Women's Basketball Tops La Salle in Big 5 Action

Wednesday, November 22

Philadelphia, PA

1:00 p.m.

Temple University

4-1

La Salle

1-3

Temple

La Salle

Photo by: Zamani Feelings

Women's Basketball Tops La Salle in Big 5 Action

11.22.17 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Video Highlights

PHILADELPHIA -- The Temple women's basketball team opened the Big 5 season with a 69-52 win on the road at La Salle on Wednesday afternoon. The Owls improve to 4-1 overall, while the Explorers fall to 1-3.

KEYS TO THE GAME
> The Owls led by just four points at the break, but used significant runs in the third and fourth quarters to grab the win.
> Temple shot 51.5% (17-33) in the second half, including
> 10 players scored at least two points in a balanced Owls' offense.
> The Owls held La Salle to 36.2% from the field.
> Temple also held a huge 48-28 advantage on the glass.

QUOTABLE: Head Coach Tonya Cardoza
> "To open Big 5 play on the road with a win is huge for us. This was their first time playing at home, so they had a lot on the line."
> "I thought our young guys did a really good job of staying composed."

QUOTABLE: Senior Guard Tanaya Atkinson
> "I give a lot of credit to our post players today. La Salla has a lot of really good posts, so ours really stepped up today. If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have won."

INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS
> Senior Tanaya Atkinson tallied 21 points with seven rebounds.
> Freshman Emai Mayo had 10 points with six rebounds.
> Freshman Mia Davis scored seven points with a team-high nine rebounds.
> Freshman Desiree Oliver had seven points and dished out a team-best five assists.
> Sophomore Shannen Atkinson had a career day, with collegiate bests of sic points and eight rebounds.
> Junior Lena Niang and Senior Khadijah Berger each tallied five points.
> Sophomore Shantay Taylor rounded out the scoring with four points.

FIRST QUARTER
> La Salle opened the game with a 5-0 run.
> Temple tied the game on a Tanaya Atkinson three.
> A pair of La Salle free throws tied it at 11-11 with 2:54 on the clock.
> Temple closed the frame on a 7-2 run to make it 18-13 after one.

SECOND QUARTER
> A 9-4 run from La Salle tied the game at 22-22 after four minutes of action.
> After the teams traded buckets, Temple's Tanaya Atkinson took over.
> Atkinson scored the final five points of the quarter to give the Owls a 29-25 advantage.

THIRD QUARTER
> La Salle struck first in the third quarter, cutting the lead to 29-27.
> From there, Temple went on a 12-6 surge, sparked by six Emani Mayo points to make it 41-31.
> The Explorers answered with a 10-3 run of their own to make it just a three point game (44-41)
> Temple got back-to-back buckets to push it to 48-41, but a pair of La Salle free throws made it 48-45 after three.

FOURTH QUARTER
> Temple outscored La Salle 21-11 in the final frame to seal the win.
> La Salle got the game to within four points (53-49) with six to play.
> Oliver nailed a three on Temple's next possession to spark one final surge.
> Temple closed the game on a 16-3 run to finish out the win.

UP NEXT
> Temple returns home for a seven game home stretch.
> First up is Ole Miss on Saturday at McGonigle Hall, tipping off at 2:00 p.m.