Smalls looms large for Owls in Big 5 victory over W. Hoops

A year ago, Temple guard Stacey Smalls played her first collegiate game at the Palestra. She played fairly well, scoring eight points with four rebounds and three steals in 25 minutes. But the Owls dropped a 79-50 decision to Penn. On Saturday afternoon at St. Joseph's, Smalls showed the Quakers what a difference a year makes. Smalls scored 14 points with a career-high seven steals, leading Temple to a defensively-oriented 80-64 victory over the Red and Blue. "Stacey Smalls was the key in the game, for them and for us," Penn coach Kelly Greenberg said. "She bothered us, she played with unbelievable confidence that I didn't see last year... She just stepped onto the court and said, 'Alright, this is my ballgame. You just happen to be a part of it right now.' I tip my hat to her." Smalls was particularly dominant on defense in the first half. Unbothered by 1-of-6 shooting at the other end, she picked up five steals, converting one into an easy layup for her only points of the half. The sophomore's leadership on defense was particularly important as the Owls shot just 13-of-44 from the field in the first half, a 29.5 percent clip. When the Owls picked up their offense in the second half, Smalls was right at the forefront. She did not miss a shot after halftime, going 4-of-4 from the field and 3-of-3 at the foul line. She converted her two second-half steals into four points to help the Owls to pull away, and her aggressiveness helped to put Penn starting point guard Tara Twomey in foul trouble. Twomey, who has a career average of 2.1 fouls per game, picked up her fourth foul just over eight minutes into the second half and was forced to play much more cautious defense for the rest of the game. Smalls herself committed just one foul all afternoon. Her four turnovers did mar her stat line, but Smalls' presence on the floor dominated the game. "Stacey is solid," Temple coach Dawn Staley said. "Stacey is someone who's going to play a lot of minutes for us because she is the only one to me that just plays at a certain poise that we need. I'm glad that it's at the point guard position because she runs our ship. She did a tremendous job." Smalls is indeed doing a tremendous job with her chance to pilot the Owls. Temple started 1-4 last year, en route to a 10-18 record, with no wins in the Big 5. The Owls are now 4-1, and control their own destiny in the City Series, needing wins over La Salle and reigning champion St. Joseph's for the crown.

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