Bonnies fall to Owls in conference quarterfinal

As guard LaKeisha Eaddy squared up to take her foul shots Saturday afternoon, the women's basketball team could feel the inevitability, looking at the game clock at the Halton Arena in Charlotte, N.C.Three seconds remained in the game and, as Temple's junior guard sank both shots to put her team up by four, three seconds remained on the Bonnies' season

That 21-win season, the best in program history, ended Saturday with a 67-63 quarterfinal loss to the Owls in the Atlantic 10 tournament.

"I thought today our kids showed what our program has come to stand for," Coach Jim Crowley said. "We played a very good Temple team. That Temple team was better than us today, but we gave ourselves a chance."

That chance grew with the Bonnies' 10-3 run to start the game behind seven points early from Dana Mitchell. She finished with a team-high 24 points. With Bonnies up 13-5, Eaddy broke up the run and Bonaventure's fast start with a 3-pointer at 13:52.

The basket launched a 16-0 Temple run, punctuated with a Shaqwedia Wallace 3-pointer with 10:23 remaining in the half.

Crowley said his team's defense played a strong game, but Temple's offensive stars took control.

"We held Eaddy, and she found people. We ball-pressured Wallace and she made shots," he said.

Megan Van Tatenhove reinstituted the Bonnies' scoring at 9:46. The freshman went on a mini run, scoring the game's next six points in a row and hitting a 3-pointer after an Eaddy jumper with 7:26 remaining in the half to pull the Bonnies within one at 22-23. Van Tatenhove finished with 17 points.

Averaging 14 points per game in her first conference tournament, the 6-foor, 1-inch freshman said she knew she had to raise her game as an inside player.

"It's a completely different level. You have your non-conference and your conference. Then you have the tournament," she said. "I knew that I had to step up."

The Owls ran a 11-6 run into the break, taking a 36-28 lead at the half.

Opening the second half with a Priscilla Edwards layup, the Bonnies went cold. The Owls rattled off seven straight points to build a 43-30 lead, the game's largest.

Crowley said at that point, his team channeled an attitude he saw many times during its historic season.

"(We) really could have packed it in," he said. "We were tired and they were playing well. But (giving up is) not what these kids do."

Temple's coach, Tonya Cardoza, said she knew the Bonnies weren't giving up, either.

"Even when we got up 13, I reminded my kids that, when we were up there, we were up by 12 points, and they came back," she said.

The Bonnies erased a deficit to beat the Owls Jan. 24.

Strong second-half performances from Eaddy and Jasmine Stone made sure the Owls kept the lead for good. Eaddy scored 19 second-half points en route to a game-high 26. Stone scored seven in the game's final 12 minutes to finish with 12 points.

While the Owls' offense tried to extend its lead, the Bonnies prevented them from pulling away. From 8:34 down to the game's final seconds, they traded baskets with the Owls. Katelyn Murray and Priscilla Edwards hit 3's while Mitchell and Van Tatenhove pounded the ball inside after Eaddy and Stone made their shots.

In the end, Eaddy's free-throws with three seconds remaining put the game out of reach.

Crowley said the loss knocked his players out of the tournament, but it wouldn't undo their accomplishments.

"They truly believe that they belong (in conference contention)," he said. "This team was able to take us some place that a lot of people maybe thought we'd never get to, but they did."

He said Temple, with six straight conference victories, drew a great effort from his players.

"(Temple is) one of the hottest teams going, and they're going to keep making noise (in the tournament," he said. "We gave them a heck of a run today."

The second seeded Owls assume the tournament's highest seed after top-seeded Xavier fell to Dayton (8) in overtime, 63-60. Temple is scheduled to play host Charlotte (3) in the semifinals after the 49ers defeated Duquesne (6), 81-57. In the other quarterfinal, Richmond (4) defeated Rhode Island (12), 64-48, to earn a semifinal match against Dayton.