Owls Fall to Cincinnati in the Team’s First Overtime Game of the Season
Written by: Adrian Maghacot
Photo by: Andrew Mayo
In the team’s first overtime game this season, Temple women’s basketball (10-14, 5-7 American Athletic Conference) fell to Cincinnati (9-15, 2-9 AAC) 74-66 at the Liacouras Center.
The Bearcats overpowered the Owls in both facets of the game after shooting a field goal percentage of 44%, including 33% from beyond the arc, while Temple went 3-18 from the three-point line. From the defensive front, they also dominated by out rebounding Temple 40-29 and forcing 13 turnovers.
“We’ve got to be tougher,” Temple head coach Diane Richardson said. “We’ve got to be able to close out games.”
Cincinnati sophomore forward Clarissa Craig was a pivotal part of the team’s success as she shut down the Owls in the paint with three rebounds and a block. Moreover, Craig had career-highs in points and assists with 16 and four, respectively.
“I think boxing out and really emphasizing on helping out bigs,” Temple senior guard Aleah Nelson said about what the Owls need to do better in the future. “We were slacking today and just not helping, and Craig killed us in the paint.”
Nelson led the team with 19 points on 7-14 shooting while dishing out six assists. However, Nelson struggled with shooting beyond the arc as she went 1-7.
The first half was back and forth as neither team pulled away for more than seven points. In addition, there were five instances where both teams were tied and seven different lead changes.
Each team also had their respective run in the second quarter as Cincinnati had a six-point run at the beginning of the quarter and Temple had a seven-point run to help even the score at 34 going into halftime.
However, ball security was a major issue for the Owls in the first half. They turned the ball over 10 times while Cincinnati gave the ball away only four times.
Both teams had very similar stats in the second half, and neither team was able to pull away from another. Cincinnati had the largest lead in the half with only five points.
With 10 seconds left in the game, Nelson had the opportunity to win the game at the buzzer but missed a stepback jumper to take the Owls into their first overtime game since Feb. 28, 2022, against SMU.
Temple struggled in overtime, scoring five total points and none in the last 2:07 of the game.
Cincinnati junior guard Jillian Hayes was one of the team’s leading scorers with 18 points in addition to nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Senior guard Mya Jackson also scored 18 while grabbing a season-high eight rebounds.
Three Owls hit the double-digit scoring mark: Nelson’s 19, sophomore forward Tiarra East’s 19, and sophomore forward Caranda Parea’s 12. East and Parea also highly contributed to Temple’s defensive game after grabbing a combined 12 rebounds, three blocks, and two steals.
The Owls will stay in Philadelphia to play Houston (9-13, 6-3 AAC) in a rematch at the Liacouras Center on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 2 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN+.
