There is no way Temple women’s basketball head coach Diane Richardson could have pictured her current roster while sitting in the press room at the Liacouras Center late last February.

The Owls were down to just eight active players, with just six playing at times due to injuries. Four players left the program, whether dismissed or voluntary, and players like Aleah Nelson and Tarriyonna Gary were playing every minute of every game.

And yet, eight months and half a new team later, the Owls played exactly to Richardson’s vision in their season opener against Delaware State.

“Hats off to this team,” Richardson said. “We talked about who’s in the huddle, and they demonstrated who’s in the huddle and played for each other. They had 26 assists, which tells you we are playing for each other. I’m really pleased at what we did today, but we are just beginning.”

Temple dominated the game in every sense of the word. They won 109-43 Monday evening, producing the second-highest point total in program history, in the first game of Temple’s season-opening doubleheader at The Liacouras Center. Richardson’s vision of aggressive play and transition buckets was all over the court, and the Hornets found out what a fully-loaded Richardson roster could do.

That 100-point mark was important, too. When asked, both forwards Ines Piper and Jaleesa Molina said the team was aiming for triple digits, and they made a statement with it.

The game was a blowout from the beginning. The Owls went up 30-6 at the end of the first quarter, completely stifling the Hornets’ offense. At halftime, the Owls had a commanding 29-point lead, and it was smooth sailing from there.

Temple didn’t give Delaware State a chance to breathe in the second half. The Owls outscored the Hornets by 18 in the third quarter and 19 in the fourth, putting the game to bed with ease.

“Everybody can score, and that’s the blessing with this team,” Nelson said. “If I’m off, I know Ines is going to be good. If she’s off, then it’s Jaleesa. We have scorers. It’s really good to have a team where you don’t know who’s gonna be hot on a given night, and I think that makes us really hard to guard.”

Delaware State finished 7-19 last season, including 5-9 in the Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference, but this game felt more about the way the Owls played. They jelled, making passes and playing with pace that simply did not happen this season.

Regardless of who was on the floor, the Owls proved what they were capable of when shots fall. This was seemingly the ideal way to start the season.

“What we don’t want to do is think this is going to be the rest of our season,” Richardson said. “We had a great first game, but, again, it’s the first game. We’ve gotta be prepared for every game and every opponent we’re gonna see.”

Frontcourt dominates

As guard-heavy as the Owls appear on paper, they won Monday because of their frontcourt.

Last season, the Owls averaged 37.1 rebounds, often getting outmatched by their opponents. In fact, Richardson used to dread when other teams put in their bigs, hoping her team could stay in the game.

Those days may be gone.

The Owls had a three-headed monster in Rayne Tucker, Ines Piper and Jaleesa Molina. They combined for 41 points and 20 rebounds, including 12 on the offensive end. The Owls’ bigs kept possessions alive when the guards were missing shots and spaced the floor well with their ability to hit jumpers when needed.

In her first game on the floor in Cherry and White, Tucker showed why Richardson brought her over from Towson. The 6-foot-1 center asserted her dominance, pairing 10 points with three rebounds.

The pairing of Piper and Molina at the four proved to be strong. Piper had more confidence in her shot, going 6-of-12 from the field. Molina, the 6-2 Dutch freshman, showed flashes of her potential. She had some nice closeouts from far distances and scored from all levels. She finished with 16 points, which led the team.

“Our staff went out and found the holes to fill,” Richardson said. “We are pretty pleased with what we have here. I don’t think we’re going to give up too many games to rebounds this year because we have some players that can rebound the ball.”

Equal opportunity offense

Since her arrival at North Broad, Richardson has preached her equal opportunity offense, where any player could score at any time. While Temple fans saw glimpses of that last season, it was on full display this afternoon.

All 12 players that checked in from the home bench scored at least a bucket, and eight finished in double figures. The Owls shot an efficient 53.8% from the floor and 38.7% from three. The Owls had 26 assists, spreading the ball around and keeping the defense guessing at all times.

“Everybody that entered the game scored,” Richardson said. “I’m really pleased with that.”

Tiarra East played well Monday, finishing with 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting. Richardson mentioned how much East’s confidence grew over the offseason, and that was on full display. She looked a lot more comfortable with her shot, and she displayed good vision, including a slick no-look dime to Demi Washington in the second quarter.

Speaking of Washington, she was one newcomer that impressed in her Temple debut. She finished with 11 points, three rebounds and four assists in her starting role. Freshman Tristen Taylor had five as well in her first collegiate game.

Nelson, Gary and East proved to be leaders on the floor. They combined for 33 points and controlled the pace of play for the team.

While the competition should be considered, the Owls did what they had to do and proved the shots can fall.

Stat stuff

Temple scored more than 100 points for the first time since 2015, when the Owls beat Delaware State 100-59 on Dec. 19… Temple’s starters combined for 58 points, meaning the Owls had 51 points off the bench. … The Owls doubled the Hornets in total rebounds, finishing 47-23. … Ines Piper had a double-double, which was the first time she’s had double-digit points.