By Kyle Soppe
Senior leadership is typically hard to measure in box scores, rather a calming influence on the team as a whole. This past week however, Temple Owls (7-7, 1-0) veteran guard Kristen McCarthy made her presence known in a big way in two huge road wins.
Her standout week began as Temple wrapped up its non conference schedule with a contest at Western Michigan. She came out aggressive and tallied 11 points in the games first 20 minutes, allowing her Owls to head into the locker rooms with a comfortable 10 point advantage. Temple’s lead would continue to grow, as McCarthy stepped up her defensive game with four steals. The threat of her on the outside began to open up driving lanes for her teammates, and Temple had the game wrapped up. McCarthy finished with a game high 19 points to go along with five rebounds, three of which came on the offensive end. While this game was Temple’s in the early going, their conference opener was a completely different story.
The Owls traveled to the Robins Center to face the upstart Richmond Spiders (12-3, 0-1) in what was the game of the week in the A-10. McCarthy scored the games first bucket, but that was the last time Temple would see the lead until midway through the second half. Despite briefly holding the lead, Temple was batteling from behind the entire night, and fell behind by eight points after Gen Okoro converted a lay up with 3:58 remaining in the game. On the play, McCarthy was whistled for her fourth personal foul, one away from disqualification.
But this is a senior, a senior who has learned from experience. This wasn’t the first time Temple had been down late in a game, nor was it the first time the sharp shooting senior was in foul trouble. She led the team in scoring up to this point (12 points) and was aware that her team needed her to not only to stay in the game, but to take over.
Catch and shoot from the top of the key. Bang. Three point game. Left wing pull up. Money. One point game.
After a Spider miss, the Owls were left with 5.6 seconds and the ball at half court. Shey Peddy, the teams leading scorer this season, started the games final possession by catching the ball at the top of the key. She hesitated, then drove hard to her left. Richmond was not going to let Peddy beat them, and forced her to pick up her dribble at the elbow. She spotted McCarthy on the left wing and slung a pass her way. McCarthy took one left handed dribble, and rose up …
The ball swished through the hoop as the backboard lit up, and the Temple Owls (preseason co-favorites of the A-10) had a nice road win to open conference play. McCarthy led Temple with 18 points and added 11 rebounds in the comeback victory. Her five offensive rebounds matched all of Richmond, but it was her clutch play with time running down that will be most remembered. She played every second of the emotional win, and clearly was fatigued in the final moments. Temple’s record is a bit deceiving, as they lost to powerhouses like Duke and Rutgers, but this is the top team in the A-10 until somebody knocks them off. And if McCarthy is going to play like this on a weekly basis, it will take a near perfect game from their opponent to knock them off.
Who gets your POTW?
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