Owls capitalize on turnovers in win against UMBC

Written by: Chris Duong

Photo by: Temple Athletics

Temple Women’s Basketball (3-5) defeated the University of Maryland Baltimore County (2-5) 68-54 at the Liacouras Center in the second game of Saturday’s double header. 

With 5:52 left in the game, senior guard Aleah Nelson pushed the floor and outletted the basketball to junior guard Tarriyonna Gary, who knocked down a wide open three pointer to extend Temple’s lead to six points after exchanging baskets and turnovers all game, finishing the game on an 11-1 run and outscoring UMBC 22-7 in the fourth quarter.

“We pulled that one out,” Head Coach Diane Richardson said about the back-and-forth game action. “It was a slow start. Slow, slow, slow until the fourth quarter until we decided to win the game.”

UMBC grabbed four consecutive offensive rebounds, but were unsuccessful at converting on the possessions with 8:50 left in the second quarter. Temple gave up 12 total offensive rebounds and was outrebounded 41-39 in the win.

Senior guard Aleah Nelson knocked down a three pointer to give the Temple Owls a 7-0 run with 5:11 left in the second quarter, adding 14 points, including three three-pointers and seven assists.

Gary also had a solid game for Temple, leading all scorers with 15 points, while sophomore forward Ines Piper grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and added nine points. 

UMBC senior guard Ashia McCalla responded with a three point play to give the Retrievers a 7-0 run of their own. McCalla added 10 points for the Retrievers, while sophomore guard Laycee Drake led with 12 points. The Retrievers shot just 19/59 from the field, a poor 32%.

Both teams struggled to take care of the basketball. Temple scored 28 points off of UMBC’s 25 turnovers, which guided the Owls to their third win of the season. 

“We always do well when we are pushing in transition, so we did it in the first quarter and then kind of sat back a little bit and slowed the game down,” Richardson said. That’s not really the way that we play. So in the fourth quarter they stepped up a bit and played our Temple basketball.”

Every player that touched the floor for Temple scored, contributing to head coach Diane Richardson’s “equal opportunity” offensive scheme.

“We look at the assist to field goal ratio, 18-24, it means we are looking for each other and playing together,” Richardson said. “That is what is really important for us and important for us from this summer, with a mixture of players and finally getting where we can understand each other and know each other’s places.”

The Owls return to action on Dec. 5 at the Liacouras Center against La Salle University (6-3) at 7:00 pm.