(Guru's note: While we were handling print coverage of the Atlantic Ten final, which will be at philly.com at the Inquirer sports section, Kathleen stopped by right off mid-terms at St. Joe's to file the following report.)
By Kathleen Radebaugh
PHILADELPHIA _ Temple is still looking for a fight.
Despite losing tonight to Xavier, 47-42, in the championship round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament, Head Coach Dawn Staley and her Owls are already talking about their next game in postseason.
With the win, Xavier earned the league’s automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Championship.
“This will be a huge off-season for us,” said Head Coach Kevin McGuff. “This group of young women have a really high ceiling of what we can achieve, but we need to stay hungry in the off-season and make sure we really improve.
Temple struggled with their offensive force, but executed a solid defense, running the boards and forcing 20 turnovers.
“We executed the game plan defensively and held someone to 47 points,” said Staley. “We are going to go far in someone’s tournament.”
Temple’s field goal percentage for the game was only 25 percent, shooting 16-of-63 in the field.
Temple struggled with the quick tempo of the game.
Temple players are not slow, actually it is the complete opposite. Try doing suicides against LaKeisha Eaddy-you won’t even make it to half court. It was the forced shots that tripped Temple and caused them to hit more rim than net.
Temple saw this ineptitude before in their conference game against Rhode Island, but Staley noted that this vulnerability in the field never lasted for 40 minutes.
Senior guard Ashley Morris went 4-of-20 from the field and only converted two three-pointers. She led the team with 12 points, but Xavier had three players finish the night in double digits.
Senior Lady Comfort was only 2-of-8 in the field, but lead the team in boards with 11.
“We just struggled. I struggled. I am the head of this monster, and when I struggle nothing goes [well] for the team,” said Morris. “I take full responsibility for the part of the game offensively.”
Of course, Morris is going to be upset. She is a senior looking to “repose” the A-10 Championship trophy.
Last season, Temple beat Xavier, 59-58, during the regular season but was unable to beat the Musketeers when it mattered the most in the semifinal round of the tourney, 54-53. The Owls wanted the win too much that nerves and pressure got the best of them and their shots.
Staley commented during the press conference that the best team and the hardest working team won the game tonight and her team wasn’t it despite leading most of the stat categories.
Staley is right, because the players never took a deep breath, found themselves looking at the scoreboard more times than at each other, and lost the fun, the win, of the game.
There was a point during the game when Xavier sophomore forward Amber Harris raised her hands to the taunting Temple crowd that kept shouting her name, because she plays better when she hears her name coming from the crowd, even if it’s jeering.
Harris jeers back with 12 points and six rebounds.
The amount of pressure to make the NCAA Tournament is enormous and something that a non-basketball Division I athlete may never understand, but there has to be a point during the game where a player turns to her teammates, drops her shoulders, and tries to remember why she plays the game in the first place.
Morris wasn’t the only one on the court not changing the scoreboard.
Taking full responsibility for lack of offensive prowess for Temple doesn’t make it any less of a loss. Despite Morris’ weak showing in the first two stanzas, the last possession for her team was going to her for a quick three, displaying how much her teammates and coaches trust her and want her to succeed.
“We wouldn’t be here without Ashley,” said Staley. “Ashley is our bread and butter. She is the one that got us here and we wanted her to hit a quick three. I know she feels bad about the game, but she put us in a position to continue playing and we will play post season somewhere.”
Both Morris and Comfort made the All-Championship team, while Ta’Shia Phillips was named Most Outstanding Performer. Phillips finished the night with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
The final thought on every Owl’s mind, including the pep band, was getting second chance at postseason.
“We just want another chance,” said Comfort. “We want another opportunity to play to show everybody else that we can win and be a threat in this game.”
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