
Early in the fourth quarter, Temple had an 11-point lead against first place UTSA. The Owls had led for nearly the whole game and were looking to avoid another collapse similar to their last game.
As the fourth quarter went on, the Owls’ lead slowly began to disappear and suddenly the game was tied with six minutes remaining. Temple managed to regain a four-point lead with help from guard Tristen Taylor who connected on a three pointer.
However, the floor bottomed out on the Owls from there. Temple’s offense went ice cold, not making a field goal for the final three minutes and was outscored 14-1 in that stretch. By the time the buzzer sounded, Temple had seen its 14-point lead turn into a nine-point loss as it slipped further from the top of the conference.
Temple (12-9, 6-4 American Athletic Conference) fell to UTSA (18-3, 9-1 AAC) 70-61 Saturday afternoon at The Convocation Center in San Antonio, Texas. The Owls have now blown double-digit leads in back to back games as their losing streak extends to three.
Both teams opened the game struggling to find an offensive rhythm as the defenses took control early. The Owls especially struggled to find a groove after a putback layup by forward Jaleesa Molina on their first possession. Temple had four turnovers in the first five minutes but did not allow UTSA to capitalize on the mistakes.
Temple finally found its offensive groove with three minutes left in the first quarter. Guards Tarriyonna Gary and Kaylah Turner connected on back to back threes to spearhead an 8-0 run that gave Temple a 17-8 lead. After the run, Temple went scoreless for the final two minutes of the first quarter which allowed UTSA to rattle off a 5-0 run.
The Owls stifled the Roadrunners’ momentum by opening the second quarter with a jumper from guard Tiarra East and another three from Gary. The teams traded baskets for much of the second quarter until Temple’s defense finally found an answer for UTSA’s offense. The Roadrunners went the final four minutes of the second quarter without scoring and Temple was able to rebuild its lead.
Temple used a 7-0 run to push its lead from 29-24 up to 36-24 at the end of the second quarter. East poured in seven second-quarter points, which was more points than she scored in each of her previous two games. The defense for Temple forced 13 first-half turnovers and did not let UTSA make a three to give it a 12-point cushion entering the second half.
Entering the second half, Temple was looking to maintain its lead which is something it has struggled with in conference play. In the first few minutes of the second half, it looked as if the Owls were heading down the same path yet again.
UTSA began to slowly chip away at the Owls’ lead and brought it down to as little as five points with four minutes left in the third quarter. However, Temple finally managed to find a response and rattled off a 6-0 run near the end of the quarter to give it a 51-42 cushion entering the final 10 minutes.
Temple opened the fourth quarter with a jumper from Taylor to give it a double digit lead again. However, from there everything went downhill. The Roadrunners ripped off an 11-0 run during the ensuing three minutes to tie the game at 53. The run was capped off by back to back threes from guards Sidney Love and Nina De Leon Negron which forced Temple head coach Diane Richardson to call a timeout.
The run was finally snapped thanks to a three from Taylor but UTSA responded on the next possession with a three from forward Cheyenne Rowe. The Owls seemed to find a little momentum and took a 60-56 lead but then completely crumbled.
The offense went silent and UTSA took advantage, utilizing free throws and Temple miscues to go back in front 61-60 and never looked back. Temple got outscored 28-10 in the fateful fourth quarter as it dropped its third straight game. East had a bounce back game in the loss as she finished with 18 points on 7-13 shooting.
The Owls will be back at The Liacouras Center to take on Memphis (4-15, 2-6 AAC) on Feb. 5 at 11 a.m.
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