
Late in the fourth quarter, Temple looked as if it was destined for another heartbreaking defeat. The Owls had blown double-digit leads in each of their last two games, and were in danger of doing the same against Memphis Wednesday.
Temple led the Tigers by as many as 17 points but only held a four-point lead by the three-minute mark of the fourth quarter. Temple completely collapsed under these circumstances in its previous two games but managed to be the stronger team the third time around.
The Owls went on a six-point run to push the lead back to 10 with less than two minutes left in the game. The Tigers had time for one last comeback attempt, but Temple thwarted the efforts to snap its three-game losing streak.
Temple (13-9, 7-4 American Athletic Conference) held off Memphis (5-16, 3-7 AAC) 74-66 Wednesday morning at The Liacouras Center. Every player that touched the court recorded a basket in the win.
“It was a tough game and Memphis came to play,” said Temple head coach Diane Richardson. “We got ahead early and had to fight a little bit at the end of the game and try to maintain that lead. But we came out with the win. They didn’t put their hands down and we kept playing.”
The Owls jumped out to an early 6-2 lead before falling into an offensive rut. Memphis was unable to take advantage of the opportunity and Temple’s defense kept it in the lead.
The Owls finally got their offense clicking by going on a 10-0 run to balloon its lead to 16-5 and take control of the game at the midway point of the quarter.
Memphis entered the game as the second-ranked scoring offense in the AAC, yet the Owls’ defense continued to hold the Tigers at bay. Temple held Memphis to just four made field goals and forced four turnovers to help it take a 20-9 lead entering the second quarter.
Temple guard Tarriyonna Gary opened the second quarter with a three-pointer and forward Amaya Oliver followed it up with a layup to give the Owls their largest lead of the game at that point at 25-9. The two teams began to trade buckets for the rest of the second quarter but Temple remained in control and Memphis never got within 10 points.
Guard Tiarra East converted on a fast break layup with 25 seconds remaining in the first half to give Temple a 37-23 lead heading into the locker room. The Owls had entered halftime of their previous two games with double-digit leads but lost both and were looking to prevent the same thing from happening this time.
Temple came out strong in the first five minutes of the third quarter and appeared to be in a firm winning position. The Owls continued to withstand the Tigers’ attacks and kept a double-digit lead for much of the quarter. However, the tide started to shift late in the third quarter.
Memphis began to storm back in the final two minutes. The Tigers cut the Owls’ lead down to 52-43 after a turnover from Gary led to a fast-break layup. Memphis made another layup to bring its deficit to seven before Oliver made a fastbreak layup to put the comeback to a halt.
Memphis forward Alaisa Smith responded with a three at the end of the quarter to make it a 54-48 game. The Tigers made their final seven field goals of the third quarter and forced seven Temple turnovers to enter the final 10 minutes with their smallest deficit since early in the first quarter.
“We gotta stay in and let’s not let them get back in the game,” Richardson said. “They came out with the press and turned us over a little bit and the game kind of went their way in the third quarter. We’ve got to stay poised, we’re better than that against the press.”
Temple opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back baskets from guard Kaylah Turner and forward Jaleesa Molina, briefly retaking a double digit lead at 58-48. Memphis responded by going on a 5-0 run during the next two minutes to bring the Owls’ lead down to just five.
From there, the two squads began to exchange baskets. Forward Savannah Curry made a putback layup which was followed by a three from Memphis guard Tilly Boler to cut the lead to 60-56. Temple finally found a burst of momentum and went on a 6-0 run in the next two minutes to push its lead back to 10 at 66-56 with two minutes remaining.
The Owls managed to hold off the Tigers in the final minutes behind strong free throw shooting and defense. Temple had four players score in double figures, including three with 12 points and forced 22 turnovers to pick up a much-needed victory.
“I want everyone to not be afraid to score the ball and not be afraid to shoot,” Richardson said. “It also bodes well for us, against the other team because they don’t know who to double team. So I’m glad to see everybody got to score.”
The Owls will look to make it back-to-back wins when they remain at home to take on South Florida (15-8, 8-2 AAC) on Feb. 8 at 2 p.m.
Be the first to comment