Head coach Diane Richardson had high hopes for Temple Women’s Basketball coming into her second season at the helm. In the year prior, the Owls found themselves restricted to just eight players before limping to an 11-18 record.
Temple’s depleted roster limited Richardsons’ ability to carry out her desired “equal opportunity offense.” She filled those holes in the offseason and has already seen vast improvement on the court.
The Owls had a slow 3-5 start despite their roster additions, but Richardson has rallied the Owls to a 11-9 record, including a 5-3 start in American Athletic Conference play. While the Owls have lacked consistency, they have shown flashes of where the team could be headed.
“Not only is it great to have depth, but we don’t just have bodies, we have people that can play,” Richardson said. “We can go at any point to the bench and sub in and not have a drop off in play and our staff has done a great job with recruiting and player development.”
The Owls were plagued by poor frontcourt play last season, finishing last in the AAC in total rebounds and second to last in rebounds per game. Richardson knew the frontcourt would have to improve in order to have success in her second season. She brought in a few new faces, most notably freshman center Jaleesa Molina, but the most improvement has come from two in-house players.
Forward Rayne Tucker followed Richardson from Towson last season with the expectation of anchoring the frontcourt. Tucker has been making her presence known on the glass after missing all of last season due to two-time transfer rules. She ranks top 10 in the AAC in nearly every rebounding category and leads the Owls at 7.6 rebounds per game.
“Being able to watch definitely gave me an opportunity to see what was missing and what the team needed,” Tucker said. “The rebounding and the defense is what Coach Richardson recruited me here to do so I am just making sure to put an emphasis on that while being a threat down low.”
Tucker’s frontcourt mate, Ines Piper, started in 23 of Temple’s 29 games last season, and while her numbers weren’t eye-popping, Richardson and her staff knew she could be a bigger factor. Piper put in work in the offseason and has become a force on the glass alongside Tucker, ranking in the top 10 in the AAC offensive rebounds per game at 2.8.
Piper’s improvement and Tucker’s return to the lineup has pushed Temple from the bottom of the barrel to one of the best rebounding teams in the conference. The Owls rank fifth in the conference in total rebounds and fourth in rebounds per game and have thrived on the offensive glass, ranking fourth in the entire country in offensive rebounds.
“Last year we did not have a force in the paint and Rayne has really made a big difference in the paint and our post presence,” Richardson said. “Ines has really picked up her game as well and we have quite a tandem rebounding the ball.”
Richardson has preached the importance of her defenses putting constant pressure on her opponents since she was hired, and those dreams have come to light this season. Temple is forcing just more than 20 turnovers per game, good for top 30 in the nation and second in the AAC.
Temple has forced double-digit turnovers in every game so far, and has forced at least 20 in 10 games. The Owls are averaging 10 steals per game and six players have 20 or more steals, led by guard Tiarra East who has 29.
“We always set a game goal for how many turnovers we are going to force a team to have,” East said. “We always rely on our defense to turn into our offense and that’s what gets us going.”
The Owls’ impressive offensive rebounding and turnover numbers have led to more opportunities on the offensive end. Temple finds itself top 20 in the country in field goal attempts and first in the AAC. All-conference guard Aleah Nelson leads the team in scoring at 12.1 points per game. However, six other players are scoring at least seven points per game, which has helped take some of the load from last season off Nelson.
The Owls have still struggled to make the most of these opportunities due to inconsistent offense, sitting in the middle of the pack in the AAC in field goal percentage, shooting 39 percent from the field.
While the Owls’ overall shooting numbers have been serviceable, they are struggling even more from beyond the arc, shooting just 29 percent, 10th in the AAC.
“I think we get into our own head too much with trying to only focus on scoring,” Nelson said. “When we focus on defense it allows us to force those turnovers and lead to easy runouts and easy transition points that helps build our confidence.”
The depth Richardson brought in during the offseason has shown itself this season, particularly freshman guard Tristen Taylor, who has by far made the biggest impact of the seven newcomers.
Taylor is only getting 18 minutes a game but because of Temple’s deep backcourt she has made the most of her minutes. Taylor is averaging seven points per game and is second on the team in assists while showing a high motor and IQ on the floor.
While the Owls have found a recent string of success, there is still a lot of basketball to play. Their ability to turn opponents over and grab offensive rebounds should allow them to be one of the top teams in a strong AAC.
The offense has shown flashes of taking the next step but is still hampered by inconsistency and slow starts to games. Richardson knows she has the talent necessary to see success as long as they continue to play their brand of basketball.
“Our goal is to win the conference championship, and we are working on things now and clawing our way to the top,” Richardson said. “Nobody expected us to do that but we have confidence in ourselves, and maybe nobody else believes in us but we believe in ourselves.
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