After Temple struggled for much of the first half in its season opener against Richmond on Nov. 4, the Owls responded by making three of its first four shots to jump out to a 7-0 lead Tuesday night against Delaware.
Temple used that hot start to stave off multiple Delaware comeback efforts. The Blue Hens cut their deficit down to as little as three points but Temple never gave up the lead.
Temple (1-1, 0-0 American Athletic Conference) took down Delaware (0-3, 0-0 Coastal Athletic Conference) 67-56 Tuesday night at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, Delaware. The Owls’ offense struggled to find a groove but the defense forced 23 Blue Hens turnovers in the win.
The Owls immediately found a rhythm on both sides of the ball. Guard Tristen Taylor knocked down two jumpers and forward Jaleesa Molina made a layup to catapult Temple into the lead. The Blue Hens started the exact opposite, missing their first six shots and didn’t find the bottom of the net in the first five minutes.
Temple’s fast offensive start fizzled out near the end of the first quarter and both teams closed the final four minutes of the period without a field goal. The Owls ended the quarter with a 12-4 advantage and held Delaware to just 1-14 from the field.
Delaware showed immediate improvement in the second quarter, making its first two shots to cut Temple’s lead to just three. The Owls responded with an 11-0 run to increase their lead to 23-9. Delaware did its best to chip away at the Temple lead, but was unable to make significant ground, going into halftime down 33-22.
Guard Tiarra East, who led the way with 23 points in the season opener, was held to just two first-half points but head coach Diane Richardson’s “equal opportunity offense” helped keep them afloat. Guard Tarriyonna Gary put up 13 points to lead Temple into halftime and the defense held the Blue Hens to just 29% shooting.
Delaware got off to a much-needed strong start in the second half, going on a 6-0 run to cut the Temple lead to five. Blue Hens’ forward Michelle Ojo led Delaware in scoring through the first two quarters but got into foul trouble early in the third quarter. Temple capitalized on Ojo’s absence and slowly rebuilt its lead, finishing the quarter on a 9-3 run to lead 48-39.
Despite being outscored in the third quarter, Temple still found itself up by eight going into the fourth quarter. The Owls only shot 4-17 from the field in the third quarter but found their groove again in the fourth.
Temple made its first three shot attempts of the final quarter to bring its lead back to 14 at 55-41. Delaware played its most efficient quarter of the night in the fourth quarter, shooting 70% from the field but was unable to spark any sort of comeback.
The Blue Hens made five of their last six field goals but East woke up from her first-half slumber and took control of the game. East scored seven points in the fourth quarter, capped off by a layup with 30 seconds left to put the Blue Hens away for good.
Despite struggling on the offensive end for most of the game, the Owls’ hot start allowed them to hold Delaware at bay for much of the game. Gary led the Owls in scoring with 17 points followed by forward Anissa Rivera’s 11. Temple’s defense was crucial in the win, turning those 23 turnovers into 23 points.
Temple stays on the road for its next matchup as they travel to play VCU (2-0, 0-0 Atlantic 10 Conference) on Nov. 15 at 7 p.m.
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