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Temple women’s basketball coach Tonya Cardoza is out after 14 seasons

Cardoza compiled a 251-188 record and led the Owls to four NCAA tournament appearances, but the program struggled in recent years.

Head coach Tonya Cardoza watches the players compete during Temples midnight madness at the Liacouras Center, Thursday, November 4, 2021.
Head coach Tonya Cardoza watches the players compete during Temples midnight madness at the Liacouras Center, Thursday, November 4, 2021.Read moreSTEVEN M. FALK / Staff Photographer
    by Isabella DiAmore, For The Inquirer
    Published 

Tonya Cardoza, Temple’s all-time winningest women’s basketball coach, will not return after 14 seasons.

Arthur Johnson, Temple’s vice president and director of athletics, announced Tuesday that the school started a search to fill her place. Assistant coach Willnett Crockett has been named the interim head coach.

“I would like to thank Tonya for all she has done for Temple women’s basketball over the last 14 seasons,” Johnson said in a press release. “After evaluating the program over the course of this season, I feel that it is time for a change in direction. We expect to be a perennial postseason team and we will look for the right coach to elevate the program to that status.”

Cardoza compiled a 251-188 record at Temple and led the Owls to four NCAA Tournament appearances. The Owls also played in the WNIT on three occasions. Temple’s last NCAA bid came in 2016-17 when they finished 24-8.

Temple was 13-15 this season, including an 8-8 mark in the American Athletic Conference. As the fourth seed in the AAC Tournament, the Owls fell 63-55 to Southern Methodist in the quarterfinals March 8. Cardoza felt the group underachieved and struggled to support Temple’s all-time leading scorer Mia Davis.

Davis, who averaged 18.8 points, was the focal point of the offense and carried the team on the scoreboard. Davis announced yesterday, via Twitter and Instagram, she has declared for the 2022 WNBA draft after playing at Temple for five seasons.

Temple had four freshmen and three transfers join their roster this season, which Cardoza felt gave the team some depth on the bench after playing a 12-woman rotation in the 2020-21 season.

However, the Owls’ youth became apparent in games down the stretch. They consistently made mistakes at inopportune times. And as a team, the Owls shot 37.8% from the field and averaged 17.8 turnovers per game.

With Davis no longer in the program, Temple will have to adjust its high-low offense and find another scoring option. Luckily, freshmen Aniya Gourdine, Tiarra East, Kyra Wood, and Caranda Perea have seen valuable minutes this season and could become leaders of the program.

Temple will also have guard Destiney McPhaul, who transferred last offseason but wasn’t eligible because of NCAA transfer rules. She was rated as the No. 34 point guard by ESPN in 2020-21.

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