With just less than four minutes left in the fourth quarter, Owls’ freshman guard Aniya Gourdine made a pair of free throws, giving the Owls their first 57-55 lead of the night.
Temple University women’s basketball (9-7, 4-1 The American Athletic Conference) defeated the University of Cincinnati (9-10, 2-5 The American) 68-64 on Wednesday night at McGonigle Hall.
The win marked the Owls’ second victory against the Bearcats this season, after beating them 75-68 on Jan. 8 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
In their last victory against the Bearcats, the Owls did not surrender the lead at any point in the game. This time, Temple took its first lead late in the fourth quarter.
“[Cincinnati] was playing more with five guards today,” said head coach Tonya Cardoza. “The way that we had to defend them today was a little bit different because in the first game we could just hang in the lane, but tonight they put guys on the floor that could shoot the three.”
The Owls got off to a slow start on offense, only scoring 16 points in the first quarter. Ten points came from graduate student forward Mia Davis and junior forward Alexa Williamson, the team’s top two scorers.
The Owls closed out the first half on a 10-3 run, going into halftime down 36-28.
“We really didn’t say much at halftime,” said freshman forward Caranda Perea. “There was just a feeling that there was no way we were going to lose this game and everyone was just staying together.”
Despite the slow start, the Owls tied the game 53-53 with less than eight minutes left in the fourth quarter after Davis made two free throws.
Then, Davis put the game out of reach for the Bearcats after converting two more free throws in the final 30 seconds of the game. She finished with 22 points and six rebounds.
“Everything goes back to communication,” Perea said. “I don’t think [Cincinnati] really beat us in the first half, we were really beating ourselves and it just came down to talking to each other more on the floor.”
Next, Temple will look for a win on the road against the University of Memphis (11-6, 2-4 The American) on Jan. 29 at 3 p.m. in Memphis, Tennessee.
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