FORT WORTH, Texas — Just six days ago, Temple scored just four points in the first quarter against a bottom-of-the-conference Charlotte team. The Owls ultimately prevailed in that game to win by six points, entering the American Athletic Conference tournament on a six-game win streak.
The Owls’ first matchup of the tournament happened to be Charlotte again, who was coming off back-to-back wins in the conference tournament as the 12 seed. Temple left no doubt this time around.
Temple buried any concerns about another slow start by jumping out to an 11-point lead to set the tone. Charlotte never got the Owls’ lead below double digits and a 16-point run in the third quarter buried the hatchet as Temple coasted into the semi-finals.
Temple (20-10, 13-5 AAC) blew past Charlotte (11-21, 4-14 AAC) 65-34 Monday afternoon at Dickies Arena. The 34 points are the fewest Temple has allowed since it gave up 39 to Iona on Dec. 6, 2018.
“It was a hard fought game,” said Temple head coach Diane Richardson. “We followed the scouting report and I am really proud of our young ladies that followed the scout and we came out with a win today.”
The Owls opened the game on fire from both sides of the ball to take control. Forward Amaya Oliver started the game with an offensive rebound and put back layup, and guard Tarriyonna Gary followed it up a few minutes later with an open three pointer.
While Temple found its groove on offense, its defense also stepped up and heightened the intensity. The Owls held Charlotte scoreless for the first five minutes and forced two turnovers that led to baskets. The second forced turnover led to a fastbreak layup for guard Tiarra East and prompted a Charlotte timeout as Temple pushed its lead to 11-0.
The timeout momentarily stopped the bleeding for Charlotte as it finally got on the board with a jumper from guard Alexis Andrews. However, Temple kept its foot on the gas with Gary connecting on another three, then forwards Anissa Rivera and Jaleesa Molina converting layups from offensive rebounds. Temple grabbed six offensive rebounds in the first quarter that helped it take an 18-6 lead heading into the second quarter.
“We knew that our defense was going to carry us today, but what we wanted to add to that was to get out and start strong,” Richardson said. “We jumped out and scored some baskets and then we stopped them. That was our game plan, to start strong, but to play some tough defense.”
Rivera continued to make an impact off the bench and made a three to get the scoring started in the second quarter. However, the Owls’ offense went cold after Rivera’s triple. Temple made just three more field goals for the remainder of the quarter and committed six turnovers in the second quarter.
While the offense stumbled, the Owls’ defense continued to clamp down. Charlotte was limited to just 19% shooting from the field in the second quarter which allowed Temple to maintain a double-digit lead. Temple went the final three minutes without a point but entered halftime with a 28-17 advantage.
The Owls continued to dominate the 49ers on both sides of the ball coming out of the locker room. Molina got the first bucket of the second half which was quickly answered by Charlotte forward Keanna Rembert. Temple completely took command of the game after Rembert’s bucket.
The Owls embarked on a 16-0 run during the ensuing six minutes that saw its 30-19 lead balloon to 46-19. Gary started the run with a three before the Owls shifted their focus to attacking the basket. The next 13 points in Temple’s onslaught were either in the paint or at the free throw line.
By the time the dust settled in the third quarter, Temple held a 53-26 lead and outscored the 49ers by 16 points. The Owls held Charlotte to just three made field goals while forcing seven turnovers and drawing seven fouls in the third quarter. The big third quarter allowed Temple to put the game in cruise control for the final 10 minutes and it breezed to the victory.
“Before the game, I went to my teammates and I was like, ‘We know we’re the best team in this conference, but we have to prove that every time we step on the court,’” Gary said. “So in order to do that, we just had to come out, play hard defense, get Charlotte riled up and it was going to translate to the offensive end.”
Temple will be back in action to punch its ticket to the AAC Championship in the semi-finals against No. 9 seed Rice, (16-16, 7-11 AAC) who defeated No. 1 seed UTSA in the quarterfinals, on March 11 at 7 p.m.
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