Temple women were poised for a breakout year. Instead, the Owls took a step back.
Entering conference play, Temple was in a hole that it never recovered from. But it's likely the Owls could return most of their roster for next season.
This was supposed to be the year for Temple to take the next step. The Owls were on the cusp of a breakthrough the last two years with 20 wins and American Conference tournament semifinal appearances.
Entering the 2025-26 season, Temple retained most of its players from a season ago and added key transfers to round out the roster.
Instead of going forward, the Owls went backwards.
Temple struggled through an intentionally designed difficult nonconference schedule, but things didn’t turn around in conference play. It lost four of its first five American matches, putting Temple in a hole it never recovered from.
The end result was a 15-17 record, seventh-place finish in the American, and second-round conference tournament exit. This season can be chalked up as a disappointment, but the future remains promising with Temple likely to retain most of its key contributors.
“I think we still have a very talented team,” said head coach Diane Richardson. “We’ve had some ups and downs and we’ve had some injuries this year, but I stand by my team. I know we didn’t have any seniors, so the experience portion of it, but I still stand by my kids and I think we have a very good team and we’ll be ready for next year.”
Temple, who was picked to finish fourth in the preseason American Conference poll, ended nonconference play with a 6-6 record, similar to 2024-25, where the Owls went on a run and ended the season on a six-game win streak.
Except that run never came this season.
Temple never won more than two games in a row during American play. The root of the Owls’ issues started with their lack of depth. Richardson was incredibly reliant on her bench the last two years, typically having a spark to come in and relieve starters with no drop off. She did not have that luxury this season.
» READ MORE: Temple forward Jaleesa Molina enters the transfer portal
None of the reserves averaged more than 5.3 points, putting a large burden on the starters. Each of the starters, though, impressed in their own right. Guard Kaylah Turner averaged 16.4 points, best in the American and earned all-conference second-team. Guard Tristen Taylor topped the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio, and forward Saniyah Craig became a defensive anchor with 7.9 rebounds and 10.8 points per game.
Forward Jaleesa Molina, who entered the transfer portal last week, averaged 9.9 points and 7.4 rebounds and guard Savannah Curry emerged as a key two-way player late in the season. Those five combined to score 75.5% of Temple’s points this past season.
The increased workload for the main scorers resulted in Temple’s offense often becoming stagnant when the bench came in. Temple’s bench scored just 14 combined points in its two tournament games after offering a glimmer of hope with a 41 point performance against Florida Atlantic in the last game of the regular season.
“I need our bench to be more aggressive and give us more,” Richardson said after Temple’s 79-73 loss to East Carolina on Feb. 14. “Oftentimes I try to give our starters a little rest, but our bench has really got to step up and fill the gap so that there’s not much of a drop off, and that’s on me.”
Their offensive issues were not aided by their defense, which saw major regression this season.
The team developed the moniker “spicee” defense this season, with the two E’s standing for energy and effort. Those two traits are what Richardson found herself pleading her team to show time and time again.
The Owls had the third-worst scoring defense in the American, allowing 68.8 points per game, a 6.3 increase from last season. Temple struggled to play connected and together, which resulted in easy shots for opponents or 50/50 balls that went the other team’s way.
“On and off the court, I need them to step up a little bit and really want it and show that they want it, not just the talent alone, but the desire,” Richardson said.
» READ MORE: Temple's Kaylah Turner is named second-team all-conference
Temple slid as low as the ninth seed late in the season and was on the verge of missing the American tournament altogether. The Owls climbed into the seventh seed to end the year and beat No. 10 seed Tulane, 86-77, in overtime in the first round of the conference tournament. Then, Temple’s offensive issues ended its season. The Owls shot just 32.2% and scored below 10 points in two quarters of their 59-51 loss to eventual tournament champion Texas San-Antonio.
Now their attention turns to the offseason, which is crucial for the program to take the next step. Temple had no seniors this season and has only lost one player to the transfer portal so far. Every other player could return to North Broad Street to continue building the program.
“Hopefully we do get everybody back,” Richardson said. “They’ve got some experience playing together and the one thing about the transfer portal is just starting over. So hopefully we don’t have to get to that. But hopefully our players will stay and understand that they’ve worked hard for these couple years, and it’s just one more year where we can go out as a champion.”