Category Archives: Women’s Basketball

Turnovers, defense, characterize season

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Women’s Basketball- Barely a weak into the season there are two very important things to notice about this Owls team.

First, they turn the ball over a lot. Second, they know how to play defense.

This comes as a bit of a surprise because typically teams that commit a lot of errors have trouble holding the team off the scoreboard.

If you dismiss the team’s loss to Nebraska, 64-39, the Owls have held their other two opponents, both wins, to an average of 39.5 points. Temple turned the ball over 19 times against Montana and had 26 giveaways against Seton Hall.

This season they’ve allowed just .277 shooting, including .200 from three-point land. Typically an excess of turnovers—the Owls three opponents have committed just 42 turnovers to their 67—leads to easy buckets for the opposing team.

Not the case thus far for Temple, but that trend will have to change if they hope to keep winning.

-Jake Adams

Three-point shooting key in tonight’s match-up

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The women’s basketball team’s loss to Nebraska on Sunday, Nov. 11, ended a big run for the Owls. Prior to the contest Temple had made at least one trey in 100 consecutive games.

While in previous seasons the Owls thrived off three-point shooting, connecting on 31.8 percent from down town last season, this year’s squad isn’t built for long distance shooting.

The team right now has been out shot 52-17 from beyond the arc. Temple has connected on just four of those 17 attempts, shooting 23.5 percent. And only two players are responsible for those connections, sophomore guard Rateska Brown (2-for-5) and freshman guard May Dayan (2-for-4).

In two games Seton Hall, who the Owls host on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Liacouras Center, Temple has allowed their opponents to shoot 10-for-34 from down town.

While Temple relies heavily on getting the ball to senior center Victoria Macaulay, the Owls may need to find a way to open up their long-range attack to hand the Pirates their first loss of the season.

-Jake Adams

Women’s basketball season begins at McGonigle

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The women’s basketball team kicks off the 2012-13 season in the friendly confines of McGonigle Hall when the Owls host Montana on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

The Grizzlies finished 16-14 last season, and 9-7 in the Big Sky Conference. The Owls finished 23-10 and 13-1 in the Atlantic 10 Conference before falling in the conference semifinals to eventual champion Dayton.

Temple returns standout senior center Victoria Macaulay and redshirt junior forward Natasha Thames. The rest of the team, however, is sophomores and freshmen.

The projected starting lineup for Friday’s game is sophomore Tyonna Williams at the point, freshman May Dayan at shooting guard, freshman forward Sally Kabengano at the three, and Thames and Macaulay.

Cardoza likely won’t decide for sure until Friday shoot-around.

-Jake Adams

McCarthy signs with Italian team

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Former Owl Kristen McCarthy will be playing professional ball overseas.

The 2012 graduate signed with Club Atletico Faenza, in Italy, a team that finished sixth in their league last season.

McCarthy joins fellow 2012 graduate Shey Peddy, and 2011 graduate Qwedia Wallace as recent Owls to make the transition to the pro level. Peddy was drafted in the second round by the Chicago Sky of the WNBA in April while Wallace is also overseas.

The combo guard/forward ranks fourth all-time at Temple with 1,619 points in 131 games (most all time), and holds the single-game record with 42 points against Charlotte as a sophomore.

She was an integral of the team’s three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

Coach Tonya Cardoza and company return to action in November in their final season in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

-Jake Adams