With four minutes left and 15 seconds in the third quarter, Owls’ graduate student forward Mia Davis made a layup from inside the paint to cap off a 10-2 run, allowing the Owls to take the lead for the first time in the second half.
Temple University women’s basketball (5-3, 0-0 The American Athletic Conference) defeated Duquesne University (4-5, 0-0 The Atlantic-10 Conference) 67-55 on Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The win marked the third consecutive victory for Temple and the Owls are hoping their recent success will lead to momentum going forward, said head coach Tonya Cardoza.
“We have played three straight strong defensive games,” Cardoza added. “I really like the way we have approached the defensive side of the ball and if we continue to play defense the way that we have been and keep locking down then it should be good momentum for us.”
Despite getting off to a good start on offense and entering the second quarter with a 14-11 lead, the Owls were down five points by halftime.
“At halftime, we talked about how we gave up too many points in the first half,” Cardoza said. “In the second half, we did a way better job of valuing the ball and bearing down on defense.”
In the final seconds of the third quarter, freshman guard Jasha Clinton hit a 3-pointer to give the Owls a two-point lead heading into the final quarter.
The Owls dominated down the stretch in the fourth quarter, going on a 9-2 run capped off with a Clinton layup extending to eight.
Davis led the Owls on offense, finishing the game with 22 points and eight rebounds while shooting nine for 15 from the field in 39 minutes.
Despite the Owls’ recent success, the team is still not where they want to be when conference play begins next month, Cardoza said.
“There is definitely still a lot of room to grow,” Cardoza added. “We just have to make better decisions on the offensive end and make sure that we don’t allow any second chance points and limit the amount of times that we turn the ball over.”
The Owls will look to extend their win streak to four when they return home to play Big Five rival Saint Joseph’s University (2-6, 0-0 The Atlantic-10 Conference) on Dec. 11 at noon at McGonigle Hall.
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