(Guru's Note: This is an enhanced version of the Temple-GW game that was covered for the print sports section in The Inquirer, which can be found elsewhere on Philly.com)
By Mel Greenberg
PHILADELPHIA _ Temple freshman Lindsay Kimmel may be a newcomer to the fierce Atlantic Ten rivalry between the Owls and George Washington, but she's no stranger to the history between the two conference powers.
"I was familiar with it. I've come down a few times and seen them play and I had a chip on my shoulder with them," the former high school star from Binghamton said after setting career highs with five three-pointers and 15 points in the Owls' 68-66 upset of the No. 13 Colonials Saturday afternoon at the Liacouras Center.
Although Kimmel helped Temple (9-10, 2-1 A-10) lead most of the way, George Washington (14-4, 2-1 A-10) managed to fight its way back to go ahead, 66-64, on Sarah Jo-Lawrence with two minutes left to play.
That put the Colonials in familiar territory after recent buzzer-beating wins over nationally-ranked Texas A&M and Auburn.
George Washington also carried two streaks into the game, winning nine overall and also 18 straight regular-season conference games.
But the Owls, who had not played this well in recent weeks, were not ready to roll over.
Lawrence missed a layup that could have expanded the lead and Ashley Morris grabbed the rebound to set up LaKeisha Eaddy''s game-tying jumper with 1:11 left in the game.
Colonials center Jessica Adair turned the ball over on GW's next possession and then junior transfer Shanea Cotton put back her own offensive rebound with 22 seconds left for the game-winner.
The ball left her hands at about the same time the shot clock went off, causing George Washington coach Joe McKeown to comment, "I'd have to look at the tape before I could say anything."
The game was not televised, so officials could not use a monitor to douible-check but they signaled Cotton's shot good when it went through the net.
George Washington still had a chance on the next possession.
Adair missed a jumper with 16 seconds to play and Eaddy grabbed the rebound but turned the ball over, giving the Colonials another opportunity to tie or win with 13 seconds left.
Lawrence then missed a layup and Jasmine Stone grabbed the rebound with four seconds left and was fouled.
She missed the front end of a 1-and-1 but Antelia Parrish's pass was intercepted by Eaddy as time ran out.
Temple shot 53.2 percent from the field and outrebounded the Colonials, 35-24.
"Our coaches said today we would get our mojo back if we won this basketball game, and that's what we did," said Morris, who Staley credited with having her best game ever at Temple.
That's high praise from a teacher who played point guard in her day like she invented the position.
"She controlled the game, she got her teammates involved, she hit open shots, it was a great game just from a point guard standpoint," Staley said.
The win turned Temple's season around if the Owls can hold serve, especially this week with road stops at Richmond and Rhode Island.
To an extent, the league did the Owls an unwitting favor by scheduling the contest much earlier than the two usually meet. A year ago, both were unbeaten in conference play going into the final game of the regular season, a close encounter won by the Colonials in Washington.
Morris and center Lady Comfort each added 14 points to Kimmel's total.
Lawrence had a game-high 17 points, Kimberly Beck scored 15, Adair had 13, and Parrish scored 11.
"Temple was fired up, you saw them celebrating," McKeown said. "Temple's a better team than what their record shows. Some of that is like us they went out and played a national schedule and didn't dodge anybody. So their record is a little deceiving.
"But unfortunately, a game like this gives them some confidence to get back on track. So they can thank me."
Kimmel was only recently inserted into the lineup as Temple scrambled to find another offensive threat to Morris' performance this season.
"Lindsay gives us an outside threat in which she can pull people away from double- and triple-teaming Lady and clogging up the paint," Staley said. "She was inserted into the lineup because Lady wasn't giving us something on the offensive end. We needed to put someone on the floor, who was a threat to score.
"But ever since she's been in the lineup, things have opened up for us and she's shooting a lot better," Staley continued. "I think she likes to start, I think it helps her mind get ready to play the game.
"A month ago, she wasn't ready for this. We brought her in at a time in which she got a lot of games under her belt and tried to understand college basketball," Staley said.
"It's a little different than where she comes from. We know she can score the ball. It's all the little things. It's paying attention to detail on both sides of the ball and I thought she executed to the tee."
Staley said it's the first time in weeks her team competed like earlier in the season when a slew of Top 10 teams were opponents.
But GW's ranking was not necessary for Temple to be motivated for this one.
"The players say its because it's GW,. But as coaches, we're looking at the ranking. We're looking at our 10 losses. But to beat GW, it's bragging rights. They beat us at the end of last season, so you always want to avenge those losses. And we took care of home, so it's a great win for our young team.
"We played hard, but we didn't play smart," Staley said of the Owls' recent performances. "This is a game that we can point to -- this is why we won the game. Because Lindsay you did your job, Lady you stayed on the floor for 36 minutes.Shemta (Landry) came off the bench and gave us a lift. Shaqwedia (Wallace) and Jasmine gave us a lift off the bench.
"When we do that, we can win a lot of basketball games."
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Delle Donne Outscores Christ the King
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. _ Say Christ the King in a basketball discussion and the names of a slew of outstanding collegiate players who are alumnae of the New York high school national powerhouse come to mind -- Sue Bird, Chamique Holdsclaw, Shay Doron, to mention a few.
Well all that history went out the window Friday night when Wilmington's Elena Delle Donne, the nation's top prospect who is heading for nearby UConn, outscored the entire team Friday night as part of Ursuline Academy's 57-37 victory over Christ the King in the Spaulding Hoophall Classic at Springfield College.
Delle Donne, who had not played since Dec. 8 because of mononucleosis, scored 38 points in 30 minutes of action, hitting 13 of 22 field goals and connecting on all 11 foul shots.
The 6-foot-5 guard, who holds the Delaware girls scoring record at 2,453 points, got a taste of the future with all the UConn beat writers, one columnist, and a large contingent of UConn fans in attendance.
Life Goes On Minus Two Starters at Uonn -- Tar Heels Next
(Guru's note: Space limitations in print prevented a full accounting of Connecticut's Big East win Saturday over Cincinnati -- the first game since Mel Thomas' collegiate career-ending acl knee injury. Here is the AP report of the contest.)
By PAT EATON-ROBB
Associated Press Writer
HARTFORD, Conn. — Renee Montgomery was asked to take on more of
Connecticut’s scoring burden after the top-ranked Huskies lost a second
starter to a season-ending knee injury this week.
Montgomery moved from point guard to shooting guard Saturday and
responded by scoring a career-high 27 points as the Huskies routed Cincinnati
86-49 to remain undefeated.
“I know what she wants, and I think a part of her has always wanted
this,” coach Geno Auriemma said. “A part of her has always wanted to be
counted on to do what she did today.”
Montgomery hit 7-of-11 from 3-point range, and was 10-of-17 from the
floor. The junior finished three points shy of 1,000 for her career.
Freshman Maya Moore had 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Kaili McLaren had
10 points and 10 rebounds for UConn (17-0, 5-0 Big East).
Kahla Roudebush had 16 points to lead Cincinnati (10-7, 1-4), which took
28 shots from behind the arc, hitting just eight. Jill Stephens added 15
points and seven rebounds.
“We realize that the only chance we have is to make 3s,” Bearcats coach
J. Kelley Hall said. “It worked early, we hung around for a little while, and
then we went cold.”
UConn has now won 30 consecutive regular-season games and 12 in a row in
the Big East. The Huskies host No. 3 North Carolina on Monday night.
Auriemma was forced to shuffle his lineup after shooting guard Mel
Thomas, who had been averaging just over 10 points a game, tore a ligament
and cartilage in her right knee during the closing minutes of Tuesday night’s
63-59 win at Syracuse. The Huskies had already lost starting small forward
Kalana Greene to a similar injury in December.
Montgomery moved into Thomas’ spot and freshman Lorin Dixon made her
first career start at the point. Dixon went more than 20 minutes without a
turnover before being stripped of the ball on a drive early in the second
half. She finished with seven assists and three turnovers.
“North Carolina is going to be a big game,” Dixon said. “It’s going to be
hard, tough, so having this one to just get the jitters out helped a lot.”
Moore hit five of her first six shots and had 19 first-half points, but
Cincinnati stayed in the game early. The Bearcats were down just 13-10 before
UConn went on 9-0 run to take a 22-10 lead. The Huskies built that to 45-25
at the half, with Montgomery hitting 4-of-6 from behind the arc.
UConn center Brittany Hunter missed her second consecutive game because
of soreness in her surgically repaired right knee. She was replaced in the
lineup by senior Charde Houston, who had eight points had five rebounds.
The Huskies held Cincinnati to 29 percent shooting for the game and
outrebounded the Bearcats 52-30.
“I think (the win) did a lot for everyone’s psyche,” Montgomery said.
“Everyone can exhale now. We’re going to be OK.”
Syracuse Poll-Bound?
Could Syracuse earn its first-ever AP ranking when this week's votes are delivered and counted Sunday night by a nationwide media panel?
The Orange (15-3, 3-2) have more than a shot after putting down Villanova here, 73-60, in the closing minutes Saturday and narrowly losing to Connecticut earlier in the week.
No. 23 DePaul's loss Saturday to Marquette may create one vacancy in the rankings, as might No. 25 Colorado's loss earlier in the week to Texas A&M, 72-68.
No. 24 Texas could also be vulnerable if the Longhorns lose Sunday to Texas Tech.
Arizona State, which had dropped out but was the top also-ran last week, has already lost to California and likely to lose to Stanford, Sunday.
Kansas State, if it wins Sunday, could pick up support, Georgia Tech will be at Maryland, Sunday, and it would take an upset to crack the poll. That leaves Syracuse as a likely candidate to gain access.
Garden Party
Tiny Cabrini College had a matinee date Wednesday afternoon against Notre Dame of Baltimore in a Pennsylvania Athletic Conference tilt.
A Cabrini alumnus with connections to St. John's and the Garden helped set up the game.
Drexel and Rutgers Seek to Extend Streaks
Rutgers, which has its own injury problems and a short eight-team roster to deal with, will host dangerous Louisville Sunday afternoon in a Big East game.
A year ago as the Scarlet Knights began to turn their season around, they squandered a 15-point lead to the Cardinal.
Drexel, meanwhile, will host N.C.-Wilmington in a Colonial Athletic Association game at 4 p.m. as the Dragons seek to extend their win streak to nine. That would match the second-longest behind a 16-game run in 1989-90.
If the Dragons can be among the top four in the conference, they could see a postseason opportunity.
A Long Time Between Atlantic Ten Wins
OK, we're being a little wise here, but the last time Suzie McConnell-Serio was on the winning side in an Atlantic Ten contest was in her final season as an all-American at Penn State in 1988.
On Saturday, on her third try, she gained her first conference win as the new coach of Duquesne and what a trumph it was.
The Dukes beat Dayton, ending the Flyers' win streak at 16, which had been the longest current one in the nation.
Tops in the City -- It's Holy Family
The hottest Division I team in town has been Drexel, but Holy Family, in Division II, remained unbeaten Saturday at 15-0 after beating Caldwell, 71-60, ge, 71-60, in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference in Northeast Philadelphia.
The Tigers are ranked 11th in the ESPN/Division II coaches' poll and had been 10th a week ago.
“This has been a great group. We are trying to get better every day. We are competing at a high lever with that effort and commitment," Holy Family coach Mike McLaughlin said.
In the win, forward Catherine Carr (fr. Bernardsville, NJ/Bernards) led the Tigers attack with 23 points. She was 9 of 13 from the floor. Center Christine McCollum (so. Abington, PA/St. Basil’s Academy) had 19 points, on 8 of 13 shooting, and nine rebounds. Guard Kelly Killion (sr.
Pennsauken, NJ/Camden Catholic) added 10 points.
Holy Family will host the University of the Sciences in a battle for first place in the CACC Southern Division on Wednesday, January 23 at 6 p.m. The Tigers have a one-game lead over the Devils in the division.
The Tigers won the first meeting on December 1, 78-58, at the University of the Sciences.
-- Mel
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