With just one game before the American Athletic Conference Tournament, it was only natural that head coach Diane Richardson would want her team to end the regular season on a high note.

The Charlotte 49ers had no plans of making this easy Tuesday night at Halton Arena.

The Owls got off to an abysmal start, shooting just 10% from the field in the first quarter as the offense completely stalled. Charlotte didn’t fare much better but did just enough to edge out Temple through the first two quarters.

Charlotte continued to gain distance into the third quarter, but just as it seemed the 49ers could steal a win, the Owls turned to Tiarra East.

After scoring just two points in the first half, East exploded for 16 in the second half, guiding Temple to a 60-54 win. The Owls have racked up six straight wins, securing the fourth seed and a double-bye in next week’s AAC tournament in the process.

East’s 18 points on the night led Temple (19-10, 13-5 American Athletic Conference), while guards Kaylah Turner and Tarriyonna Gary finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively. As a team, the Owls shot 31% from the field, the lowest field goal percentage in a win for Temple this season. But a strong defense performance saw Temple grind out the win.

The aforementioned slow start began with foul trouble for the Owls. Forward Jaleesa Molina picked up two fouls within four minutes, as that began Temple’s struggles. Charlotte continued to make matters worse by slowing the Owls' transition offense and forcing misses in the halfcourt offense, as the 49ers led 9-4 after one quarter.

Temple’s offense picked up into the second quarter, but Charlotte matched it with six points from junior forward Keanna Rembert. Rembert, alongside four points from guard Jordan Peete, allowed Charlotte to lead 22-17 at halftime.

Temple’s offense improved mightily after the break, shooting 50% in the quarter behind six points from Gary. Charlotte proved to be even better in the quarter, shooting 73%, led by seven points from guard Hayleigh Breland as the 49ers maintained a slim three-point lead going into the final quarter.

East led Temple’s offense in the fourth quarter with 11 points, but most of the Owls' success came from the free-throw line, where Temple shot 15-for-16 to guide it through the final stretch.

Rember finished with a team-high 16 points and eight rebounds for Charlotte, while Breland finished with 11 points on 5-for-12 shooting from the field.

Temple now awaits its opponent in the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament next Monday in Fort Worth at 3 p.m. The Owls will face the winner of Sunday’s second-round game between No. 5 seed Tulsa and the winner of Saturday’s first-round game between No. 13 seed Florida Atlantic and 12th-seeded Charlotte.

Front page photo by Tim McCall.