Temple Women’s Basketball (2-5, 0-0 American Athletic Conference) lost 77-65 to the Old Dominion Monarchs (4-3,0-0 Sun Belt Conference) Wednesday evening at the Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Virginia at the Anne Donovan Classic. The Owls made multiple failed comeback attempts throughout the second half, which ultimately contributed to the Owls’ defeat.
The Owls struggled in the early minutes of the match, shooting just 27 percent from the field while also going 0-for-5 from beyond the arch. The Owls failed to contain Monarch senior forward Amari Young, who dropped eight points in the first, giving Old Dominion a sizable lead. However, Temple’s graduate student guard Jalynn Holmes led the way with five points in the first quarter, reducing the Owls’ deficit to one point at the end of the period.
Halfway through the second period, Old Dominion took off on a 14-6 run to close the half while dominating the Owls down low and out rebounding them by a plus-10 margin throughout the first two quarters.
“We’ve been trying to work on our rebounding during the offseason that’s been an Achilles heel for us,” said head coach Diane Richardson. “They got a lot of second-chance points, they got some offensive rebounds, we’ve got to be better at boxing out.”
The Owls came storming out of the half, shooting at a much better rate while also reducing their opponent’s efficiency on the other end to just 23 percent from the field during the quarter. The Monarchs once again stayed close this time, with graduate student guard Makayla Dickens leading the way with eight points.
The Owls had catch-up work to do going into the fourth quarter but they couldn’t manage to mount a comeback because foul trouble slowed the team’s momentum. Sophomore guard Jasha Clinton eventually fouled out with three minutes remaining and the Owls left Virginia in defeat.
Temple struggled in multiple offensive facets throughout the game, finishing with 21 total turnovers, their most of the season so far, while shooting a disappointing 26 percent from three after coming off of a 60 percent performance in their previous game.
Even with the loss, senior guard Aleah Nelson performed well, contributing 16 points while dishing out two assists and collecting three rebounds. The most significant offensive performance of the match came from Holmes who had her career-high of 12 points off the bench while bringing in four rebounds.
“I know my team needs more rebounding,” Holmes said. “So that’s just been like a key focus for me when I get into the game, I try to crash and be more aggressive.”
Temple will look to bounce back from the loss as they return home to face off against the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (2-4, 0-0 American East Conference) at The Liacouras Center on Dec. 3 at 3:30 p.m.
Be the first to comment