By Kathleen Radebaugh
This past weekend, Temple senior guard Ashley Morris had little time for sight seeing in Athens, Ga.
It wasn’t because the weather was chilly and cloudy (although it certainly didn’t help), but Morris and the rest of her Temple teammates played two games against prominent opponents -- No.8 Georgia and Georgia Tech.
In both contests, the Owls (1-2) had efforts die down the stretch, losing 57-51 to the Bulldogs on Friday night and losing 59-49 to the Yellow Jackets (3-0) on Sunday.
However, Morris had an exceptional weekend. The former Central star in the Public League posted a career high 21 points in the Georgia game and almost matched the total Sunday with 19 points against Georgia Tech.
Temple started their spring madness early playing national ranked teams, but hopefully Morris and her teammates will enjoy the spring weather more so with wins in March compared to losses in November.
On Sunday afternoon in Atlanta against Georgia Tech, Morris went four-for-six from long range and tallied a game-high four assists. But mistakes cost the Owls, especially 26 turnovers and poor shooting throughout both halves.
Both teams started the game flat, but Morris completed a trey, following Lady Comfort’s first layup, taking the lead, 5-4 with four minutes into the first half. Falling into another shooting dry spell, the score did not change for the next three minutes. Both teams struggled to find their rhythm, with long hot and cold stretches.
This is usually typical in the beginning of the season due to team nerves, but Temple’s starting lineup is comprised of skilled veterans. For the holiday, Temple is also traveling to the Virgin Islands to play Duke and Purdue. There is no room in their carry-on bags for turnovers and shooting problems against Duke and Purdue.
Morris, along with Comfort and Shenita Landry need to be shooting 40 to 50 percent of their shots and stay out of foul trouble.
In the second half, Sunday, Georgia Tech began to take advantage of Owl turnovers and by the ten-minute mark, led 43-32. Morris scored Temple’s next seven points, bringing the Owls closer to overtaking the Yellow Jackets.
With three minutes left in regulation, Comfort completed four three throws to bring Temple within six, 50-44. Morris then hit another three pointer after Georgia Tech's Jill Ingram scored five straight points, but Temple couldn’t overcome the five point deficit and started to foul.
Morris was 6-9 on the field and 4-6 behind the arch. She finished, however, with nine turnovers.
She really wanted a win after hitting a new career-high 21 points two nights before in Athens..
Morris, focus for the upcoming against Duke and Purdue should be to find her zone with her three-point shots. Start early.
She should start shooting more in the beginning of the game to help her team set the tone and pace of the game. If she keeps shooting, her nerves will subside with the game clock.
Morris scored 17 of her 21 points against Georgia in the second half of the game. She currently leads her team in scoring with 18 ppg, but Morris will help notch those wins for the Owls with earlier shooting and scoring.
Nevertheless, Morris has made great strides last year’s shooting average, 3.3 ppg. She will continue to thrive for the Owls because of her work ethic. Her challenge now is to figure out how she can best assist her teammates to win basketball games, especially against teams with NCAA tournament potential.
Maybe Morris will find time to enjoy the beaches at Virgin Islands.
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