Cold-shooting Temple women fall to No. 15 West Virginia
The Owls made only 16 of 66 shots from the field. "We didn’t shoot the ball very well today," coach Diane Richardson said. "That was our Achilles’ heel today."
Temple’s women’s team has struggled to shoot the ball efficiently all season long, but the Owls have overcome their offensive shortcomings with their ability to turn intense defense into points.
That game plan did not work Sunday against No. 15 West Virginia as Temple made only 16 of 66 shots from the field.
The Mountaineers stopped the Owls from pushing the pace in transition and stalled their offense completely in a 68-46 loss to West Virginia at the Liacouras Center.
“It was a tough game against a very tough team,” Temple coach Diane Richardson said. “We did some things well according to the [scouting report]. We didn’t shoot the ball very well today. That was our Achilles’ heel today. Against a tough team, it’s hard to respond to.”
The Owls (5-4) kept the game close in the first half, trailing by 31-21 at the break. However, the Mountaineers (10-1) exploded in the second half, outscoring Temple by 12 points.
West Virginia had five players finish in double digits with guard Kyah Watson leading the way with 15 points and adding 10 rebounds. Temple guard Tiarra East was the only Owl to reach double figures with 15 points.
“I did a better job reading the defense,” East said. “Rather than trying to do what I wanted to do, I read the defense better in the second half.”
Defensive battle
Entering the game, West Virginia was fifth in the country in turnovers forced per game, averaging 27. Meanwhile, Temple was ranked 73rd with less than 20 per game.
That defensive intensity was in full force from the tip-off for both teams, as the Mountaineers opened up with a full-court press and Temple played a tough 2-3 zone.
Mountaineers guard Sydney Shaw posted four steals while forward Jaleesa Molina led the Owls with three. West Virginia forced 17 Temple turnovers leading to 13 points. Temple forced 18 West Virginia turnovers for eight points.
“Going into it, we know that they pressure for 40 minutes,” Richardson said. “Early on in the first half they were pressuring, and we were anticipating the pressure and throwing the ball away. We had some costly turnovers early.”
Shooting woes
Temple’s poor shooting has been a problem all season, and it was no different against the Mountaineers. The Owls shot a season-low 24% from the field. Temple got plenty of open looks but couldn’t convert on them.
West Virginia struggled to shoot the ball early, but later found its three-point shot. The Mountaineers ended up shooting 36% from three-point range, knocking down nine shots from beyond the arc.
“It’s just an off day,” East said of the shooting performance. “I’m going to keep shooting the ball regardless if it’s going in or not, because that’s how much confidence I have in myself and my coaches have in me. I’m going to keep shooting regardless.”
Up next
The Owls will play Xavier on Saturday at 11 p.m. in the first game of the Raising the B.A.R. Invitational in Berkeley, Calif.