When Villanova and Temple played last season, the name to remember was Maddy Seigrist, as the future No. 3 overall pick in the WNBA draft carried the Wildcats to the win with a game-high 41 points.
This year, the Owls once again allowed a Wildcat to score 40 points on them, but this time it was Lucy Olsen.
The junior guard scored a career-high 40 points on 12 of 22 shooting from the field and 4 of 6 from three-point range, becoming the seventh Villanova player to hit the 40-point single-game milestone in the program’s history.
Temple couldn’t overcome her prolific scoring and fell 90-62 to Villanova Sunday afternoon at the Finneran Pavillion in the Owls' first Big 5 matchup in the season.
“It was a tough game, a tough day,” Temple head coach Dianne Richardson said. “I think Villanova came out guns blazing and really really wanted this game. They obviously followed their game plan. We’ve got to get back and do some work and make sure we are following our scout.
“Lucy played a good game and we couldn’t stop her. She deserved it because she worked hard. She worked every second of the game.”
Temple (2-3) was unable to stop Villanova (2-1) from getting offensive rebounds and extending possessions. The Wildcats grabbed 18 offensive rebounds that helped give way to 14 second-chance points and outrebounded the Owls, 48-40.
And while Olsen’s 40 points were a clear difference maker in the game, so was the presence of Villanova forward Christina Dalce, who finished with a game- and career-high 18 rebounds, 10 of which were on the offensive end.
“Not taking anything away from her, but we did not box out,” Richardson said. “The fact of the matter is we stood and watched her get rebounds.”
Before the game got out of hand, Temple trailed just 20-15 through the opening quarter. Both teams shot under 40 percent from the field in the opening period.
The second quarter was when Villanova’s shooters woke up and never cooled down. The Wildcats shot 56 percent from the field to the Owls’ 19 percent in the second frame, ending the first half on a 9-0 run and taking a 43-24 lead into halftime.
Temple shot just 34 percent from the field (25 of 72) in the loss. Guard Aleah Nelson had a season-high 16 points and was one of the sole offensive bright spots, shooting 7 of 15 from the field.
Owls guard Tarriyonna Gary made her first start of the season after starting 26 of Temple’s 29 games last year. But she shot 3 of 17 from the field and 2 of 11 from three-point range in the loss.
“I felt good,” Gary said. “I just got to get in the gym more, but I felt good. I’m going to do my best every time that I step on the floor.”
Struggles from deep
The Owls could not shoot or defend the three-pointer. For the second time this season, Temple shot just 16 percent from beyond the arc on 4 of 24 shooting. The Owls also shot 16 percent (3-for-18) from three-point range in their 77-53 win over Bucknell.
Villanova, meanwhile, shot a season-best 50 percent from three on 7 of 14 shooting. Entering the matchup the Wildcats had shot just 17 percent from beyond the arc in their first two games, but they found a rhythm Sunday.
“The shots aren’t falling and we have to understand that we’ve got to work harder at getting different shots if those three aren’t falling,” Richardson said. “We continued to shoot them and they weren’t falling. There were other ways that we should’ve been scoring, and we relied on the threes. We can’t do that.”
Foul trouble
Temple wasn’t shy about showing its frustration with the officials and the calls that they made, as the Owls had a season-high 28 personal fouls in the loss.
Guards Tiarra East and Demi Washington fouled out with a little less than eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, and forwards Ines Piper, Rayne Tucker, and guard Tristen Taylor each picked up four fouls.
Temple’s frustrations built up to the point that its bench was whistled for a technical for talking back to the referees on Washington's fifth foul.
“We thought that we could play physical,” Richardson said. “Evidently they were physical and we had people fouling out, so I’m going to put it like that.”
Up next
Temple will host Saint Joseph's on Wednesday in the second game of a doubleheader with the men's team. That game is set to tip off at 6 p.m.
Postgame press conference
Diane Richardson, Tarriyonna Gray and Rayne Tucker met with reporters after the game. You can watch their postgame press conference here.
