Temple is playing Villanova for the first-ever women’s basketball Big 5 Classic on Friday night at Finneran Pavilion after taking down Drexel and La Salle in group play.
The format, which was adopted by the men last season, groups the six Division I college basketball programs in Philadelphia into two pods. First, third and fifth place games will all be played on Villanova’s campus on Friday night.
The Owls kicked off Big 5 play with a 52-43 win against Drexel on Nov. 23 and a 73-68 win against La Salle on Dec. 1.
“The history of the Big 5 championship was overwhelming for me when I first got here,” said Temple head coach Diane Richardson. “But now for us to be able to play in that championship game, it makes me feel good because our team has worked really hard to get there.”
Here is everything you need to know before Temple tips off against Villanova on Friday at 8 p.m.
STARTING FAST
Temple has made a habit of being unable to start fast in its games, forcing them to storm back in the second half. During the Owls’ season opener against Richmond on Nov. 4, they dug themselves into a 15-point halftime hole and needed a 43-point second half just to get within striking distance.
Those struggles have persisted as the season has gone on, with Temple constantly having to bring itself back from a first-half deficit. Temple went down as many as 18 against Princeton on Nov. 26, before guard Kaylah Turner helped bring the team back with her 15 points.
“We played Temple basketball in the second half,” Richardson said following the loss to Princeton. “Unfortunately, we kind of stepped back in the first half, and we’ve got to get a better start,”
Some of those struggles can be pointed to Temple stars being unable to find a groove on the offensive end of the floor until late in the game. Guard Tiarra East, the Owls’ leading scorer, didn’t hit a shot until the fourth quarter against Princeton. The same struggles happened against Drexel on Nov. 23, when East had 11 of her 15 points in the second half.
However, Temple has flourished spreading the ball around with its “equal opportunity offense” when its stars haven’t been hot. Turner has had two straight games with double digits and forward Anissa Rivera was the spark against Drexel. She had 10 points in the fourth quarter and helped the Owls pull the rug from under the Dragons for a win.
FORCING TURNOVERS
While Temple’s offense only scores 62 points per game on offense, its defense has been its bread and butter all season. The Owls only allow 61 points per game and have smothered opposing offenses for most of the season.
The Owls have forced turnovers to give the offense an extra crack at scoring. Temple is forcing 21 takeaways a game and has four games with 20 takeaways or more. It has been able to make the most of its takeaways with 18 points off of turnovers.
The root of it has been the Owls’ knack for creating steals. They have 77 steals through seven games this season. For Temple to have success, its defense that has been able to create extra possessions will have to have the same outing it has had to begin the season.
“I know our defense turns into offense,” Richardson said. “ We had to ratchet up our defense so that it could turn offense. That’s exactly what happened. We started to get steals and turnovers and turn them over.”
ON VILLANOVA
Villanova dominated its side of the pod, beating both St. Joes and Penn by 16 points. The Wildcats are averaging 64 points per game on 40% shooting from the field and 36% shooting from beyond the arc.
Villanova’s biggest scoring threats are guards Jasmine Bascoe and Maddie Webber. Bascoe is averaging 15 points per game on 42% shooting from the field and dropped a career-high 26 points against St. Joes.
Webber is close behind, averaging 12.5 points per game and swiped the ball three times against Penn. Bascoe and Webber are 11 and 15 in the Big East in scoring, respectively. Bascoe is also in the top 10 in assists and steals in the conference.
On the defensive end, Villanova averages 32 rebounds per game with forward Denae Carter leading the way. Carter has 6.4 rebounds per game and with the help of her 17 offensive rebounds, she averages nine points per game.
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