Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Shanel Harrison poured in a career-high 29 points and grabbed eight steals - one shy of the school record - to run the La Salle women's basketball squad past Temple, 71-55, at McGonigle Hall on Sunday afternoon.

Ebonee Jones added 21 points, one off of her career high, and Jordan Mosley added 11 points. Brittany Wilson chipped in eight points, dished out seven assists to just one turnover, grabbed three steals and pulled down four rebounds.

Victoria Macaulay led the Owls with 19 points and 15 rebounds.

The Explorers improve to 6-13, 2-2 Atlantic 10, dropping the Owls to 8-11, 1-3 Atlantic 10.

"We played as a team, we shared the basketball [and] I think we played well defensively, Head Coach Jeff Williams said. "Shanel Harrison was tremendous, probably her best game of the year. Brittany, although she didn't score a lot, this was probably her best floor game. Jordan Mosley and Ebonee Jones played extremely well. Ebonee not only scored the ball for us, but rebounded the ball."

"I just think it was a total team effort and we finally played like we're capable of playing," Williams added.

Harrison opened the game with a jumper a minute into play. Temple's Natasha Thames responded with a layup, and the early 2-2 tie was the only tie in a game that La Salle never trailed.

Turnovers marred the next two minutes of play for both teams before Harrison's layup at 16:18 put the Explorers up 4-2 and gave them the lead for good. The Owls were never out of reach, staying within single digits through the remainder of the first half, including pulling within 19-18 on a Jacquilyn Jackson layup at 5:31. The Explorers outscored the Owls 14-8 down the stretch to take a 33-26 lead into halftime.

The Explorers came out of the halftime break, outscoring the Owls 16-7 through the first eight and a half minutes of the second stanza to build a 16-point lead, capped by a Harrison layup. The Owls responded with a 7-2 spurt to get within 11 at 51-40 with 9:15 on the clock before Jones and Wilson hit jumpers to push the Explorer lead back to 15.

A 7-0 Temple run capped by a Meghan Roxas triple at 4:33 brought the home squad back within single digits at 55-47 and the Owls flirted with an eight- to 10-point deficit over the next few minutes, but were never able to capitalize. A Macaulay layup with 1:17 remaining put the score at 64-55 and that was the closest the Owls came. Harrison and Jones hit two free throws each and Harrison added a three-pointer with 27 seconds left to close out the game on a 7-0 run for the final 71-55 score.

The turnover margin was the story of the game as the Explorers forced the Owls into 27 turnovers, while committing a season-low 11 miscues. The Explorers capitalized, turning the 27 turnovers into 28 points. That helped the Explorers overcome the Owls' domination on the boards, as the home squad outrebounded the Blue & Gold 45-28 including 18 on the offensive glass.

The Explorers also shot 44.1 percent for the game, and are now 4-0 when shooting better than 40 percent. They limited the Owls to 34.5 percent. The squad also went 15-for-20 at the charity stripe, led by Jones' 6-for-6 performance at the line.

The win broke the Owls' 13-year stranglehold on the series, as the Explorers downed Temple for the first time since March 3, 2000.

The Explorers return to action on Wednesday, when they head to Massachusetts for an 11:45 a.m. game at the Mullins Center.