PHILADELPHIA, December 20, 2011 – The Temple Owls Women’s Basketball team did not relinquish the lead in the second half of their game against the UCLA Bruins at McGonigle Hall. But it took an off-balance, falling backward, going to the floor, tossing the ball toward the hoop basket by Temple Senior guard Shey Peddy with 15 seconds to play to give the Owls a 5 point lead, and command of the game. Temple earned a 59 – 53 win over UCLA evening their record at 5 – 5. Peddy was just trying to make something positive happen.
“I tried a step back move, but my knee buckled,” Peddy said. “I knew if I could put it up there, someone might get it.”
After one half of play Temple held a 29 – 25 lead. The Owls came out in the second half scoring 9 of the first 10 points to take a 38 – 26 with 16:33 on the clock. The run was started with a three-pointer by Peddy, followed by a layup by Senior forward Kristen McCarthy, then 4 consecutive points by Senior guard BJ Williams. The start of the half got the Owls going on offense.
“It was good because we showed emotion with each other,” Temple Coach Tonya Cardoza said about the fast second half start. “Everyone got fired up. Then a bunch of other people started making shots.”
UCLA would charge back getting to within 4 at 38 – 34 at the 15:08 mark. Temple answered by getting fast break baskets opening up an 11 point lead with six and a half minutes remaining. The Bruins had one more spurt left in them. A a 10 – 2 run sparked by back to back three-pointers by guard Thea Lemberger made the score 56 – 53 at the 47 second mark. The next trip down the floor resulted in Peddy’s unorthodox but effective basket.
The ability to run and get to the basket was critical for the Owls as the held a 14 – 6 edge in fast break points, and a 20 – 12 advantage in points in the paint.
“We were looking to attack,” Cardoza said. “Our pace was good and we needed to pay attention to keep the other team from coming back.”
Peddy led all scorers with 28 points making 7 of 12 shots, 3 for 6 from distance and had 4 assists. Junior forward Brittany Lewis added 15 points. Williams scored 13 points and dished out 9 assists. Temple had 18 assists on the 24 baskets, a stat that pleased their coach.
“That’s what you want, to distribute and play team ball,” said Cardoza. “No one is dominating the ball. 13 assists for Shey (Peddy) and BJ (Williams), that’s really good.”
Lemberger paced UCLA with 13 points making 3 of 4 from beyond the arc. Philadelphia native Markel Walker scored 10. UCLA leading scorer Rebekah Gardner averaged 16.4 points per game, but was limited to 9 in the contest.
This was Temple’s first game in two weeks. The Owls gear up for their next game in two days as they play their initial Big Five game at home against Villanova.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
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