After ‘a lot of ups and downs,’ Temple coach Diane Richardson is ready for Year 2

After a first year filled with injuries and departing players, Temple women’s basketball coach Diane Richardson is looking to get to work in Year 2.

“It was definitely a learning process,” Richardson said. “Had a lot of ups and downs. Quite frankly, I’m glad it’s over.”

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Temple went 11-18, including 6-10 in American Athletic Conference play.

Richardson replaced Tonya Cardoza after Temple decided not to renew Cardoza’s contract after the 2021-22 season. In her 14 seasons at Temple, Cardoza became the Owls’ winningest coach, compiling a 251-188 record.

Last offseason, Richardson built the team largely through the transfer portal. The 2021-22 Owls had four players — including all-time leading scorer Mia Davis — graduate, and five players transfer out.

In her first season, Richardson brought in seven transfers — including three from her former school, Towson — and freshman guard Kourtney Wilson to fill out the roster.

By the time the 2022-23 season ended, the Owls were down to just eight available players, with second-team all-conference guard Aleah Nelson the only primary ballhandler.

“We were prepared for the typical transition year,” Richardson said. “But to lose players was a little bit different. … Those eight players stepped up and did more than we asked them to do.”

Temple’s Jan. 25 win at Tulane was its first game with a limited roster. Wilson, along with guards Jasha Clinton, Aniya Gourdine, and Jalynn Holmes didn’t travel with the team. Wilson and Holmes had decided to leave the team, and the sophomore backcourt of Clinton and Gourdine were suspended for a violation of team rules. Two days later, Clinton and Gourdine were released from the team.

Graduate transfer Kendall Currence and senior center Denise Solis will return to the program next season, redshirt junior forward Rayne Tucker will be cleared from the transfer portal to play, and the Owls will have three incoming freshmen.

Currence transferred into Temple in 2022 after being a first team all-Colonial Athletic Association guard at Northeastern in 2021-22. However, she tore her ACL in the preseason, keeping her on the bench all year with Tucker, who was never cleared as a transfer by the NCAA.

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Temple has 12 scholarship spots expected to be filled for next season. With one remaining, Richardson mentioned wanting to add a guard or a center in the transfer portal to assist Temple’s offense and rebounding margin, which ranked ninth and 10th, respectively, in the AAC.

Central Florida, Cincinnati, and Houston are leaving the AAC next season to join the Big 12. UAB, Florida Atlantic, Charlotte, North Texas, Rice, and UTSA will replace them, making the AAC a 14-team, one-bid conference in women’s basketball.

The Owls played the 56th-toughest schedule in the country and the 20th-toughest nonconference schedule, including six teams each from the NCAA Tournament and NIT fields.

Next season, the Owls are slated to play at least four teams from the 2023 NCAA Tournament field in Villanova, Mississippi, East Carolina, and South Florida. Richardson also announced nonconference matchups with Arizona State and Northwestern.

“There are new teams coming in, so it’s going to be a more robust conference,” Richardson said about next season. “Now, we’re trying to get personnel in here so we can play our brand of basketball.”

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