Temple University women’s basketball (2-1) was shooting the ball well before its 67-63 loss against Saint Joseph’s on Monday night.
In its first two games of the season, Temple shot 42 percent from behind the arc while attempting 10.5 three-pointers per game.
Against the Hawks, the Owls shot 16.7 percent from three-point range, bringing their team average down to 33.8 percent.
”When they’re not falling, we got to figure out a different way,” coach Tonya Cardoza said. “It was easy to just stop and shoot jump shots, but if they’re not going in, we got to find a different way to score.”
Sophomore guard Marissa Mackins leads the team in three-pointers attempted and is making them at a 40.7 percent clip. She has attempted 27 total threes this season and has made 11 of them. Against the Hawks, Mackins shot 1-of-6 from behind the arc.
Mackins led the team in successful three-point shots last year and is most comfortable shooting when in transition, she said.
“Drive and get a feel for the rim, and if that doesn’t work then you just have to find other players, Mackins said. “Eventually if they get into a groove then you’ll get into a groove, so we play off each other.”
In the first two games, sophomore guard Ashley Jones shot 41.6 percent from three. She shot 4-9 from deep in the Owls’ first game against Fairfield University on Nov. 5. Jones and Mackins attempted 24 total threes against Fairfield.
Jones shot 1-of-6 from three-point range against the Hawks, which lowered her season percentage to 33.3.
“Regardless, I’m still gonna try to attack,” Jones said. “I noticed shots were off tonight.”
The Owls have used more guards in the lineup this season, an adjustment Cardoza made in the second half of their win against Duquesne University on Nov. 8, she said.
The Owls have more depth this season, and the coaches believe the team has multiple players who can average more than 15 points per game, Cardoza added.
Temple has two players averaging more than 15 points per game this season. Junior forward Mia Davis leads the team with 24.3 points per game and Jones is second with 16.7 points per game.
Mackins averaged 19 points per game after the first two games of the season, but she only scored six points against the Hawks dropping her season average to 14.7.
“When [Davis] is hot, we gotta make sure that we’re getting her the ball,” Cardoza said. “It felt like they couldn’t guard her. I think that we should have gotten it to her more down the stretch.”
The Owls’ next game will be at home against Xavier University (1-0) on Thursday at 7 p.m.
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