Temple women fall to Texas San-Antonio in American tournament
The Owls offense looked stagnant and couldn’t mount a comeback as the Roadrunners powered a second-half surge to bring Temple's season to a close: “Our energy was just not there.”
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Temple knew it needed confidence to take down Texas San-Antonio in the second round of the American Conference women’s basketball tournament. The Owls expressed that sentiment after their 86-77 win against Tulane the day before, and through one half Wednesday, that confidence was there.
Temple forced the Roadrunners to turn the ball over 13 times in first half and grabbed eight offensive rebounds. It took a 26-25 lead into the locker room, but that energy and confidence disappeared.
UTSA pushed its lead to double digits as it outscored Temple by 12 in the third quarter. Temple could not unlock its offense in the final quarter and fell, 59-51, to bring its season to a close.
“It’s a tough way to lose our game and end our season,” coach Diane Richardson said. “There were some things we pointed out in the locker room. It was a tough loss for us and we’ll go back home and get ready for the next one.”
Statistical leaders
Guard Tristen Taylor and forward Jaleesa Molina led Temple with 12 points, with Molina adding six offensive rebounds. Guard Kaylah Turner finished with 11 points. The Owls (15-17) shot 32.2% from the field and 25% on three-pointers and got outrebounded, 44-27.
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Guard Ereauna Hardaway led the Roadrunners (15-15) with 17 points and forward Idara Udo had 11 points and 12 rebounds. UTSA finished with four players scoring in double figures.
What we saw
UTSA entered the game with the top scoring defense in the American, allowing just 59.3 points per game, but the Owls found early success against it. Temple made 7 of 8 field goals midway through the first quarter to fuel an 11-0 run and hold a 17-12 lead. However, UTSA responded with a 9-2 run to head to the second quarter leading by 21-19.
The Owls defense stepped up in the second quarter. Every player was hounding the ball handler. The strategy worked as UTSA committed eight turnovers in the second frame. However, Temple could not turn its defense into offense.
Temple shot just 3-for-17 from the field in the quarter, despite seven offensive rebounds. The Roadrunners also struggled, missing their final nine shots of the first half. A jumper from Molina gave the Owls a 26-25 lead entering halftime.
The Roadrunners flipped a switch out of the locker room and scored the first eight points of the second half. Temple looked stagnant. The Roadrunners shot 42.9% from the field in the third quarter and outrebounded Temple by 15-8.
“Our energy was just not there,” Molina said. “We didn’t start with the amount of energy that we had in the first and second quarter in the third quarter.”
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UTSA took a 46-35 lead into the final 10 minutes. The Owls never got closer than six points and could not string together enough baskets to make a comeback.
“I don’t think we matched their physicality on offense or defense,” Turner said. “They were playing the gaps a lot to stop our drive and our momentum on offense.”