot above 70 percent from the free throw line in five of its first eight games, but the Owls have improved drastically since then. Temple has averaged 75.4 percent shooting from the charity stripe in its last six games, going 86-of-114 from the line.
TEMPLE VS. THE POLLS
While Temple is only 12-88 all-time against ranked opponents, seven of those wins have come in the last five years. The Owls are 7-18 since the 2004-05 season. Their most recent win vs. a ranked opponent was Feb. 25, 2009 against #13 Xavier.
MACAULAY ON THE RISE
True freshman Victoria Macaulay has averaged only 9.2 minutes per game overall this season, but has played a much bigger role in Temple's last three games. She has averaged 7.7 points per game in 16.3 minutes per game over those three, and has shot 71.4 percent from the field.
HEIGHTENED SECURITY
Temple has held 10 of its 14 opponents this season to 55 points or fewer, and currently ranks 31st in NCAA Division I in scoring defense at 55.4 ppg.
HIDE YOUR VALUABLES
The Owls have a knack for coming up with the ball and forcing turnovers, as evidenced by their 11.4 steals per game which is tops in the A-10 and 26th in NCAA Division I. Temple's 20 team steals at Dartmouth were the most in a single game for any A-10 team so far this season.
RPI HOVERING AROUND 25
Temple is currently 26th in the nation in RPI according to CollegeRPI.com, and 23rd according to realtimerpi.com.
NEXT UP...
After their toughest stretch of the season, facing three ranked opponents, the Owls will continue their A-10 schedule with back-to-back home games against Fordham (6-9) and Saint Joseph's (6-8).
1,000-POINT WATCH
LaKeisha Eaddy has scored 966 points heading into the game at Xavier.
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