TTN: Owls’ defensive game plan pays off in win

http://temple-news.com/sports/2011/11/15/owls-defensive-game-plan-pays-off-in-win/

(November 15, 2011)

Senior guard trio step up in the women’s basketball season opener.

The women’s basketball team jumped on the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks 70-36 in McGonigle Hall on Friday, starting off right where they finished last season after placing third in the Atlantic Ten Conference and posting a 24-9 record.

Some things stayed the same this season for the Cherry and White, such as their suffocating defense and the play from their Big Three.

“Coach came up with a new motto going into the game, ‘Defend to win,’” junior forward Brittany Lewis said. “I think we just tried to take away their game plan, if anything.”

And some things were different, like their physicality in the post and the production they saw from their freshman class.

“As long as our guys are going out and giving 110 percent you can’t ask for much more,” Cardoza said of the post players. “I thought [Lewis] did a great job of scoring for us.”

Regardless of the similarities and differences of last year’s squad and this year’s, the Owls looked in mid-season form in their season opener. For at least one night, Temple answered all the questions facing them in the offseason.

Who would replace guard Qwedia Wallace? Senior guard BJ Williams is the third member of the “Big Three” now, with senior guards Shey Peddy and Kristen McCarthy.

Who would start in the post? Senior center Joelle Connelly and Lewis impressed in the frontcourt.
How would the freshman class—with guards Rateska Brown, Tyonna Willams and Monaye Merritt—handle running the offense when one of the starting guards are forced to sit out? Pretty well, actually, with 14 combined points.

“They looked pretty good,” Cardoza said of the three freshmen. “It was really good to be able to play [Merritt] and [Brown].”

The Owls struggled to find the rim in the first half with just 30.8 percent shooting and 28 points, but they fought off the pre-game jitters and proved why they’re a favorite in the A-10 this season, Cardoza said.

“I was very frustrated with myself that I was missing open shots and wide open layups in the first half, but I tried to stay focused and eventually I just let it go and my shot started falling,” Peddy said.

Peddy was once again the front woman of the Owls’ Big Three, scoring 15 points and grabbing six rebounds. She also recorded three steals, showing why she’s a defensive nightmare for the opposing team’s best player.

“I love stealing the ball,” Peddy said. “I feel like it frustrates whoever passes the ball, whoever I’m defending, and I feel like steals is the only way I’m probably going to get [A-10 Defensive Player of the Year].”

“Going into the game I told [the coaches] that [Redhawks’ junior guard Courtney Osborn] wasn’t going to score more than 12 points,” Peddy added.

Peddy frustrated Osborn all game, allowing just eight points on 2-10 shooting to the Redhawks’ leading scorer last season.

Williams also stepped up for the Owls with six points and six assists in her first game as the full-time starting point guard.

“We had open shots,” Cardoza said. “BJ [Williams] was getting players wide open shots and in the second half we just knocked them down.”

Connelly, Lewis, junior forward Natasha Thames and sophomore forward Nikki Works complimented the Big Three well, adding a physical presence on defense that was sometimes absent last season. Temple pulled in 24 offensive rebounds on the night, compared to seven by the RedHawks. Even though Connelly fouled out in the second half, the front court combined for 22 points, 27 rebounds and three blocks.

“We frustrated them and forced them into a lot of turnovers, which resulted in us going down to the other end and trying to score,” Cardoza said.

“I think game one definitely built my confidence,” Lewis said.

The Owls put on a clinic in the second half, scoring 42 points while allowing 19.

Temple outshot Miami (Ohio) 48.4 percent to 25 percent in the half and allowed just one three on the night.

And as for the third member of the “Big Three,” McCarthy, she played pretty well, too. The Owls’ current career-leading scorer knocked down 13 points to go along with six rebounds.

“They’re the guys that have led us and guided us to the point that we are,” Cardoza said of Peddy, Williams and McCarthy. “They’re our leaders.”

Jake Adams can be reached at jacob.adams@temple.edu.

TTN: Owls get revenge against Dukes

http://temple-news.com/sports/2011/11/12/owls-get-revenge-against-dukes/

(November 12, 2011)
Women’s volleyball snaps three-game losing streak in final weekend.

It took far longer than the team wanted, but the women’s volleyball team finally came away with the win in a nail bitter against Duquesne on Friday at McGonigle Hall.

The last time the two teams squared off was a 3-0 sweep for the Duquesne, coming off a long night for the Owls in which their flight was canceled and they were forced to arrive in Pittsburgh with little sleep. The second go-around proved much more favorable for Temple, who are in their final weekend of competition after being eliminated from the Atlantic Ten Conference playoffs last weekend.

“Going into my last few games I just want to win, no matter what,” senior outside hitter Collin Wallace said.

The home team jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in front of a rowdy crowd of 216. The Owls were hitting off Duquesne’s blocks effectively. The Dukes were on their heels for much of the first two sets, as sophomore outside hitter Gabriella Matautia put down 11 kills.

“We’ve definitely been practicing that, hitting off the block,” Matautia said. “We take the cushions from the pole and put them up as a block […] and we have to hit off the block at practice for about 20 minutes.”

Duquesne fought back, however, and was able to take the third set with .361 kill percentage. Then the wheels fell off for the Owls in the fourth set, as they found themselves down by as many as 11. The team showed visible frustration with themselves and occasionally the refs.

“We’ve always had a history of getting at it with the refs about some of the calls,” Matautia said.

“We were frustrated,” Wallace said. “We wanted to win. We were up two games and we should’ve taken it in the third.”

With the momentum clearly on the other side, the Owls were able to jump to a quick 4-0 lead in the deciding fifth set. Duquesne climbed back to a 10-8 lead, but Matautia knocked down a kill that sparked a 6-0 to retake the lead.

“I think we just wanted it more,” Wallace said. “Once we had that four-point lead and once we got that four-point lead we were just on a roll.”

“We did change our set, too,” coach Bakeer Ganes said. “We made sure Tiffany set the ball a little bit off the net, so that gives the attack a little bit more room to work with. That helped us.”

The Dukes fought off three consecutive game points before Matautia went to the net with the score 14-13 thinking, “Get this last point, come on.”

Matautia put down her match-high 23rd kill of the night and sealed the deal for the Owls.

Matautia was one of four Temple players with a double-double, recording 13 digs. Freshman setter Tiffany Connatser tacked on another 47 assists and 12 digs and Wallace recorded 14 kills and 19 digs.

As a team the Owls were outplayed by Duquesne, at least on the stat sheet. The Dukes out-hit Temple .224 to .153, and recorded 17 team blocks to the home team’s 7.

“The stat sheet only says done side of the story,” Ganes said. “The kids sometimes get caught up in the stats too much, too. This is a good example to show them that stats only show one side of the story.”

Temple also attacked Duquesne’s freshman libero Patti Abshire, who struggled for much of the night despite a match high 27 digs. It’s a weak point they exploited, while having the comfort of one of the A-10’s best liberos, Ganes said, in junior Chelsea Tupuola. Tupuola recorded 19 digs on the night.

“[Tupuola] doesn’t get the credit she deserves,” Ganes said. “She’s probably the most consistent player on the team. Day in, day out I know what I’m going to get out of her.”

The Owls return to action on Sunday in the season finale against Xavier, who is second in the A-10 with a 10-4 conference mark. The team will be celebrating Senior Day, honoring setters Liz Prang and Rikia Trischuk as well as Wallace in their final game on North Broad. Game time is set for 12:30 p.m. in McGonigle Hall.

Jake Adams can be reached at jacob.adams@temple.edu.

TTN: Rebuild the big three

http://temple-news.com/sports/2011/11/07/rebuild-the-big-three/

(November 7, 2011)
Senior guard BJ Williams will become a member of the Big Three.

After reaching the NCAA tournament for the eighth consecutive year last season, the Owls look to try to make this year a memorable one for the seniors. The team’s “Big Three” was broken up as Qwedia Wallace graduated, but the Owls are confident that other seniors can step up and create a new outlook for the team.

Backcourt

A new part of the “Big Three”, senior guard BJ Williams will immediately step in and start at the point guard position.

Last season, Williams earned the team’s Most Improved Player Award, playing in 32 games, and averaging 4.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. The Maryland native also dished out 99 assists throughout the season. Coach Tonya Cardoza stressed she wants Williams to have a much larger role and be more of a scoring threat to help make up for the loss of Wallace.

“We’re more up-tempo when [Williams] is at point and she can create for others,” Cardoza said. “Coaches know when she’s on the floor really good things happen for us. She can score, too and this year we’ll look to her to be more aggressive.”

Williams has started 14 games during her three years so far and has contributed off the bench, but will now be expected to be a major threat alongside senior guard Shey Peddy.

Peddy won a list of accolades last year in her first season at Temple. Peddy was named Big 5 Player of the Year, Team MVP, Atlantic Ten First Team, and Atlantic Ten Conference All-Defensive Team. Peddy averaged 14.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, while also racking up 104 steals and 137 assists. The 104 steals were good enough to set a new Temple all-time record for a single season.
But Cardoza would like her to improve her vocal leadership in her senior season.

“Obviously [Peddy’s] talented, everyone sees that, and they respect her,” Cardoza said. “But she leads by example and I’m trying to make her more vocal and pulling that out of her was a struggle, and sometimes we butt heads because of it. She understands now for us to be successful, she needs to be more of a vocal leader.”

Senior guard Kristen McCarthy’s job was one of the few guarantees heading into this season for the Owls. She already has 1,204 points in her career, good for 11th in Temple history. The only thing standing in the way of that accomplishment could be injuries, something the team hopes to avoid.

Another factor to consider is the lack of experience behind Peddy, McCarthy and Williams at guard. Four freshmen, Rateska Brown, Shaniqua Reese, Tyonna Williams and Monaye Merritt, will have to assist the seniors.

“[Williams and Merritt] are the two that are probably going to play right away for us,” Cardoza said.

Frontcourt

Juniors Natasha Thames and Brittany Lewis, and sophomore Nikki Works will all have a chance to earn a starting job at forward by the season opener, Cardoza said.

Works, the youngest of the three, saw action in 21 games last season and averaged .9 points and 1.1 rebounds a game but has shown progress during the summer.

Lewis, after transferring from Virginia Tech, played in 18 games last year and started in two contests. The 6-foot-2-inch junior averaged 2.5 points and 1.9 rebounds per game, while shooting 44 percent from the field.

Thames, the most experienced of the three, has started in 24 games in her first two years and all of her statistics have improved each year. Last season, she averaged 6.3 points and led the team with 5.5 rebounds per game.

“That was a big conversation we had going into the summer, getting that contribution from the post and every single one of them has improved,” Cardoza said. “[Works] and [Lewis] have been the biggest surprises because of their work ethic and consistency so far. I’m hoping that continues.”
Cardoza is unsure if the team will feature two forwards or a forward and a center in the season opener, much less for the season.

At center, the Owls have senior Joelle Connelly and junior Victoria Macaulay. Macaulay has more natural talent but plays with more finesse, Cardoza said. Connelly only played in 20 games last year, logging 216 minutes, but on a per-minute basis she was far more effective than Macaulay, averaging nearly half as many rebounds and points, 2.5 and 1.9, respectively, than Macaulay in a third of the time.

“[Macaulay] had some breakout games but it’s about being consistent and playing with passion every single day,” Cardoza said.

If the coaching staff isn’t impressed by either of them heading into opening day, look for the runner-up in the battle between Lewis, Works and Thames to get the nod in the fifth spot.

Jake Adams and Brandon Stoneburg can be reached at sports@temple-news.com.

TTN: Roster shapes up without Wallace

http://temple-news.com/sports/2011/11/07/roster-shapes-up-without-wallace/

(November 7, 2011)

The Owls will look to their returning starters after losing Qwedia Wallace.

After falling one game short of an Atlantic Ten Conference championship game appearance last year, the women’s basketball team finds itself in a rough spot trying to find a way to replace one of the team’s best scoring threats, former guard Qwedia Wallace.

Last season Wallace averaged 13.5 points per game and became the program’s all-time leading three-point shooter. Along with guard Shey Peddy and forward Kristen McCarthy, then juniors, Wallace was the senior leader of Temple’s “Big Three.”

“It’s huge,” coach Tonya Cardoza said of losing senior leader Wallace. “We lose one of our best three-point shooters, one of our better defenders, someone who understands the game and is willing to do whatever it takes.”

“[Wallace] had a big impact and she helped me become more comfortable on the court last year because we had a bond,” Peddy said. “I knew where she would be on the court and she knew where I would be and I played off of her.”

Wallace was an offensive force, leading the team in free-throw percentage, three-point conversions and was second in scoring behind Peddy. She played at her best against tough competition, scoring 32 points in the season opener against No. 7 Ohio State and 21 against No. 3 Duke.

“[Wallace] led by example and worked a lot harder in her senior year because she wanted to go out doing something great,” Cardoza said.

Temple lost its regular season finale against Xavier, snapping a 13-game winning streak, and was upset by Dayton a week later in the A-10 semifinals. The loss hurt Wallace, who never won a conference championship in four seasons on North Broad.

“After we didn’t win the A-10 championship last year, it just made me think, ‘Dang, [Wallace] doesn’t have another shot at this,’” McCarthy said.

“Winning a title would’ve been a wonderful accomplishment at Temple,” Wallace said in an email. “Every ball player’s dream is to win some kind of championship.”

Three weeks later the Owls lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament to No. 9 Notre Dame, and the Wallace era was finished.

Now the team must find a way to replace a player who scored 1,190 points in 125 career games, and someone who was a vocal leader. She spent much of her first two seasons as a contributor off the bench, and then excelled in her junior year as the first player off the bench. Last season was her first full season as a starter and she became an integral member of the “Big Three” with Peddy and McCarthy, who combined for 40.8 points and 13.8 rebounds per game.

“My time at Temple went by really fast,” Wallace said. “I grew as a person and a basketball player. I just remember all of the hard work I went through and thinking that I made it.”

“Watching [Wallace] from her sophomore year to her senior year was drastically different and that was mostly from her having confidence in herself and not letting little things get to her,” Cardoza said.

Now the team is looking to senior guard BJ Williams to step in as the new member of the Big Three. Cardoza feels the offense will be more fast-paced with Williams as the point guard, but the team knows she has big shoes to fill and nothing is a guarantee.

“Now we have [Williams] to step up and be part of the new Big Three,” Peddy said. “But we have a lot of making up to do.”

The Owls also acknowledged that whoever fills the two remaining starting spots in the front court will also have the added pressure of filling in the hole. Junior forward Brittany Lewis, who is fighting for one of those spots, sees the post players pushing themselves every day to have a bigger impact.

The current crop of seniors are even more motivated to bring a conference championship back to Temple after watching one of their best players leave without one. Peddy and McCarthy are determined to avoid the same fate.

“Seeing how relentless she was, this year I have a ‘Qwedia mindset’ like that,” Peddy said.

“I don’t want my season to end, because this time when it ends, it really ends,” McCarthy said. “It’s over.”

Jake Adams can be reached at jake.adams@temple.edu.

TTN: Volleyball drops third straight A-10 match

http://temple-news.com/sports/2011/10/22/volleyball-drops-third-straight-a-10-match/

(October 22, 2011)

The women’s volleyball team returned to North Broad for a four-game home stand against George Washington Friday night. But the comforts of home didn’t help the Owls.

The Owls were swept in straight sets for the third consecutive match, dropping to 2-6 in the Atlantic-Ten Conference. After two losses last weekend at Saint Louis and Duquesne, the team was hoping to bounce back, but it wasn’t meant to be.

“We were excited, it’s always nice to be at home and play in front of your friends and your family,” freshman setter Tiffany Connatser said.

“This was definitely an opponent we wanted to beat, especially because they had a similar record, at least before this weekend,” coach Bakeer Ganes said. “This is definitely somebody we’re going to fight for the fifth or sixth spot to go into the conference tournament.”

Temple fought hard in the opening set, but with the score 9-10, the Colonials went on a 7-2 run to take the first set handily, 25-19. After another close battle to start the second set, the Owls found themselves down 14-16 when they used a time out.

“I gave them a couple indications of what they could do in order to fix [the blocking],” Ganes said. “I really told them we’ve got to pick up our defense.”

Temple responded, taking a 22-20 lead, but the wheels came off and George Washington took four of the last five points to win the set.

“If you look at the last four points we made a lot of errors that basically cost us the set,” Ganes said.
“It always hurts to lose that close,” junior libero Chelsea Tupuola said. “But we played so hard throughout that whole match and losing by two points was probably the worst feeling.”

The Owls were unable to recover and dropped the third set, 25-19. Only sophomore outside hitter Elyse Burkert reached double-digit kills, with 10. Tupuola had another spectacular night in the back court, however, recording 21 digs.

The defense managed to hold the Colonials’ best hitter, junior outside hitter Lauren Whyte (287 kills this season) to just eight kills on 29 attempts, but they were torched by senior middle hitter MacKenzie Knox’s 15 kills. Temple’s size at the net was their ultimate undoing.

“George Washington, I’ve got to give them credit, they did a really good job exploiting [size] and that really hurt us,” Ganes said.

“It’s frustrating, especially in our conference right now we know that everybody’s just beating everybody, so anything is up for grabs,” Tupuola said.

For the offense to regain some ground in the A-10, the offense also has to take a big step. None of the Owls three leading scores—senior outside hitter Collin Wallace, sophomore outside hitter Gabriella Matuatia and Burkert—were able to take over the match.

It’s something that’s plagued the team of late. Poor passing and serve-receive, as well as a miniscule .094 hitting percentage, are things the team will have to improve before Saturday’s game against Charlotte.

“It would have helped if our hitters would have finished plays to take pressure off the block, and that’s something we just didn’t get done today,” Ganes said.

“Everyone’s scouted us, we’ve scouted everyone [in the A-10],” Connatser said. “If we’re more consistent with our passing and our serve-receive then I’ll have three options every time and be able to throw the ball around a little more.”

The Owls return to action on Saturday at 7 p.m. in McGonigle against A-10 rival Charlotte.

Jake Adams can be reached at jacob.adams@temple.edu