The Temple women’s team had their hands full playing against the University of Pennsylvania Women. The Owls could not get separation because a scrappy Penn would not let them. However, the Owls hade a rebounding advantage, played defense, and hung on for a 62 – 55 win over Penn at the Palestra.
Penn committed 19 turnovers that gave Temple a 23 -16 edge in Points Off Turnovers. The Owls also had a 45 – 31 rebounding advantage, 23 – 6 on the offensive end. This gave Temple 65 shots for the game compared to 45 for Penn. Temple Coach Tonya Cardoza felt the statistics were not meaningful. The bottom line in her view was that Penn played harder.
“They outworked us and they out-played us in every way,” Cardoza said. “They were hungry for a win, and we came out lack luster. One of the things we don’t want is to have a team out-work us, but they did. The only reason we won was that we had a little more talent.”
Penn took the early lead in the game as Temple missed 13 of their first 15 shots. The Quaker defense was frustrating the offense of the Owls. Behind Freshman Guards Baron and Meghan McCullough Penn took an 11 – 4 lead with just over 13 minutes to play in the half. Peddy started to take control. The Roxbury, MA native scored 14 first half points and dished out 3 assists. Her 3-Pointer with 2:58 in the half gave Temple a five point lead at 24 – 19. The Temple defense got to work as Penn committed 10 turnovers giving the Cherry and White a 16 – 2 advantage in Points Off Turnovers.
The second started in a similar fashion as Temple missed 11 of their first 13 shots as Penn tied the game at 36 on a 3 by Sophomore Guard Brianna Bradford. With 9:10 remaining Penn trailed 41 – 40 after a basket by Baron. Temple asserted themselves going on an 11 – 1 run taking a 52 – 41 lead on a layup by Peddy with 5 minutes to play. The Quakers got to within 4 late in the game, but no closer.
“We struggled to score,” said Penn Coach Mike McLaughlin. We have to work
for everything on the offensive end. They got put-backs late and that was the difference.”
Peddy scored a team-high 20 points, pulled down 8 rebounds, and handed out 6 assists. Peddy was 4 of 7 from the free throw line. The three misses were late that could have put the game away. As a team Temple was 10 – 19 from the free throw line, and made only 3 of their last 8.
“Shey is a good player,” said Cardoza. “She has to be the leader and step up and make free throws especially when other players are missing theirs. She has been playing good basketball for us, but there is another level she can get to.”
Senior Guard Qwedia Wallace scored 14 points and pulled down 5 offensive rebounds.
Baron tied a career-high 23 points leading Penn in scoring.
“She is special and showed that against high level competition,” McLaughlin said.
Temple improves to 13 – 6 on the season, 2 – 0 in Big Five play. The Owls prepare for a trip to Amherst to play UMass.
Penn finishes their Big Five schedule at 1 – 3 on the campaign, and The Quakers are 6 – 9 overall. The Red and Blue enters the Ivy League part of their schedule. Senior Center Caroline Nicholson is eager to begin the Ivy games, and feels the team is ready.
“We’re excited to be in conference play,” said Nicholson. “We’ve been hanging with good teams. We can go into the Ivy League and do well. We’re excited for the challenge.”
Key Run of the Game
Penn closed to 41 – 40 with 9:10 remaining on a Baron jump shot. Over the next four minutes Temple went on an 11 – 1 run to gain a 52 – 41 advantage. Four different Temple players scored in the run. This would be the largest lead for the Owls down the stretch as Penn closed to within four with less than a minute to play.
Key Stat of the Game
Two are noticeable. Temple had a 45 – 31 rebounding edge, 23 – 6 on the offensive end. The rebounds allowed Temple to take 20 more shots than Penn (65 -45) and lead in 2nd Chance Points 12 – 4.
However, the game was still in doubt as Temple went 10 – 19 from the free throw line. The Owls made 3 of their last 8 free throws.
Key Players in the Game
For Temple – Shey Peddy with 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Peddy was 4 – 7 from the free throw line. She also recorded 3 steals.
For Penn – Alyssa Baron who tied a career high with 23 points. Baron had 4 rebounds and 5 assists.
Point Where the Game Was Decided
Shey Peddy nailed a 3 with 2:32 to play giving Temple an 8 point lead at 59 – 51. Neither team scored a basket for the remainder of the game.
Thoughts and Musings
Penn was eager to get their second Big Five win of the season, but fell short. The Penn team has competed well against high level competition in the last three games, Princeton, Virginia, and Temple. Improvement is being shown by the team led by Coach Mike McLaughlin.
“I see a group that went from one level to another level,” McLaughlin said. “They believe that can do this, and have confidence now. When you have a group that will not give up, good things can happen.”
Good days lie ahead.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
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