Temple cruises past UTSA in its AAC opener as one player hits a career milestone

Temple has been firing on all cylinders, and it’s doing so at the right time.

The Owls were 4-2 in their last six games before their American Athletic Conference opener against UTSA, a plus-77 point differential in the process.

Following a loss to Northwestern last time out, however, head coach Diane Richardson knew her team had several things to improve on ahead of conference play, namely toughness and consistency.

The Owls (7-6, 1-0 AAC) displayed what Richardson was looking for, handling UTSA, 71-58, Saturday afternoon at the Liacouras Center.

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Nobody in particular dominated the stat sheet, as Richardson’s equal-opportunity offense was in full effect Saturday. Five players finished in double figures, including a team-high (14) from Tarriyonna Gary.

Although Gary scored the most points, Rayne Tucker was the game’s most impactful player. Tucker recorded her third double-double in four games with 10 points and 11 rebounds, grabbing her 500th career rebound in the process.

“I’ve been focused on being consistent,” Tucker said. “I don’t want the coaches to ever question what I am bringing to the team.”

Temple showed up on the defensive end of the floor, too, and held the Roadrunners (6-6, 0-1) to 39% shooting from the floor, including 31.3% from distance. The Owls’ swarming defense forced 20 turnovers and came away with 13 steals. Kyra White led UTSA with 16 points.

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That type of defensive effort will be key to continued success from Temple. Two of its next three games (North Texas and Tulsa) feature top-five scoring offenses in the AAC. That starts Tuesday with a home game against the Mean Green (7 p.m., ESPN+).

“We need to continue with our defensive effort,” Richardson said. “I think if we are on point on defense, like we’ve been playing, we’re going to be OK.”