Jan. 31, 2008

PHILADELPHIA- It was another hard-fought battle at the Liacouras Center on Wednesday evening. Saint Joseph's (10-10, 1-2 Big 5) had a one-point lead in the final minute but couldn't hold on against the aggressive Owls' defense as they succumbed to the pressure, giving up two turnovers and missing 3-of-4 free throws in the final minute of the 70-67 loss.

The vaunted defense of Temple forced 26 Hawk turnovers which were converted into twenty-three Owl points. Still, St. Joes had the lead down the stretch because of exemplarily perimeter shooting as they made 9-of-14 from beyond the arc. Senior guard Amy Wold was the main culprit with 5 three-pointers and a team-high 21 points. They also produced a stat you do not see very often, shooting better from three-point range (64.3%) than from the free throw line (46.2%). Sophomore forward Brittany Ford had 19 tough points in the loss.  

For Temple the story was defense and Lady Comfort. The senior was the only consistent offensive force the Owls had all night. She terriorized the SJU interior players to the tune of a game-high 24 points and seven rebounds, including 12-of-13 from the free-throw stripe. Her basket with :26 seconds remaining gave the Cherry and White a lead that they would not relinquish. LaKeisha Eaddy and Shenita Landry combined for 10 of the teams' 16 steals during the game.

With the win, Temple (12-10, 3-0 Big 5) earns at least a share of the Big 5 title and sets a Big 5 record for being the only team to win a share of four titles in a row since the inception of Big 5  Women's play in 1979-80. The programs record winning-streak is now at 17 games.