Temple women’s basketball second-half offensive surge secures win

Temple University women’s basketball (2-0) defeated Duquesne University (0-2) Friday night 85-72, following an offensive outburst in the second half. 

Junior forward Mia Davis led the Owls in scoring with 26 points on an efficient 10 of 17 from the field. Sophomore guard Marissa Mackins also contributed with 18 points, succeeding on 4-of-6 three point attempts. 

The Owls were only ahead by three points at halftime. Temple pulled away in the second half with a 13-0 run at the end of the third quarter and into the fourth. 

Coach Tonya Cardoza credited this to getting the ball to Davis and letting her do the rest. Dukes redshirt-senior guard Paige Cannon guarded Davis throughout the game.

“She wasn’t able to guard her off the dribble,” Cardoza said. “We were trying to give Mia touches where she can get into a vibe.”

The Owls were able to get their other players moving and cutting to the basket, allowing for easy points, Cardoza said. 

“It makes me very effective because I can get my team going,” Davis said. “They know they have another post presence inside that can score the ball.” 

Transition offense and second-chance points also played a part in the Owls success in the second half. The Owls outscored the Dukes 40-26 in the paint and doubled their offensive rebounds at 10 to 5. 

Mackins credited the transition offense and the play of redshirt-sophomore guard Ashley Jones and freshman guard Asonah Alexander to her success shooting the ball. 

“They wouldn’t find me in transition,” Mackins said. “With [Jones] and [Alexander] pushing the ball and finding me, it made it easy for me to make those shots.” 

Transition offense is something that will be a key for the Owls’ offense all season, Cardoza said. 

“I think for the there are not gonna be a lot of teams that can run with us when we actually look to run,” Cardoza said. “You have [Alexander] pushing the ball, you have [Mackins] on the wing, and you have [Davis] and [sophomore forward Alexa Williamson] running the floor, that’s hard in transition to stop.”

Temple will next play at Big 5-rival St. Joseph’s on Monday at 7 p.m.