Thrilling Comeback Gives Women's Basketball Big 5 Crown

Thursday, January 23

Philadelphia, Pa.

7:00 PM

Temple University

12-7,4-2AAC

Penn

10-4,0-1Ivy League

Penn

Temple

Thrilling Comeback Gives Women's Basketball Big 5 Crown

1.23.20 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

PHILADELPHIA — A stunning comeback handed the Temple women's basketball team a share of the Philadelphia Big 5 title on Thursday night at McGonigle Hall. Trailing by 13 to start the fourth quarter, the Owls rallied to outscore visiting Penn 29-12 in the final frame to win it 76-72. The win lifts Temple to 12-7 overall, while Penn dips to 10-4.

Keys to the Game
> Hot shooting from Penn saw the Quakers hold double digit leads in each of the first three quarters.
> Penn's advantage grew to as many as 15 points and the visitors started the fourth quarter holding a 60-47 lead.
> Temple then rattled off an 18-3 run to take its first lead of the game. Though Penn went back ahead by one, the Owls closed the game with a 7-2 surge to lock up their first Philly title since 2016-17.
> The Owls shot nearly 60% from the field in the fourth quarter to finish with a 43.1% to 41.8% shooting edge for the game.
> Temple also out rebounded Penn 47-32.

Individual Highlights
> Junior Mia Davis tallied her 13th double-double of the season and 30th of her career, leading Temple with 20 points and 14 rebounds.
> Redshirt sophomore Ashley Jones had 17 points and six assists with 10 of her points coming in the fourth quarter.
> Sophomore Marissa Mackins finished with 14 points, while classmate Alexa Williamson tallied her first double-double of the season and second of her career, with 12 points and 12 boards.
> Graduate student Lena Niang scored all seven of her points in the fourth quarter and also grabbed seven rebounds.
> Freshman Asonah Alexander rounded out the highlights with six points and six assists.

First Quarter
> An early 3-3 tie gave way to hot shooting from Penn, as the Quakers built a 14-7 advantage midway through the action.
> Temple climbed back into the game with back-to-back Mackins threes, making it 14-13 Penn with under three to play.
> From there, Penn took over, closing the quarter on a 12-0 run to lead 26-13 after one.

Second Quarter
> Temple started the second half strong, opening on a 10-5 run to get the lead down to eight.
> After Penn interrupted the Temple scoring, the Owls made it a seven point game with threes from Alexander and Mackins, closing the gap to 36-29.
> Again, Penn ended the frame on a run, using a 6-1 surge to lead by 11 (43-32) at the half.

Third Quarter
> Temple came out strong once again, using a 9-4 edge to cut the advantage to 48-41.
> Like the first two quarters, Penn responded with a run of their own, as the Quakers scored nine of the next 12 points to push the lead back to 14.
> The Owls were unable to get the lead below 13, as Penn led 60-47 after 30 minutes of play.

Fourth Quarter
> Temple needed just 4:38 to take their first lead of the game with an 'and one' from Williamson that out the Owls up 64-63.
> 10 points from Jones sparked what turned out to be an 18-3 opening run giving Temple a 66-63 lead with 3:51 on the clock.
> Both teams traded buckets with a three from Niang giving the Owls their largest lead of the game, at 69-65.
> Penn then scored five unanswered points to regain the lead, 70-69 with 2:12 to play.
> Temple got the lead back with a Davis lay-up with just over a minute left, but Penn's Eleah Parker answered to make it a one point game.
> A huge offensive board and a put-back from Davis gave the Owls the cushion they needed, as the junior completed the 'and one' with a free throw that made it 76-72 with 17 seconds remaining.
> Tight Temple defense and solid rebounding down the stretch then sealed the title run for the Owls.

Up Next
> Temple hits the road this weekend, playing at Cincinnati on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. on ESPNU.