March 8, 2008
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA- The top-seeded Temple women's basketball team (20-11) survived a furious second half comeback by eighth-seeded Richmond (14-17) to post a 70-62 win over the Spiders in the quarterfinal round of the 2008 Atlantic 10 Tournament. The Owls led by as much as 19 points late in the first half but the Spiders refused to quit, getting within one point with seven minutes to play. The Cherry and White used a 17-10 run down the stretch to advance to their eighth straight A-10 semifinal. Temple will play the winner of the Charlotte/Dayton game Sunday at 12 p.m.
Ashley Morris led all scorers with 19 points and a game-high seven assists, while Lindsay Kimmel scored 12 points. Shanea Cotton earned a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out mid-way through the second half. Lady Comfort chipped in with 10 points.
The extremely physical game featured 51 fouls between the two teams, though the Owls went to the line 42 times, converting on just 28 of them. Morris was 12-of-16 from the charity stripe. Temple also held a slight rebounding edge, 42-38.
After an hour and a half delay due to leaks in the roof, Temple raced out to a 25-8 lead by the six minute mark of the first half. Christina Campion finally got the Spiders in double figures with a jumper at 5:45 but Temple continued to roll and took a 30-12 lead with four minutes remaining. The Spiders went on a 9-6 run to close out the half with a 36-21 result.
The second half was quite a different story, as Temple seemed lethargic and lackadaisical. Lady Comfort sparked a 4-0 run to begin the second half to make it 40-21 but that would be the last sign of offensive life for quite a while. Richmond clamped down on defense, forcing the Owls to go scoreless for long stretches. A pair of free throws by Nikita Thomas sparked a six point Richmond run to make it a five point game (44-39) at 13:23. Morris finally got the Owls going again with a break-away lay-up at 12:26 and Temple put together a 7-3 run to make it nine point game (51-42) at the 11 minute mark. The Spiders refused to go away, however, and a basket by Thomas got Richmond within one point game (53-52) at 6:57. Thankfully, Temple began to get serious and put together an 8-1 run, giving it a seven-point advantage (61-53) at 3:38. Richmond desperately tried to rally yet again, but the Owls proved to be too strong and closed out the 70-62 victory.
|
|
 |
Brittani Shells led Richmond with 18 points, while Campion had 13. Johanna McKnight scored 10.
