Feb. 27, 2008

Box Score

ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis gave Atlantic 10 co-leader Temple all it wanted Wednesday night in the farewell game at the Bauman-Eberhardt Center, but the Owls parlayed a record night at the free-throw line into a 77-66 victory over the Billikens.

Temple (18-11, 11-2 A-10), which captured its fourth straight win and 11th victory in 12 games, tallied school records of 32 free throws made and 55 free-throw attempts. The 55 attempts are the most by an A-10 team this season, obliterating the previous mark of 40 established by St. Bonaventure, while the 32 made tie Massachusetts for most in the league this year.

The game featured 18 ties and 11 lead changes. The Billikens scored the first six points and built a 14-5 lead with 14:44 left in the first half, but the Owls rallied to tie it at 14 with 11:25 remaining. Following a 9-1 run that put the Bills in front 30-24 at the 4:38 mark, Temple outscored SLU 12-4 the rest of the way and took a 36-34 edge to the locker room.

The Billikens led by three points on four occasions in the second half but missed a couple of opportunities to expand the margin. Saint Louis led 60-57 at the 7:13 mark when Temple embarked on a 12-0 spurt that put the Owls in command, and the Billikens drew no closer than seven points during the final four minutes.

Theresa Lisch posted a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds and added five assists for Saint Louis (10-18, 5-8 A-10), and Maggie Hennegan tossed in 15 points. Senior Hayley Leake contributed 11 points and four assists in her final home game, Katie Paganelli chipped in 10 points and Heather King hauled in eight rebounds. The Billikens, who lead the A-10 and are ranked 15th nationally in free-throw shooting, shot an uncharacteristically cold 60 percent (22-of-37) from the stripe. However, SLU committed just 10 turnovers, a season low.

Temple's Ashley Morris led all scorers with 22 points and was joined in double figures by LaKeisha Eaddy (20), Shenita Landry (12) and Lady Comfort (11). Comfort grabbed eight rebounds, while Morris, Landry and Jasmine Stone collected seven caroms apiece to lead the Owls to a 46-38 advantage on the boards. Stone also blocked three shots.

Saint Louis travels to Dayton for its regular-season finale on Saturday. Game time is 11 a.m. (CT).

Saint Louis Billikens Women's Basketball