Battered on boards, Rockets fall at Temple

12/11/2008

PHILADELPHIA - The University of Toledo women suffered a 73-46 setback to Temple last night at the Liacouras Center.

The Owls held a decisive 56-21 edge on the boards and outscored the Rockets 36-18 in the paint.

The Rockets fell to 3-6.

"I think all the credit has to go to Temple," Toledo coach Tricia Cullop said. "They possess great athleticism and speed. The tell-tale story of tonight's game was rebounding."

Junior Tanika Mays led three Rockets in double figures with 14 points. Sophomore Melissa Goodall and freshman Naama Shafir added 10 points each.

Toledo shot 35.1 percent (20-of-57) from the field, including 7.7 percent (1-of-13) from beyond the arc.

"We had too many silly errors, and many of those I thought were mental," Cullop said. "We can only get better from this experience. We faced a very good team tonight and they made us pay dearly."

Shanea Cotton paced the Owls (5-3) with a career-high 23 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Shenita Landry had 13 points with a game-high 12 rebounds.

Temple shot 47.1 percent (31-of-66) from the floor, including 30.8 percent (4-of-13) from beyond the arc.

The Rockets will take the next eight days off to focus on fall semester exams before playing Morehead State at Savage Arena on Dec. 19.