Temple’s two-game road trip certainly got off to a suspenseful start Wednesday night at SMU, but one that ultimately left head coach Diane Richardson frustrated at the end of the night.
With 27 seconds left, SMU guard Tiara Young hits a Euro-step layup to give the Mustangs a one-point lead. Temple had two chances at scoring the go ahead buckets, but both were unsuccessful and forced the Owls to foul. Young made one of the two free throws, giving Temple one last chance, down two with two seconds to go.
Coming out of the timeout, Aleah Nelson inbounded a pass to Demi Washington, who kicked the ball out to Tiarra East. She stepped into a three, knocked it down and celebrated as she was mobbed by her teammates.
But the celebration ended when the referees headed to the monitor to review the shot and determined East didn’t get the shot off in time, resulting in a 68-66 loss to SMU at Moody Coliseum.
With the loss, the Owls (10-9, 4-3) moved to a fourth-place tie with UTSA in the American Athletic Conference standings and a game behind Tulsa, Charlotte and Rice, who are tied for third.
As much as this game was decided by the final minute of play, the same issues that have plagued the Owls once again become apparent in the loss.
And Richardson didn’t mince words about what the issues were.
“It was an effort, plain and simple,” Richardson said, keeping the post game presser to a brief two minutes while being blunt about the team’s disappointing first-half effort.
Temple struggled at the outset of the game, shooting just 8 of 26 in the first quarter and hit just three more shots in the second quarter while shooting an abysmal 1-for-9 from three-point range in the first half. Washington’s eight first-half points and solid defense ensured the game didn’t get too far out of hand as Temple went into the half down 10.
A big part of the offense success for SMU was Shantae Embry, who had 12 of her 23 points in the first half. Alongside Jiya Perry and Reagan Perry, who both had seven at half, the Mustangs threatened to run away with the game in the second half.
As has been the case for Temple much of the season, the offense picked up in the second half, with the team looking more energized and aggressive. Washington continued with her good play, adding nine more in the second half while Tarriyonna Gary scored 13 points and helped the Owls get out to a seven-point lead with five minutes to play.
“They decided to turn it over. I mean, we were down 10 points at halftime and after sitting back, they decided to play the scout,” Richardson said of the adjustments made at halftime.
But Temple could not keep the momentum late in the fourth quarter, as SMU held the Owls scoreless for three of the last five minutes, with Young scoring six of SMU’s last eight points to help erase a 66-60 Temple lead with 1:59 to go.
SMU (9-10, 3-5), which snapped a three-game losing streak with the win, held Aleah Nelson to one point, and two shot attempts on the day with four assists. Nelson missed much of the third quarter with a knee injury, but Dallas native Tristen Taylor stepped into her place with eight points.
“We expect [Taylor] to play anyway,” Richardson said. “This is her hometown. I knew she would play and when Aleah went out, she had to step up a little bit.”
Temple will remain on the road for a 3 p.m. Sunday game at Tulane.
Putbacks
Nelson’s one-point performance was her lowest scoring output since the Jan. 11 ECU game, when she scored four points. … Wednesday’s game marked the seventh time this season Rayne Tucker has grabbed 10 or more rebounds.
Front page photo by Anthony Getz.
