Owls have eye on Dukes

When Temple women's basketball coach Tonya Cardoza succeeded her friend Dawn Staley in July 2008, the former Connecticut assistant had a challenge to maintain - the Owls' streak of NCAA tournament appearances.

The former Virginia star has fared quite well.

She has outperformed Staley in her first two seasons at Temple with a combined record of 45-18 and two NCAA appearances.

Staley was 39-22 over the same span, and her first season in coaching resulted in a trip to the Women's National Invitation Tournament.

"Hey, [Staley's] teams won championships," said Cardoza, referring to four Atlantic Ten Conference titles while cringing at the comparison.

Cardoza nearly got her own A-10 title two weeks ago, but Temple fell to fifth-ranked Xavier, 57-55, in overtime in the championship game in Upper Marlboro, Md.

But all that is in the record book.

The next chapter begins today about 2:30 p.m. on ESPN. The eighth-seeded Owls (24-8) will meet ninth-seeded James Madison (26-6) at the Ted Constant Convocation Center on the campus of Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va.

The grand prize most likely will be a Tuesday night game against defending national champion Connecticut (33-0), the No. 1 overall seed.

The Huskies, on a record 72-game win streak, will open at 12:16 p.m. on ESPN2 against 16th-seeded Southern (23-8), champion of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Temple was a game away from facing UConn last season on the Huskies' campus, but the Owls fell to Florida in the opener.

Sophomore Kristen McCarthy, a Staley recruit who has emerged as the Owls' leader, yesterday turned aside questions about another potential shot at the Huskies.

"We're not focused on playing them at all," she said. "Right now we're focused on JMU. They're an exceptionally well-balanced team."

McCarthy, a 6-foot forward, set a Temple game record last month, scoring 42 points against Charlotte at the Liacouras Center.

James Madison has an automatic bid, having succeeded Drexel as Colonial Athletic Association champion when the Dukes shot down ODU in the title game.

"It's our home away from home," JMU coach Kenny Brooks tweeted this week of the short trip from Harrisonburg, Va. "Conspiracy theorists might think I lobbied for it," he quipped at yesterday's news conference.

The Dukes feature 5-7 junior guard Dawn Evans, who is among the nation's scoring leaders with a 24.8-point average.

Evans has played while suffering with a kidney ailment.

"Right now, I'm feeling great," she said. "I've had a medication change, and it's giving me a big boost of energy. I feel better than I have all season."