By Kyle Soppe
With the rights to play for an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament on the line, the second seeded Temple Owls faced off against the third seeded Dayton Flyers.
How they got here:
Temple used a gutty 30 point 8 rebound performance from Shey Peddy to knock of the Duquesne Dukes, 64-55. Victoria Macaulay added an efficient eight points on 4/6 shooting and 12 big time rebounds.
Dayton handled the 11th seeded St. Louis Billikens behind a balanced scoring attack by a final tally of 69-51. Patricia Lalor (17 points) broke the game open with a personal nine point spurt at the begging of the second half. Justine Raterman (a projected top 20 pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft) was held to nine points in 25 minutes and the Owls are likely to draw from the blue print the Billikens provided.
Early on, it appeared as if Dayton would have the edge by the sheer volume of shots they were getting off. In the first five minutes, the Flyers were attempting three shots for every two Temple attempts, and even at a low percentage, that is nearly impossible to overcome. Justine Raterman’s corner three, after a Casey Nance offensive rebound, got wedged between the rim and backboard, but had just enough steam to crawl over the rim and fall through for three. While they were getting beaten badly on the glass, the Owls shot at a high enough clip to hold the early 12-9 advantage.
Often overlooked starting center Joelle Connelly was making things happen for the Owls, as they waited for their high scoring back court to get comfortable. The 6’3″ senior swatted two Flyer second chance opportunities and dished out two assists for the cutting Kristen McCarthy.
Temple caught up in the shots category, but their looks were not of the quality that the Flyers were getting on the other end. Wild shots rarely fall, and Temple’s 28% shooting in the first 14 minutes proves that. The Flyers worked the ball, inside out, and were continuously getting open looks at the basket. Cassie Sant was thinking a few steps ahead on seemingly every possession, and was always in the right spot. She was spotted wide open on the perimeter and cashed in a pair of triples in less than a minute, extending the lead to 10 points. Temple continued to battle, and while Peddy couldn’t find an open look, she showed off her well rounded game by putting her teammates in a good position to succeed. With the lead trimmed to five, Sant was once again where she needed to be, and Samantha Mackay dropped off a precise bounce pass for an easy two. Sant’s 10 points led a productive Flyer bench that scored 58% of Dayton’s first half points and outscored the Owls bench by 14.
Peddy was able to get on the board with 2:15 left in the half with a driving right handed lay up plus the foul, but her impact was minimized by a swarming Flyers defense that switched between man to man and zone. But the Temple stud didn’t make it this far to go down without a fight (and with a broken nose). She buried a silky smooth trey just before the half, trimming the deficit to 36-29.
By spending the weekend in Philly, I can tell you that this Temple squad embodies everything that is Southeastern Pennsylvania. They will take your best punch, not flinch, and hit you even harder. That is exactly how the Owls opened the half, as the erased the seven point deficit in three short minutes. Brittany Lewis finished a spot on behind the back pass from BJ Williams to get the crowd into it, and then swished home a three from the top of the key. With the momentum clearly in their hands, Peddy snatched a rebound and raced down the court. A three on one break with Peddy at the reigns is about as automatic as things get, and Victoria Macaulay finished the no look pass to tie the game at 38.
Thirty minutes into this game, and I had no idea who the better team was. Dayton appeared to be playing better, but Temple had the answer every single time. Lalor found Ally Mallot for an easy two, giving Dayton the first lead over two points in quite some time. But the Kristen McCarthy would have none of it, as her cross court pass soared over all the Flyer defenders, and right into the shooting pocket of an already locked and loaded BJ Williams. The triple tied the game, and McCarthy connected on the Owls next possession to give Temple a three point edge. All Temple had to do was get a lead, and play with this intensity, and they’d be fine. Right?
Not exactly.
Mackay sunk a three pointer of her own, leveling the score for the the sixth time, and for the third time in less than five minutes. This resilient Flyers team dug their heels in on the defensive end, and rode the timely shooting to their largest lead since the intermission. Rebounding is a team effort, and four of the Flyers starting five managed at least five boards. The consistent commitment to limiting the Owls to a single shot sparked the rally that would seal the game. Raterman buried three of four free throws and Mackay netted another cold blooded three, extending the lead to eight points. Great inbound pressure by Lalor and the Flyers forced a five second count, and Mackay capitalized with a driving right handed lay up.
“Our posts set good screens on got all of the guards free. Coach told us to attack the middle and I thought we did that. My points came from just taking what they gave us. ” Stated a happy but not yet satisfied Mackay.
Flyers by 10 with less than six to play: shame on anyone for counting the Owls as defeated.
A spirited 12-3 run, spearheaded by the energy of BJ Williams and the shot making/rebounding of Brittany Lewis drew the Owls to within a single point with 60 seconds remaining. At this point overtime didn’t seem likely, but no fan in Hagan Arena wanted this game to end.
Dayton missed a free throw, giving the Owls the rock with 20 seconds remaining. Peddy drove right and threaded a very thin needle to get the ball to Macaulay. But the swarm of Flyer defenders made the shot a difficult one, and A-10 rookie of the year Andrea Hoover grabbed the loose ball. With 2.2 seconds left, the uber-talented frosh calmly stroked both freebies as if she were the only one in the gymnasium. A half court heave from Applewhite went begging, and the Flyers survived the best game thus far.
“Both teams really wanted this one, and I’m proud of our girls for how they handled it. We’ve got really tough kids.” An exhausted Coach Jabir expressed.
The Owls finished with five players in double figures, but nobody else recorded a point. Raterman’s 16 and 8 statistically led the Flyers, but this was a complete team effort.
The Dayton Flyers will play the Bonnies of St. Bonaventure, who have yet to lose to an A-10 opponent. The Flyers were tested against an elite defense tonight, and will do the same tomorrow, but they are every bit as talented as the Bonnies.
What a game!