Temple University women’s basketball (6-6, 0-1, The American Athletic Conference) fell short to Florida Gulf Coast University (12-2) Sunday afternoon at McGonigle Hall, 93-67.
The Owls struggled all day to find their shot, while Florida Gulf Coast did not. The Eagles took more than twice as many three-pointers as the Owls did, hitting them at a 40.4 percent rate, compared to the Owls’ 27.3 percent shooting mark from three.
The Owls lacked intensity from the beginning of the game, coach Tonya Cardoza said.
“I thought that we would compete a little bit better than we did today,” Cardoza said. “I thought on both sides of the floor they dominated us and made it difficult to defend them and difficult for us to score.”
Cardoza felt that the Owls were giving up too many wide-open threes, a shot that Florida Gulf Coast was capable of hitting. The Eagles’ balanced offense was difficult to defend, Cardoza said.
“They have guys that can beat you off the dribble, and are capable of knocking in threes,” Cardoza said. “And they’re really quick, just stopping them in transition was really difficult.”
Redshirt-senior guard Davion Wingate gave the Owls trouble, in particular, scoring 31 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field. Wingate is currently shooting 50 percent from three on the season after making six threes out of eight attempts against the Owls. The Owls did not give enough attention to her threat, Cardoza said.
Offensively, the Owls struggled to take care of the ball. The Owls finished with 15 turnovers, compared to just four from Florida Gulf Coast. The Eagles took the ball away 12 times, while the Owls recorded just one steal.
Sophomore guard Marissa Mackins, who led the team with 19 points, said that the Eagles were playing aggressive, but the Owls largely beat themselves.
“They were doubling [junior forward] Mia [Davis], who is our go-to on offense,” Mackins said. “But like coach [said], we weren’t doing what we were supposed to be doing on either end of the court. So really it was on us.”
Florida Gulf Coast’s ability to grab offensive rebounds killed any type of comeback the Owls could have mounted in the second half. The Eagles took long-distance shots, which yielded longer bounces on rebounds. The Eagles grabbed six offensive boards in the last two quarters.
“It’s something that we just haven’t been able to focus on,” Cardoza said. “Knowing where the shots are coming from and knowing where we need to go.”
The Owls’ next game is at La Salle (6-6) Dec. 30 at 7:00 p.m.
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