Women’s Basketball’s Atlantic 10 Tournament Run Ends in the Semifinals with a 66-55 Loss to Fordham

Sunday, March 10

Philadelphia, Pa.

4:00 PM

Temple University

14-18

Fordham (A-10 Semifinals)

24-7

Temple

Fordham

Natasha Thames notched a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds

Photo by: Mitchell Leff

Women’s Basketball’s Atlantic 10 Tournament Run Ends in the Semifinals with a 66-55 Loss to Fordham

3.10.13 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA (Hagan Arena) – The three-point shooting of Fordham (23-7) put an end to Temple women's basketball's Atlantic 10 Tournament run, as the Owls (14-18) played tough but came up short in a 66-55 loss. Temple made it to the semifinals despite being the 10 seed, beating seventh-seeded Xavier and second-seeded Charlotte before falling to the third-seeded Rams.

The loss also ends Temple's season, as the Owls are unfortunately not eligible for the WNIT due to a sub-.500 overall record.

Natasha Thames and Rateska Brown scored 15 points apiece to lead Temple, with Thames shooting 6-of-8 from the field and dominating on the glass all game long to finish with 11 rebounds.

In the final game of her collegiate career, Victoria Macaulay scored 14 points and grabbed nine boards. Tyonna Williams tied for game-high honors with six assists while also scoring seven points.

Four players scored in double figures for Fordham, led by Erin Rooney with a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds. Arielle Collins scored 16 points and hit 4-of-9 from behind the arc.

“My hat goes off to Fordham,” said head coach Tonya Cardoza. “Every single time we came down the floor, as soon as we made a mistake, they were able to capitalize. Even when we weren't making mistakes and we were sticking with the game plan, it seemed like whenever we left someone open they were knocking down wide open shots…They're a heck of a team and my hat goes off to Stephanie Gaitley. She's done a tremendous job turning that program around and making them a contender for an A-10 Championship.”

The Owls took a lead on their first possession and went on to remain in the lead for most of the first half. They trailed by a point at 13:23, 10-9, before a 10-0 run over a span of four minutes. Williams scored the first four points of the run, which eventually gave Temple its largest lead of nine, 19-10 at 9:28.

Fordham responded and narrowed the gap to two points near the six-minute mark, and to a point at 4:25. Sally Kabengano's jumper at 5:23 was the final field goal of the half for Temple.

Brown hit 3-of-3 at the line with four minutes remaining for a four-point, 26-22 advantage, but the Rams closed the half with a 5-0 run for a 27-26 lead at the break. Williams stole the ball on Fordham's final possession of the half with 11 seconds remaining, but Temple could not get the go-ahead bucket before the buzzer sounded.

Thames collected seven of the Owls' 20 rebounds in the first half, while also putting up seven points. Both teams did well to handle the ball and committed just six turnovers combined in the first half, with four of those by Temple.

Macaulay scored the first two buckets of the first half for a three-point lead, but Fordham responded with a 9-2 run for a 36-32 advantage at 13:41, and the Owls were never able to regain the lead.

The Rams hit five three-pointers in just over four minutes, with the last of those giving them their first double-digit lead of 11, 48-37 at 9:20. Temple quickly narrowed the deficit back to five, but it was as close as the Owls would get. The 10th three-pointer of the game for Fordham was a dagger by Collins at 2:13, once again putting her team up by 11 points.

Brown got the Owls within eight with her fourth three-pointer in the final minute, but the Rams hit 3-of-5 at the line and Temple did not score again. With just seconds remaining, Macaulay was subbed out and received a standing ovation from the Temple fans.

“It was the worst feeling in the world," said Macaulay. "It was sad, and I just didn't want it to be over. I still wanted to play with this team. We enjoy being around each other and I just didn't want that to end.”

Macaulay finishes the season with 300 rebounds, which ranks eighth all-time in a single season in program history, and her 740 career rebounds rank ninth all-time. Her 91 blocks this season rank fourth all-time, with her 211 career blocks also ranking fourth all-time.