Temple University Athletics
Sunday, March 7
Upper Marlboro, Md.
2:30 PM
Temple University
67
vs
64 (OT)
Dayton
Women's Basketball Gets Past Dayton in OT Thriller to Advance to A-10 Championship Game
3.7.10 | Women's Basketball
Third-seeded Owls will face No. 5 Xavier and top-seeded Xavier on Monday
Box Score (PDF)
Postgame Press Conference video
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Scoring the first upset of the 2010 Atlantic 10 Tournament, the third-seeded Temple women's basketball team pulled out a 67-64 overtime win against second-seeded Dayton in the semifinals to advance to Monday's championship game against top-seeded and nationally-ranked Xavier. The Owls (24-7) will play the Musketeers at 5:00 p.m. on ESPN2.
All tournament information including how to get tickets is available on the A-10 Tournament Central website. The action is being held at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md.
Kristen McCarthy and Marli Bennett scored 14 points apiece to lead Temple, while Jasmine Stone grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. Qwedia Wallace scored 11 points and LaKeisha Eaddy led all players with six assists. Natasha Thames' play off the bench was big for TU, and included six rebounds and three blocks.
“It was a hell of a game,” said Temple head coach Tonya Cardoza. “These guys fought and had to come up with big defensive stops. I'm just really proud of them. No one thought we would be here, but they really wanted it and worked hard all year to put themselves in this position.”
Defense was the story for Temple in the first half, as the Owls didn't shoot especially well but led throughout the entire half thanks to a relentless effort.
TU forced 13 turnovers, tallied five steals and out-rebounded Dayton 23-18 on its way to a 29-21 lead at halftime.
McCarthy hit 3-of-5 in the first five minutes to help Temple take an 11-4 lead, but the Owls would go on to shoot only 34 percent from the field. Dayton came within four at the 4:20 mark, but TU closed the half on a 6-2 run.
Kristin Daugherty hit two early buckets to pull Dayton within three, 29-26 early in the second half, but the Owls responded with a 6-0 run to lead by nine at the 16-minute mark.
Marli Bennett's third three-pointer at 14:18 gave the Owls their largest lead of 10, 40-30, but the Flyers' Justine Raterman hit three jumpers in a row to narrow the margin to four. Those baskets started a 16-4 run for Dayton that gave the Flyers their first lead of the game, 46-44 with eight minutes remaining.
Three ties followed, and neither team led by more than two points for the rest of regulation. Down 55-54 with 57 seconds remaining, Temple got a layup and one from Stone, who had previously gone 1-for-6 from the free throw line in the game. Dayton needed two to tie the game and Raterman came through with a jumper at five seconds on the clock.
Eaddy put up a last-second shot for TU that hit the rim but missed, sending the contest into overtime.
Dayton struck first and took a five-point lead early in the overtime period, its largest lead of the game, but the Owls pulled back within one by the two-minute mark. After a missed opportunity by Dayton and a miss for Temple, a huge offensive rebound and put-back by Thames put TU on top, 65-64 with 42 seconds left.
Thames then came up with a block at the other end, and Eaddy collected the rebound. Dayton was forced to foul, and Eaddy made both clutch free throws to give the Owls a three-point cushion with nine seconds to go.
Temple's solid defense came through right to the end, and Dayton failed to get a shot off in the remaining time.
“Everyone stepped up, from freshmen to seniors,” said McCarthy. “It was a heck of a game.”
Game Notes:
Temple has won four A-10 Championships (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006)…The semifinal appearance was the 10th straight for the Owls and Monday will mark their return to the title game after missing out in 2008-09…The win was revenge on a regular season 71-63 loss at Dayton that ultimately broke the seeding tie between the two teams...The last time TU was in the title game they also faced Xavier, and had defeated Dayton in the semifinals…The game will mark the second time this season that Temple and Xavier play each other on ESPN2; Xavier won the meeting in Cincinnati on Jan. 10 by a score of 82-69.
Postgame Press Conference video
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Scoring the first upset of the 2010 Atlantic 10 Tournament, the third-seeded Temple women's basketball team pulled out a 67-64 overtime win against second-seeded Dayton in the semifinals to advance to Monday's championship game against top-seeded and nationally-ranked Xavier. The Owls (24-7) will play the Musketeers at 5:00 p.m. on ESPN2.
All tournament information including how to get tickets is available on the A-10 Tournament Central website. The action is being held at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md.
Kristen McCarthy and Marli Bennett scored 14 points apiece to lead Temple, while Jasmine Stone grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. Qwedia Wallace scored 11 points and LaKeisha Eaddy led all players with six assists. Natasha Thames' play off the bench was big for TU, and included six rebounds and three blocks.
“It was a hell of a game,” said Temple head coach Tonya Cardoza. “These guys fought and had to come up with big defensive stops. I'm just really proud of them. No one thought we would be here, but they really wanted it and worked hard all year to put themselves in this position.”
Defense was the story for Temple in the first half, as the Owls didn't shoot especially well but led throughout the entire half thanks to a relentless effort.
TU forced 13 turnovers, tallied five steals and out-rebounded Dayton 23-18 on its way to a 29-21 lead at halftime.
McCarthy hit 3-of-5 in the first five minutes to help Temple take an 11-4 lead, but the Owls would go on to shoot only 34 percent from the field. Dayton came within four at the 4:20 mark, but TU closed the half on a 6-2 run.
Kristin Daugherty hit two early buckets to pull Dayton within three, 29-26 early in the second half, but the Owls responded with a 6-0 run to lead by nine at the 16-minute mark.
Marli Bennett's third three-pointer at 14:18 gave the Owls their largest lead of 10, 40-30, but the Flyers' Justine Raterman hit three jumpers in a row to narrow the margin to four. Those baskets started a 16-4 run for Dayton that gave the Flyers their first lead of the game, 46-44 with eight minutes remaining.
Three ties followed, and neither team led by more than two points for the rest of regulation. Down 55-54 with 57 seconds remaining, Temple got a layup and one from Stone, who had previously gone 1-for-6 from the free throw line in the game. Dayton needed two to tie the game and Raterman came through with a jumper at five seconds on the clock.
Eaddy put up a last-second shot for TU that hit the rim but missed, sending the contest into overtime.
Dayton struck first and took a five-point lead early in the overtime period, its largest lead of the game, but the Owls pulled back within one by the two-minute mark. After a missed opportunity by Dayton and a miss for Temple, a huge offensive rebound and put-back by Thames put TU on top, 65-64 with 42 seconds left.
Thames then came up with a block at the other end, and Eaddy collected the rebound. Dayton was forced to foul, and Eaddy made both clutch free throws to give the Owls a three-point cushion with nine seconds to go.
Temple's solid defense came through right to the end, and Dayton failed to get a shot off in the remaining time.
“Everyone stepped up, from freshmen to seniors,” said McCarthy. “It was a heck of a game.”
Game Notes:
Temple has won four A-10 Championships (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006)…The semifinal appearance was the 10th straight for the Owls and Monday will mark their return to the title game after missing out in 2008-09…The win was revenge on a regular season 71-63 loss at Dayton that ultimately broke the seeding tie between the two teams...The last time TU was in the title game they also faced Xavier, and had defeated Dayton in the semifinals…The game will mark the second time this season that Temple and Xavier play each other on ESPN2; Xavier won the meeting in Cincinnati on Jan. 10 by a score of 82-69.
Post Game Press Conf. vs. Villanova
Monday, November 24
Ep. 24: Cross Country/Track & Field Coach Elvis Forde
Friday, November 21
Ep. 23: Former Men's Basketball Standout Marc Jackson Speaks on Mental Health
Wednesday, November 19
Ep. 22: Owls Sports Update from David & Amelia
Tuesday, November 18
