Leading games in the third quarter is a familiar feeling for Diane Richardson’s team. How the rest of it turns out has proven to be a mixed bag.
Temple found itself leading in the third once again Saturday afternoon at Tulane with Alabama A&M transfer Kaylah Turner guiding the Owls to a 12-point lead going into the fourth quarter, a tenuous position for a Temple team that has struggled to maintain some big leads.
Instead, Temple remained sound defensively, holding the Green Wave to 23% shooting in the final period en route to an important 73-56 win at Fogelman Arena that moved the Owls a half game past Tulane and into fourth place in the American Athletic Conference standings.
It was an unconventional win for Temple, as leading scorers Tiarra East and Tarriyonna Gary combined for just nine points on 2-for-9 shooting, partly due to early foul trouble. Instead, Temple relied on Turner’s 22 points and 11 rebounds, the first double-double of her career, in her second start for the Owls.
Forward Jaleesa Molina finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds, the latter of which marked a career-high. The Owls are now 7-0 when Molina finishes with 10 or more points. Saturday’s road game was also a good showing for guard Tristen Taylor, who finished with 13 points.
While Temple (15-10, 9-5 American Athletic Conference) pulled away at the end of the game, the start suggested things would be much closer. Both teams struggled to find their footing as after five minutes the game sat at four points apiece, with the teams combining for 5-for-15 shooting during that stretch.
Tulane (15-9, 8-5 AAC) relied on freshman guard Sadie Shores to get the offense going as the Green Wave went on a 10-0 run. Temple responded, rattling nine unanswered points to tie the game at the end of the first quarter.
The teams traded buckets throughout the second quarter, but the Owls found the edge with Turner’s 12 points in the quarter sparking them to a 34-30 lead.
Coming out of halftime has been a struggle for Temple this season, but the Owls turned to what they knew best: defense. Temple held Tulane without a field goal for the first six minutes of the third quarter. During that stretch, the Owls turned to Molina, who finished the quarter with eight points as Temple led 57-45 going into the final quarter.
The Owls’ defense closed the win out in the fourth quarter, holding the Green Wave to 3-for-13 shooting from the field. Temple also outrebounded Tulane by 54-37, never letting the Green Wave find any momentum on the boards.
Shores finished with a team-high 15 points and hit two threes, while Tulane's leading scorer Sherese Pittman scored 11 points as the Green Wave shot just 28% from the field on the evening.
The top four teams in the American’s regular-season standings receive a double bye in the conference tournament in Fort Worth, Texas and would only need to win three games to claim the league title and the automatic NCAA Tournament bid that would come with it. With four games remaining, Temple plays next on Wednesday at home against Wichita State. Tip-off is at 7 p.m., and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
Front page photo by Tim McCall, Temple Athletics.
