Comeback Falls Short for Women’s Basketball in 66-63 A-10 Semifinal Loss to Dayton

Sunday, March 4

Philadelphia, Pa.

2:30 PM

Temple University

21-9

Dayton (A-10 Semifinals)

22-6

Dayton

Temple

Brittany Lewis

Photo by: Mitchell Leff

Comeback Falls Short for Women’s Basketball in 66-63 A-10 Semifinal Loss to Dayton

3.4.12 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Owls led by career-high 19 points and career-high 13 rebounds from Brittany Lewis

PHILADELPHIA (Hagan Arena) – For a second straight season, Dayton (22-6) ended the Atlantic 10 Championship run for Temple women's basketball with a 66-63 defeat of the Owls (21-9) in the semifinals at Saint Joseph's University. Temple had five players in double figures led by a career-high 19 points and career-high 13 rebounds from Brittany Lewis, but the Owls' comeback attempt fell just short at the end of the game.

“Congratulations to Dayton for moving on,” said head coach Tonya Cardoza. “My hat goes off to those guys. Obviously we struggled with how they were defending us. We got rattled, we were not playing smart basketball and we didn't stick to the game plan. But our guys fought all the way to the end, and even playing horrible basketball we still gave ourselves a chance to win, but again, my hat goes off to Dayton.”

The Owls' postseason fate once again lies in the hands of the NCAA Selection Committee, who will announce the 64-team tournament bracket on Monday, March 12. Temple has earned a spot in eight straight NCAA Tournament, and the last five have been with at-large bids.

Lewis hit 3-of-5 behind the arc, but the rest of the team hit just 3-of-13 as the Owls shot 33.3 percent from the field overall and from three-point range. Victoria Macaulay scored 12 points, BJ Williams and Kristen McCarthy added 11 apiece and Shey Peddy finished with 10 along with a game-high six assists.

Peddy also led all players with five steals, while McCarthy and Joelle Connelly blocked three shots apiece as Temple finished with a season-high eight blocks in the loss.

Dayton got 16 points and eight boards from Justine Raterman. Cassie Sant came off the bench for 11 points and Samantha Mackay also came off the bench and scored 10 points.

Trailing 7-6 early in the game, Temple turned up the intensity, getting three steals in a 10-2 run over a three-minute span. The Owls led 14-9 at 12:25 of the first half, but Dayton answered with a 9-0 run to retake the lead, 18-14.

Lewis broke a string of missed shots under the basket with a layup at 8:43 to put the Owls back within two, 18-16. Unfortunately it was the only make for Temple in what became a 17-2 Dayton run that put the Flyers up 26-16 just under the seven-minute mark.

Lewis once again ended the drought with the Owls' first trey of the game at 6:28, but Temple was able to do no more than trade baskets the rest of the way. The Flyers once led by 11 with 2:36 remaining, but Peddy converted a three-point play and hit her first three-pointer in a 6-2 closing run that sent Temple into the break down seven, 36-29.

Dayton's Sant was the leading scorer at halftime with 10 points, including two treys she scored to cap her team's 17-2 run.

Macaulay hit two buckets and Lewis hit three, including a pair of treys in a 12-3 opening run in the second half that gave Temple its first lead since the midway point of the first half. The go-ahead putback was scored by Lewis at 15:52 for a 40-39 lead, but it was a brief advantage as Raterman answered with a three for the Flyers.

Down 46-43, Williams and McCarthy hit back-to-back treys for a 49-46 lead before Dayton answered yet again, tying the game for a fourth time in the second half at 49-49 with 11:15 remaining.

The three by the Flyers started what became an 11-0 Dayton run over a five-minute span that put the Owls behind 57-49. Williams hit a pair at the line but the Owls did not hit a field goal for more than six minutes and eventually trailed by double digits again, 61-51 with 5:26 remaining.

Lewis bailed Temple out again with her third trey of the game, starting a furious 12-3 run over the next four minutes, but the Owls fell just short of tying the game. A putback from Lewis made it 64-63 in favor of Dayton with 1:18 left, but Temple would not score again as a costly turnover and missed layup ended its hopes of taking the lead.