Jan. 11, 2009

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - In a classic match-up of Big 5 rivals, it was defense that dominated. Unfortunately for the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team, it couldn't thwart Temple's defense as SJU was held to just 18 points on 7-of-28 shooting in the second half and fell to the Owls, 58-53, Sunday in both teams Atlantic 10 opener at the Gallagher Center.

Trailing 40-39, Saint Joseph's got five straight points by senior guard Jenna Loschiavo to take a 44-40 edge with 14:14 remaining in the contest.

The Owls answered with an 11-2 run over the next 6:19, taking a 51-46 lead on a jump shot by Shaqwedia Wallace with 7:55 left in the contest. Saint Joseph's went 1-of-7 during that stretch.

The Hawks fought back though, slowly chipping away at Temple's lead, with a free throw by junior guard Mariame Djouara brining SJU within one, 54-53, with 1:42 left.

Saint Joseph's would have two opportunities to take the lead in the closing seconds, but Temple's defense held stead and forced two missed shots.

Wallace added a pair of free throws to put Temple up 55-53 with :32 seconds left, but the Hawks had a chance to tie. However on the ensuing possession, a Djouara jumper on the wing was off the mark, forcing a foul.

At the other end, Shenita missed the front end of a one-and-one, but SJU couldn't convert at the other end and Landry made up for her miss with two free throws to seal the win for the Owls with :02.8 seconds left.

In the first half, neither team could pull away from each other. The score was tied eight times, with Saint Joseph's freshman guard Michelle Baker down a baseline jump shot at the buzzer to give the Hawks a 35-33 edge after the opening 20 minutes.

For the game, Saint Joseph's shot 40.4 percent from the field (21-of-52), 4-of-13 from behind the arc (30.8 percent) and 7-of-11from the foul line (63.6 percent). At the other end, Temple shot 42.6 percent from the floor (42.6 percent), 4-of-12 from three point range, went 8-of-16 from the foul line and out rebounded SJU 39-24.

Individually, junior forward Brittany Ford paced the Hawks with 11 points, while Loschiavo was the only other Hawk in double digits, scoring 10 points.

Landry led the Owls in scoring with a game-high 17 points.

Saint Joseph's falls to 8-8 on the season with the loss and 0-1 in the A-10 and 2-1 in Big 5 play. Temple improves to 9-5 overall, 1-0 in the A-10 and 2-1 in city-series games.

Saint Joseph's returns to action this Wednesday at George Washington. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.

***Photos from today's game available at www.sidephotos.com