As the fourth quarter started, forward Ines Piper hit a pull-up three, giving Temple a 30-point lead.
It was that kind of night for the Owls. Temple coasted through the final period to secure its second win of the season in a dominant 77-53 victory over Bucknell Saturday night at the Liacouras Center.
After routing Delaware State by 66 points in the season opener, the Owls were on the other side of a blowout in Thursday night’s 23-point loss to Georgetown.
“We watched film and saw what we did and didn't do,” Temple head coach Diane Richardson said. “And then [the team] were relentless and came back
Slow start
In spite of scoring just 15 points in the first quarter and shooting 30 percent from the field, Temple (2-1) held Bucknell (0-2) to just 21 percent shooting, had five blocks, and forced eight turnovers.
“We set out that we wanted to be positive the whole entire time, even though shots weren’t falling,” Richardson said. “They were confident in taking the shots, and that’s the biggest thing we want to do is make sure they’re confident and not get down when the shots don't fall”
Piper scored 12 points, but most of her impact came from the defensive side. Piper brought into six rebounds and a team-high three blocks
“She came into this year saying that she had to do more,” Richardson said of Piper, “and she has really buckled down and got her timing together. She knows that we depend on her to get rebounds and she’s put in the extra work.”
Temple finished with 48 total rebounds, including 22 on the offensive end. It was the Owls’ highest rebounding total since the 2020 season against Florida Gulf Coast, when they brought down 58 rebounds, and the most offensive rebounds since a 2016 game against Memphis.
After playing a scoreless 10 minutes against Georgetown two nights ago, Kendall Currence had a much better performance against Bucknell, being one of six Temple players to finish with double-digit points.
Currence finished with 10 points and a team-leading seven rebounds as she continues to make strides coming off a torn ACL.
“Absolutely,” Richardson said when asked if Currence’s role on the team would grow as the season went on. “She’s showing a lot more from the beginning when she was on minute restrictions, and she’s showing a lot more and she's more confident.”
Defensive improvement
Temple’s defense was much improved after allowing 68 points to Georgetown on 52 percent shooting. In the loss to the Hoyas Thursday, the Owls had trouble handling the back lanes and conceded too many points on defensive miscuses.
Temple looked much more cohesive Saturday night when it came to assignments and forcing the Bison to play at an uncomfortable pace.
A big part of the Temple’s defensive success was junior guard Tiarra East, who posted a career high in steals with six.
“Every day in practice we talk about pressuring the ball and just playing the pass,” East said. “We put a lot of pressure on the pass and I just see the next pass coming I just go get.”
Up next
Temple will hit the road for the first time this season, and the opponent will be much tougher when the Owls take on No. 12 Ole Miss Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Postgame press conference
Watch the postgame press conference with Diane Richardson, Kendall Currence and Tiarra East here.
Front page photo by Zamani Feelings.
