Plenty to play for

March 8, 2008

Plenty to play for

Kenny Walter
OwlScoop.com Staff

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For Temple women's basketball players Lady Comfort and Ashley Morris, their senior season has been special.

Picked to finish fourth in a preseason vote by the media, the Owls responded by winning the regular season Atlantic 10 Conference championship. A 12-2 league mark landed Temple a first-round bye in the A-10 tournament, and the Owls (19-11) will play Richmond this afternoon in the tournament's quarterfinal round.

The game, originally scheduled to start at noon at Saint Joseph's Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse, has been pushed back to what tournament officials hope will be a 1:40 p.m. tip-off as they attempt to control leaks in the gym's roof brought on by rain.

Weather aside, it's been a nice ride so far for Comfort and Morris. Just don't expect them to be satisfied yet.

"I'm going to remember the team the most, the fight we gave," Comfort said. "But it's not over yet. … We still have many games to play."

Through much of their first three seasons at Temple, Morris and Comfort played in the shadow of players like Candace Dupree and Kamesha Hairston, both of whom are now in the WNBA.

Morris, a 5-foot-5 guard out of Philadelphia's Central High School, averaged just 3.2 points per game in her first three seasons. Her numbers jumped up this year, as she led the team in scoring at 15.1 points per game and assists with 4.3 per contest.

"I think Ashley played a minimal role her first three years," Temple coach Dawn Staley said. "She is leading our team. We don't get to where we are without her play on a nightly basis."


Ron Davis
Lady Comfort is averaging 9.5 points and leading the team by rebounding at a 8.4 boards-per-game clip.
Comfort, a 6-2 center from Pensacola, Fla., came into the season averaging 7.4 points and 5.2 rebounds. This season, she is averaging 9.5 points and leading the team by rebounding at a 8.4 boards-per-game clip.

"Lady has been an integral part of our success the past four years," Staley said.

What Comfort adds to the team is a physical presence on the glass and in the post.

"I just try to go in every game to make sure they don't get second or third opportunities," Comfort said, "to try and go in there and rebound."

Comfort was named the most improved player in the conference last season, and Morris, fittingly enough, won the award this year.

Hairston was named A-10 Player of the Year last season, and Staley had been campaigning for Morris to win it this year. The honor instead went to George Washington's Kimberly Beck.

Awards are nice, but Morris knows they don't win basketball games.

"We didn't have an All-American on our team," Morris said. "We just had a group of girls that wanted to win."