Cavallo's Double-Double Not Enough as Saint Joseph's Women's Basketball Falls at Temple, 53-43

Cavallo's Double-Double Not Enough as Saint Joseph's Women's Basketball Falls at Temple, 53-43 PHILADELPHIA – The Saint Joseph’s women’s basketball team fell behind Temple early, and despite making it a five-point game late, the Hawks couldn’t overcome the Owls, falling 53-43 Wednesday evening at the Liacouras Center. Temple jumped out to a 13-4 lead as Kristen McCarthy’s three pointer gave her team a nine-point edge 6:18 into the first half. The Hawks shot just 1-of-7 from the floor to start with a pair of free throws, while the Owls hit 6-of-12 to start the game. Saint Joseph’s cut it s deficit to 19-16 on a jumper in the lane by sophomore guard Mireia Vila (Cabrera De Mar, Spain/Escola de Santa Anna), but Temple closed out the half on a 9-2 run to take a 28-18 edge into the final stanza. The Owls’ defense held the Hawks to jut 29.6 percent from the floor (8-of-27) in the half and caused nine SJU turnovers, while Temple hit 13-of-34 from the field (38.2 percent). Down by as many as 16, the Hawks fought back to make it a 43-38 game on a jumper by junior Michelle Baker (Wilmington, Del./Brandywine) with 6:16 to go. Temple’s Shey Peddy answered back with five-straight points, upping the Owls’ lead back to double figures, 48-38 and held the Hawks at a distance over the remaining five minutes. For the game, the Hawks hit 18-of-54 from the floor (33.3 percent) and 7-of-11 from the line (63.6 percent), while being held without a three pointer for the first time this season. Saint Joseph’s was led by the 10 point, 10 rebound performance of junior forward Kelly Cavallo (Hampton Bays, N.Y./Westhampton Beach), with classmate Samira Van Grinsven (Helmond, Netherlands/Jan van Brabaut) adding 10 points and eight rebounds. At the other end, Temple finished 21-of-66 from the floor (31.8 percent), and hit 1-of-13 from three-point range (7.7 percent) and 10-of-17 from the foul line (58.8 percent). Peddy finished with a game-high 19 points as the Owls improved to 12-6 overall and 4-0 in Atlantic 10 games. The Hawks return to action Saturday when they host Massachusetts at 2 p.m.