Temple stays ‘together, no matter what,’ and junior captain Tiarra East is a big reason why

FORT WORTH, Texas — Tiarra East has seen a lot in her three seasons at Temple.

She’s played for two coaches. Her current head coach and most of her teammates have come aboard in the last year or two, after the junior herself had already been on North Broad for a season. While East and the Owls have been through a lot — from the roster turnover last season to the historic regular-season conference title just days ago — there’s always time for something new.

“The difference between this year and the years before is that we’re all together,” East said. “We stay together, no matter what. Wins, losses, ups and downs, we stay together, no matter what.”

East’s captaincy is a role she takes seriously as a way to bring her team together, on and off the court. East also has a massive effect on the Owls’ on-court growth. She developed into a starter as a freshman and was the second-leading scorer as a sophomore in 2022-23. This season, she’s Temple’s leading scorer (13.4 points per game) and second-leading rebounder (5.2).

That togetherness that East and coach Diane Richardson preach is why the Owls have at least one more game, against Rice in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament. East has never been this deep into the postseason, but she wasn’t the only one experiencing a first on Monday night. The 76-72 triple-overtime thriller against Tulane is the first multi-overtime game in AAC women’s basketball tournament history, and the most OTs the Owls had played since 2016′s five-overtime marathon loss to Memphis.

“We have battled all year,” Richardson said. “The reason we’re here today is because they all played together. And they played for each other, and that’s what’s been different for us this year is we play for each other. The culture is great. They play for themselves, and they play for Temple University.”

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That community extends beyond the women’s team. Temple’s men’s basketball team was out in force, watching the Owls battle and providing vocal support from behind one basket. The Temple men (12-19, 5-13) will face Texas-San Antonio, a team they just edged, 84-82, for the second time in three days in their first-round AAC Tournament game on Wednesday (3 p.m., ESPN+).

“Our teams are so close,” Richardson said. “It was great to look up and see that they took an early flight to get here to be able to cheer for us. We heard them. We definitely heard them. … This Temple community is awesome. It’s awesome.”

Every Owl in the building had reason to cheer in the end, but, for 55 minutes, Temple battled wave after wave of Tulane’s attack as the No. 14 seed, a team it had beaten by an average of 17.5 points in the previous two matchups, fought to keep its season alive. East’s 22 points led the Owls (including 12 in OT). She added nine rebounds in 49 minutes, while Tristen Taylor (14 points, four assists), Demi Washington (12 points, seven rebounds), and Rayne Tucker (eight points, 14 rebounds, and two blocks) also stuffed the stat sheet.

That fight Tulane showed is something Tucker, a senior, understands. Like several of her teammates, she is in her final days or weeks representing the Owls. She’s one of seven seniors or grad students, five of whom have no remaining eligibility.

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“In one of our breakdowns before the game, I was just telling everybody, ‘This could be your last game,’ ” Tucker said. “For me, it could have been my last game in a Temple uniform; it could have been my last game altogether. So with that in mind, I just tried to get everybody to have that mindset, like, you never know what’s going to happen in life, so just play hard. This is what we have right now; it’s tournament time.”

In 2021, East was an improving freshman. Now, she, Tucker, and other veterans are shaping the newest Owls. In her 29 minutes on the court, Taylor showed why Richardson calls her the “fearless freshman,” whether through highlight-reel threes, clutch free throws, or tough defense all night.

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“Our leaders and our seniors have really brought her along and gave her confidence, and she’s fitting in really, really well,” Richardson said. “She’s like a sponge; she sucks everything up. … She makes a difference when she’s on the court.”