Temple Women’s Basketball Wins Home Opener Against Georgetown, Richardson Gets First Win at Temple
Written by: Jake Gabel
Photo by: Temple Athletics
Philadelphia, Pa – Head Coach Diane Richardson and the Owls beat the Hoyas 78-61 for the Owls’ first win on the season. For the first time ever, the Women’s basketball team will play all of their home games this season at the Liacouras Center, and they pick up the win in their first home game.
“I think we proved this is our house as well,” Richardson. “Liacouras is a great place to play and I think we showed it today.”
Aleah Nelson led all scorers with 19 points. Nelson also dished out six assists, tied for the most alongside fellow Owl Jasha Clinton. Clinton racked up 12 points as well. For the Hoyas, Jada Clauda led the team in points with 15, and all players in rebounds with 15 as well.
This was a bounce back game for the entire Owl offense, after shooting just 29 percent from the field in their first game of the season, a 49-67 loss to #24 Princeton. Temple made just one three-pointer in that loss to the Tigers. They got hot from behind the arc in this one however, making eight three-pointers, six of them coming in the second half.
“I think that first game was just an anomaly, we normally shoot better than that,” Richardson said. “We went back in confident again with our threes. We didn’t hit as many as we wanted to, but I still wanted them to continue to shoot.”
Despite the lopsided end result, it was a close first half. Temple led 33-29 at the break. The first three of the game for the Owls wasn’t made until halfway through the second quarter until Aleah Nelson snapped that drought. That was one of three three-pointers for Nelson in this one after going 0-6 from downtown against Princeton.
Coach Richardson stated before the season she wanted to install an “Equal Opportunity Offense” at Temple. The first game did not seem to follow that game plan, but the Owls sure did against Georgetown. Nine Owls played in this one and all of them had scored before the first half had even finished.
Four Owls scored in double figures; Nelson with 19; Clinton with 12; Tiarra East with 14; and Tarriyonna Gary with 13. Temple had 16 assists in this one compared to Georgetown’s seven assists. The Owls had just six assists in their loss to Princeton.
“The Equal Opportunity Offense, everybody is expected to score,” Richardson said. “You see our offense and how we run it everybody scored. If you look at the score sheet every single person scored. And then you see our assists, so we’re looking for the extra person.”
In the second half, the Owls really took over. Clinton pick-pocketed Georgetown’s Kelsey Ransom and took it all the way for the and-one layup on the other end to make it a 51-36 game towards the end of the third quarter.
Nelson and Clinton both left the game briefly with different injuries, but both came back in the game and were not affected by the bumps and bruises they may have picked up.
“As soon as I got down, I was down for a little bit, [Clinton] said ‘get up,’” Nelson said about Clinton. “But seriously, she kind of makes me tougher. It’s like, ‘you know what I have to get back up, I have to keep playing.’ She left with a little injury and came back, that’s what we have to instill within each other, that ‘Temple Tuff’ mentality.”
In the fourth quarter, Georgetown attempted to mount a comeback, coming within as close as nine, but Temple squashed that, ending the game on a 10-2 run.
The loss for Georgetown drops them to 1-1 on the season. Their next game is against Coppin State in Baltimore on Wednesday, November 16.
As for the Owls, the win improves their record to 1-1. Their next game is also Wednesday, November 16, as they travel to Queens, New York to take on 2-0 St. Johns. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
