East Carolina’s Efficient Free Throw Shooting Aides in Win Over Temple
Written by: Adrian Maghacot
Photo by: Andrew Mayo
After a less than stellar night from the free throw line, Temple women’s basketball (10-13, 5-6 American Athletic Conference) fell to East Carolina (16-8, 7-4 AAC) 67-52 at the Williams Arena.
Despite having the worst free throw percentage in the conference at 61%, East Carolina was 75% from the charity stripe (21-28). Temple had the best free throw percentage in the conference heading into the matchup at 74%, but struggled tonight shooting 45% from the line (10-22).
East Carolina freshman forward Amiya Joyner led the team with season-highs of 23 points and 14 rebounds. With that performance, the Farmville native secured her ninth double-double of the season.
Meanwhile, the Owls were led by senior guard and leading-scorer Aleah Nelson, who finished the game with 12 points and three rebounds. However, she struggled, shooting 29% from the field and committing five turnovers, her second-highest total in a game this season.
By the end of the first half, Temple only trailed by two, but Nelson was unable to shoot efficiently, going 2-9 from the field, including 2-6 from beyond the arc. In addition to Nelson, both teams were also struggling to score efficiently, as Temple went 8-27 while East Carolina went 8-30.
The Owls started the second half strong with a 23-point third quarter, and eight of those points came from redshirt junior forward Brittany Garner. With the offense starting to gather momentum, Temple outrebounded East Carolina 17-10 with Garner grabbing seven of those boards.
However, Temple did not score their first points of the fourth quarter until the 3:28 mark, scoring only seven points the entire quarter.
In addition to poor shooting, the team also struggled with fouls after tallying six. With 5:07 left in the fourth quarter, Garner received a technical foul when she slapped the ball after drawing her fourth foul in the post. For the rest of the game, East Carolina dominated and scored 25 points in the quarter to secure a 15-point win.
The Pirates’ leading-scorer was senior guard Danae McNeal, who contributed 17 points on 6-14 shooting, four rebounds, and three steals.
In addition to Nelson’s performance, Temple sophomore forward Tiarra East scored 11 points on 3-10 shooting, grabbed three rebounds, and earned three steals. Sophomore forward Caranda Perea added six points and eight rebounds, but it was not enough to give Temple the win.
The Owls will return to Philadelphia to take on Cincinnati (8-15, 1-9 AAC) at The Liacouras Center on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 2 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN+.
