Temple falls to South Florida, 64-57

After trailing by as many as 13 points, head coach Diane Richardson and Temple Women’s Basketball battled back for most of the game at the Liacouras Center Saturday afternoon. However, Temple’s comeback ran out of steam as they fell to South Florida, 64-57.

Temple (13-10, 7-5 American Athletic Conference) has struggled this season playing a full four quarters of basketball and this proved to be the case as USF(16-8, 9-2 AAC) extended its win streak to five games.

The Owls started off strong holding USF scoreless for the first five minutes, but a 10-1 run to end the first quarter saw the Bulls lead 18-13.

Both teams failed to score double-figures in the second quarter shooting under 30%, as USF led 27-20 going into halftime. 

Richardson’s side saw improvement in the second half as the Owls began to force turnovers leading to offensive success. Tiarra East sparked the comeback effort with multiple instances of the guard intercepting passing lanes, leading to fast break layups. The senior scored eight points in the third quarter with Temple trailing two points heading into the fourth quarter.

The Bulls controlled the fourth quarter, outscoring the Owls 23-18, but it wasn’t due to their hot shooting. USF held Temple scoreless for five minutes, with the Owls missing four field goals and turning the ball over three times. 

The scoring drought ended with Temple forward Anissa Rivera hitting a jump shot followed by a late scoring barrage from the Owls, but it wasn’t enough as Temple picked up its fifth loss in conference play. 

USF was led by guard Sammie Puisis who finished with 15 points, hitting four threes. East finished with 15 points on 7-for-13 shooting with guard Kaylah Turner finishing with 10 points.

The Owls will look to get back on track when they host UAB on Tuesday at 6 p.m. back at the Liacouras Center. Click right here to hear WHIP Radio’s live broadcast of Saturday’s game.