Heading into Saturday night’s game against Xavier, Temple guard Tiarra East sat just seven points away from notching her 1,000th career point. The senior guard led the Owls in scoring going into the matchup but was held scoreless after a single quarter of play. As the second quarter rolled around, she caught fire and never looked back.
East ripped off seven straight points to reach history, but her night didn’t stop there. Temple went into halftime leading but was looking to deliver the finishing blow in the third quarter. The Owls turned to East to put the game away.
With the offense struggling, she proceeded to score 13 straight points in the third period to Xavier’s dismay. Her performance helped Temple stretch the lead to 17 points and the Owls cruised to a victory.
Temple (6-4, 0-0 American Athletic Conference) coasted by Xavier (4-7, 0-0 Big East) 66-51 in the Raising the B.A.R. Invitational in Berkeley, California on Saturday night. Temple guard Tariyonna Gary moved into fifth place in program history in three-pointers as Temple surged to a victory.
“I thought we jumped out early like we should have been doing all season,” said head coach Diane Richardson. “That was one of the things we wanted to concentrate on, was jumping out early and we did that.”
Temple’s offense had struggled to get going for most of the season and Saturday was the exact opposite. Forward Amaya Oliver got the action started for the Owls with a layup and Gary followed it up with a three-pointer on the next possession. The Musketeers matched the Owls scoring on their first two possessions before Temple’s defense woke up.
The Owls allowed just five Xavier points the rest of the quarter and began to blow the door open. The Musketeers turned the ball over eight times in the opening quarter and Temple was able to seize control of the game.
“That’s always good for a team to jump out early and not sit back a little bit and get behind and then have to struggle to catch up and eventually win,” Richardson said. “So I was pleased with how we were able to do that.”
Despite East only needing seven points to break 1,000 career points, she was quiet to start and Temple was looking for a pulse on offense. Gary took her place and notched 10 to begin the game as Temple held an 18-10 at the end of the first quarter.
Temple slowed down as the second quarter whistle blew and went nearly three minutes before getting a bucket. The slow start allowed Xavier to crawl back into the game, with the Musketeers cutting the lead to just six points. However, that was the closest Temple allowed them to get and they ran away with it from there.
East woke up with five minutes left in the half, scoring her first points of the game with a mid-range jumper to wake up the offense. The Owls’ leading scorer proceeded to score the next five Temple points to balloon the lead to double digits. Xavier’s offense began to heat up as it shot 50% from the field in the quarter, but Temple had a response to every Musketeer bucket.
While East held the offense together, forward Anissa Rivera anchored the defense. She came off the bench and made an instant impact by swatting away a shot by guard Júlia Garcia Roig while recording four takeaways. The Owls headed into halftime with a 38-24 lead after guard Kelian Cedano knocked down a shot from beyond the arc to close out the half.
Temple opened up the second half with a jumper by Gary and the first-half momentum looked to be carrying over. However, the Owls endured a two-minute scoring drought, but Xavier was unable to take advantage. The Musketeers’ offense managed just five points before Temple rescinded and from there, East stole the show.
After Oliver hit a layup, East rattled off the next 13 Temple points including back-to-back threes to push the lead to 19. East nearly outscored Xavier by herself in the third quarter to give her squad breathing room. Temple ended the period on a 13-9 run and went into the final 10 minutes with a 17-point lead.
“[Tiarra East] has been playing well this year and she’s our go-to player,” Richardson said. “She really performed last night, knocking down a couple of threes. She really got into her bag last night.”
Desperate to come back into the game, Xavier guard Daniela López drilled a three-pointer. Xavier held Temple scoreless on the next possession and forward Petra Oborilova hit a jumper for the Musketeers to jump out to a quick start. But their good fortunes faded, as they hit just three more shots the rest of the way and Temple put the game in cruise control.
Temple knocked down four shots in the fourth quarter, but the outcome was already decided. East finished the game with 20 points and Gary followed her with 18. Gary’s performance sets her up to join East in the 1,000-point club in Temple’s next outing if she can score 13 points.
Throughout the season, Temple had struggled on the glass but those problems vanished Saturday. The Owls outrebounded the Musketeers 45-27 and scored 26 second-chance points while their opponent had just three as they cruised to a victory.
“We’ve got to have second chance opportunities and to do that we’ve got to be on the glass,” Richardson said. “We ended up with 21 offensive rebounds and 27 second chance points. So that made a big difference.”
The Owls will be back in action tomorrow in the Raising the B.A.R. championship as they take on No. 24 California (12-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) at 8 p.m.
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