Temple women strengthen their postseason chances with their third straight win

Coming off its third consecutive win, Temple is finding consistency at the right time.

Just how consistent? Enough to find Owls coach Diane Richardson’s team at the top of the American Athletic Conference standings following its latest victory, a 69-52 final over Tulane on Monday.

The win matches Temple’s season-high streak for wins (15-10 overall) while sitting firmly in second place in the AAC. While the Owls have the same conference record (9-4) as first-place North Texas, the Mean Green have the better overall record (19-6) and would take the No. 1 seed if the conference tournament started today.

In a tight conference race, the AAC has 10 teams with at least seven wins. The top four teams will earn a double bye in the conference tournament that begins March 9. Before that, though, the Owls face the Texas-San Antonio on Thursday (6:30 p.m., ESPN+), looking for their fourth straight victory.

“Defensive effort is how we got here,” Richardson said. “I had been asking about consistency all season and I think we’re getting closer to being consistent defensively. I’m very excited about it.”

» READ MORE: Bubble Watch: Big 5 schools could miss out on March Madness entirely

After Monday’s win over Tulane, Richardson told reporters that she didn’t know where the Owls stood in the standings until this previous Sunday. Even after she knew, Richardson didn’t tell the players they could be in a tie for first place in the AAC until the morning practice before the Owls hosted Tulane.

Temple’s leading scorer, fifth-year senior Aleah Nelson, is experiencing an up-and-down season in the scoring department. With the Owls’ equal-opportunity offense, there have been games when she is depended on to score — or set up her teammates. But over the last two games, Nelson has shown more of her scoring prowess. Nelson had a season-high 24 points in the win Saturday against Alabama-Birmingham. Against the Green Wave, Nelson was held scoreless in the first quarter but found her game in the second. The team rallied behind Nelson once she got going, finishing with 16 points, which included connecting on three of her six three-point attempts.

Her leadership has always been displayed, but now she’s finding her shooting form that coincides with consecutive double-digit performances.

“I think I’m just finding my shot a little bit more,” Nelson said. “I think I’m being a little more aggressive on the offensive side. My teammates bring my confidence up and [that] makes me want to shoot the ball. That also gets other people open.”

Rayne Tucker has been the Owls’ best rebounder all season, but against Tulane, it was a team effort. Four Temple players had at least six rebounds. Tiara East led the way with a season-high 11 rebounds, a major effort considering the guard was averaging just four boards entering Monday’s matchup.

» READ MORE: Temple has taken a big step forward this season. Rayne Tucker is a big part of that.

The biggest positive for the Owls since conference play started is that they have played with a lead in the majority of their games. At times, Temple has shown the ability to prevent teams from getting back into the game. Other times, the Owls have made things much closer than they needed to be. In the last two games, the Owls have played with more confidence holding a lead and that’s a key reason why Temple has as good a chance as any team to play deep into March.