PREFERS TEMPLE'S OFFENSE TO PRINCETON'S
Coach Tonya Cardoza and the Temple women's basketball team will return to the court for the first competitive game action in exactly 2 weeks on Sunday when the No. 9-seeded Owls take on the No. 8-seeded Florida Gators at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn.
"We've been staying in shape with a lot of running in practice," Cardoza said. "We've been focusing a little more on the offense the last few days, but our approach [in practice] hasn't changed. We're not going to act like making the NCAA Tournament is bigger than life. We'll practice like we always have, and tomorrow we'll really work out a game plan."
Temple has had to deal with the shooting of the Houston Rockets' Carl Landry, the brother of Owls senior forward Shenita Landry. Carl Landry suffered a gunshot wound to his lower leg and he is expected to miss up to 3 weeks. Shenita Landry has practiced this week and will play on Sunday. Cardoza did not want to comment on Landry because it is "a personal family matter."
Temple's game plan will try to solve the combination of Gators senior point guard Sha Brooks and senior forward Marshae Dotson, the only Florida players who score in double figures.
Brooks averages 16.6 points per game, while Dotson chips in with 13.7 and a team-high seven rebounds per game.
"They rely heavily on a couple players, mostly Brooks and Dotson," Cardoza said. "Dotson is a little undersized [5-11], but she's athletic and can obviously score. They remind me a little of Saint Louis, in that you've got to get the ball out of their best players' hands and make the rest of the team beat you."
The Owls defeated Saint Louis, 76-56, back on Feb. 8 and held the Billikens' and Atlantic 10 Conference's leading scorer, junior guard Theresa Lisch, to 15 points, four points below her season average.
In last season's meeting with Florida at the Liacouras Center, the Owls' defense came up short in that regard, allowing Brooks and Dotson to score 39 points combined.
Temple's inside tandem of senior forwards Shanea Cotton and Landry, who Cardoza sees as a distinct advantage this go-round, contributed only eight points and nine rebounds in that loss.
"I would think we would have a height advantage inside," Cardoza said. "They don't start anybody over 6 feet tall, so we should be able to get the ball inside. But, like them, we have multiple guys we can go to. The key, though, is that we have to shut them down defensively."
The Owls will also have one other major advantage on their side.
Though they're the lower seed in the matchup, Storrs, Conn., is a lot closer to Philadelphia than it is to Gainesville, Fla., meaning Temple fans can join Cardoza's Connecticut supporters at the game.
"I'm sure I'll get a warm welcome [on Sunday]. They always shower people who return there with love," Cardoza said. "I didn't play there, but I coached there [as an assistant under Geno Auriemma] for 14 years, so they'll probably show me and the team a lot of love, though I'm hoping it doesn't backfire. We haven't played in this type of atmosphere, but I think the players will thrive off competing at that level with that type of crowd."
Fellow Big 5 team and No. 8-seeded Villanova won't have to travel very far for its game against No. 9-seeded Utah, either. The Wildcats, making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2004, go south to College Park, Md., for their game Sunday at noon.
Wildcats senior forward Laura Kurz, an all-Big East first-team player, leads Villanova with 17.6 points per game and 7.3 rebounds per game.
The Utes have three players who score in double figures, senior guard Morgan Warburton, junior forward Kalee Whipple and senior forward Katie King.
Villanova coach Harry Perretta's former player and assistant coach, Denise Dillon, takes her No. 12-seeded Drexel Dragons across the country to Albuquerque, N.M. The Dragons tip off against No. 5-seeded Kansas State at 10:30 tomorrow night in the always-dangerous 5-12 matchup. Drexel will be looking for its first NCAA Tournament win in its first trip to the Big Dance. *
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