Temple snaps four-game winning streak with a 62-60 loss to Tulane

Fresh off of its fourth straight win, the Temple women’s basketball team looked to continue its momentum against Tulane on Saturday. But things didn’t go according to plan.

Temple guard Tiarra East attempted a three-pointer to give the Owls the win as time expired. But the desperation shot hit the backboard and rimmed out, resulting in a 62-60 loss at the Liacouras Center.

“It was a game that we should’ve won,” Temple coach Diane Richardson said. “I don’t think we gave enough to win, and we’ve got to be tougher. Tulane came in here slinging, and they came out with a win. We’ve got to do better than that.”

Temple guard Tarriyonna Gary led the way with 23 points, shooting 5-for-9 from three-point range. Kaylah Turner added 10 points for the Owls (12-7, 6-2 American Athletic Conference).

The Green Wave (12-7, 5-3) had three scorers in double digits. Amira Mabry led with 19, while Kendall Sneed and Kyren Whittington pitched in 16 and 15, respectively.

“It just came down to getting consecutive stops on defense,” Gary said. “We didn’t do that. [It was] our lack of communication. We have to communicate everything. Games from here on out aren’t going to be given to us.”

All season long, there has seemed to be one quarter that causes trouble for Temple, whether it’s the opening quarter or the third. It was the first quarter that hurt Temple against Tulane.

The Owls offense could not get anything going in that quarter and shot 16.7% (3 of 18). Richardson attributed their struggles to a lack of communication and lack of movement off the ball.

And despite playing better offensively — Temple shot 39.1% across the other three quarters — it could not overcome those early struggles.

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“It was definitely [us] not moving,” Richardson said. “We weren’t able to execute our stuff because we weren’t moving, which gave them an opportunity to defend us better. We didn’t take great shots. I told them I thought they were asleep in the first quarter.”

East scored just six points an 2-for-19 shooting. She is a vital part of the offense and her struggles from the floor put Temple in a hole.

Gary and Turner picked up the bulk of the offensive production. Richardson said part of East’s shooting struggles was because of a lack of off-ball movement.

“We weren’t moving offensively, so she wasn’t able to get the space she needed,” Richardson said. “I thought some of [East’s] shots were pretty quick. I thought she needed to take a little bit more time to get really open and knock down shots.”

The Owls will visit North Texas (14-5, 6-1) on Wednesday (7:30 p.m., ESPN+).

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