Temple seizes the stage with an emphatic women’s Big 5 title game triumph

A question quickly came to mind after coach Diane Richardson exulted toward the Temple band, and her players ran to the locker room with a giant Big 5 champions sign in hand.

Last season, when the Owls surprisingly won a share of the American’s regular-season title, they did so with 13 conference wins. How did Saturday’s City Series title game takedown of Villanova — not just a win, but by a resounding 76-62 at the Wildcats’ Finneran Pavilion — compare?

“I would say it’s up top,” senior guard Tiarra East said after pouring in a game-high 26 points to claim Temple’s first Big 5 crown since a split with the Wildcats five years ago. Their last solo title was in 2011, when future WNBA players Shea Peddy and Victoria Macaulay earned the team’s last NCAA Tournament win.

“Every season is precious, and to win the first Big 5 Classic is precious‚” Richardson said. “This feels special.”

It certainly should be a big-time moment for what has always been one of the Big 5′s barometer schools. Namely, because when Temple is good, the barometer makes it feel like college basketball matters more in town.

» READ MORE: Temple claims inaugural women’s Big 5 Classic title with 76-62 win over Villanova

The same goes for Villanova, which has been the flagship local program in men’s and women’s hoops for a while now: the Big East, the big names, the postseason prominence earned by Maddy Siegrist, Lucy Olsen, and all those nicknamed Knicks.

But for as long as it’s been since either Temple team really mattered, the name still carries weight, locally and nationally. So a moment like this should resonate: beating Villanova on its floor to win the city title, in the first season of the new title-game format.

“When I first came to Philly, I didn’t understand the magnitude of the Big 5, because I was a foreigner,” said Richardson, in her third season on North Broad Street after spending most of her career in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and West Virginia.

“Just being here these two years, I realized that this is a big deal,” the coach said. “And it’s big for women’s basketball — especially this year when we have so much exposure. … It makes me feel good as a coach to understand that we are finally getting some due.”

Will her team get that due from its own fans? Owls fans would crow all winter if the men toppled Villanova at the Pavilion to win the Big 5 title. So what now for the women, whose next game is another big one: hosting No. 15 West Virginia at the Liacouras Center on Dec. 15?

» READ MORE: St. Joseph’s, Penn claim wins in the inaugural women’s Big 5 Classic

“That is our goal, obviously, to get Temple basketball back to where it was before,” Richardson said, later adding: “We’re going to continue to push, we’re going to continue to push — and hopefully some of those people will give us some NIL [money].”

Though Friday’s tripleheader action was compelling, not many fans felt compelled to go watch it. Only a few hundred people were in attendance for each game, including for a Villanova team that has averaged 1,383 for its home games so far this season. (At an arena some local observers think should be the initial home of a WNBA team if one ever comes.)

Playing the first two games on a work and school day at 3:30 and 5:45 p.m. obviously didn’t help. But it was particularly disappointing to see a sparse crowd for the final.

So it was natural to wonder if next year’s women’s tripleheader should be elsewhere. In talking with various people in the know Friday, it seems that’s likely. In fact, there had already been discussions about rotating the event among Big 5 arenas.

It is no surprise that the Palestra is in first place on many lips. Not only is it the spiritual home for basketball in the region, putting an event there attracts local basketball fans on its own — or at least it used to. Does it still, as local interest in college hoops keeps declining? This would be one way to find out, despite that there would be fewer chairback seats and nearby parking.

» READ MORE: With Corey McKeithan leading the way, La Salle is worthy of the men's Big 5 Classic main stage

“Obviously, the Palestra is a phenomenal place — I’m a little biased there, of course,” Penn coach Mike McLaughlin said. “As long as we get together like this and we create an atmosphere, and we create an excitement for these athletes, I think it’s a win-win for all of us. … I think if we continue to do a great job promoting each of the teams, this will be a great event for years and years to come.”

But the Palestra likely won’t be the next stop. Two sources said the goal is to have the championship day there not next year but in the 2026-27 season as part of celebrations for the arena’s 100th season. Nor is next season’s event expected to be at St. Joseph’s. The big construction project at Hagan Arena and the adjacent practice facility will be a big focus by then, and it’s already plenty noticeable for fans who visit Hawk Hill.

That might put the Liacouras Center in the lead. Though no decision has been made, do that has been discussed. And it feels like even better timing now that the home team would be the reigning champ.

“We’ve probably played in the shadows for a long, long time, but this kind of exposure and this tournament can shine the light back onto women’s basketball,” Richardson said. “Right now, women’s basketball is hot … and I think the Big 5 Classic has put a tentacle in it and said, like, ‘We’ve got to ride with this wave.’”

She knows the bigger picture, too, from the huge crowds in New York that watched adopted daughter Jonquel Jones lead the Liberty to this year’s WNBA title.

» READ MORE: Diane Richardson and Yolanda Laney give New York’s WNBA title some Philly flavor

Many voices also noted that it would obviously help to move the women’s tripleheader to a weekend day, perhaps the Saturday before or after the men’s event. That would help devoted and casual fans alike, and a target audience that definitely wasn’t there Friday: local youth basketball organizations.

It wasn’t just the Big 5′s decision-makers who noticed. Throughout the day and night, Jen Leary ran a table on the concourse promoting her Watch Party PHL organization, which puts on viewing events for women’s sports games at various bars. After initially drawing from Center City and nearby, the events now attract suburban fans, too, which helps Leary keep pushing the boulder up the hill.

“The more people see women’s sports fans, the more people see people cheering on women’s sports, the more people are going to watch,” she said “Also, it’s the talent — the players draw as well. The watch party has been successful not because it’s a watch party, it’s been successful because the WNBA is a great brand, and they have tremendous athletes. Same with the NWSL.”

Big 5 women’s teams don’t have much pro-level talent, but they do have deep local roots that pro leagues can only dream of. If a move into the city next year comes with a stronger marketing push, that should help with attendance. For now, though, there’s a lot of work to do because all those empty seats were a bad look. Penn, St. Joe’s, and Temple won the day’s games, but the vocal crowd that loves to say Philly doesn’t care about women’s sports got a victory, too.

» READ MORE: New-look St. Joseph’s out to defend men's Big 5 Classic title