Temple University Athletics
Temple University
5-5,0-0AAC
Delaware
4-6,0-0CAA
Women's Basketball Takes Down Delaware, 72-65
12.14.23 | Women's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA – Temple (5-5, 0-0 AAC) defeated the Delaware Blue Hens (4-6, 0-0 CAA), 72-65 Thursday night at The Liacouras Center. Aleah Nelson stole the show with her best game of the season so far. The guard recorded 22 points alongside 5 rebounds and 5 assists, 22 is a season-high in points for the Baltimore native.
Temple shot 8-14 from beyond the arc (57.1%). The team's previous season-high from three was 38.7% in the season-opener against Delaware State. Three Owls scored in doubled figues (East, Nelson, and Tucker).
First Quarter: Temple 21, Delaware 14
> Tiarra East scored the first bucket of the game for the Cherry & White, Delaware came back with a two pointer to tie things up with 7:30 remaining in the first.
> Temple built a 8-4 lead by the first media timeout. East scored six of the Owls' first eight points. The Temple defense stood tall, not allowing a field goal for 3 minutes and 45 seconds of gametime.
> The Cherry & White began to build a lead off the back of strong post play from Rayne Tucker and Jaleesa Molina. The two combined for 11 straight points as the Owls nearly doubled the Blue Hens up in rebounds (9-5, TU) and built a 19-8 lead at the 1:20 mark.
> Delaware scored six straight points to cut into the lead.
> Tristen Taylor hit a buzzer-beating mid range jump shot as the clock expired to give the Owls a 21-14 lead at the end of the quarter.
Second Quarter: Temple 35, Delaware 31
> UD scored the first three points of the quarter, with Demi Washington coming back with a bucket of her own (23-17).
> Temple began to take control of the game, forcing back-to-back turnovers and scoring five straight points to build a 28-19.
> East hit a three with 4:24 remaining in the half to push the lead into double digits (31-21, TU).
> The Blue Hens scored 10 of the last 14 points to put the score at 34-31.
> East (9) and Nelson (8) led the Cherry & White in scoring at the half.
Third Quarter: Temple 55, Delaware 48
> Delaware scored four of the first six points of the half to cut the lead to two, 36-34.
> Both teams caught fire in the early portion of the third, as the Owls hit three three-pointers within a two-minute span to build an eight-point lead going into the media timeout. Nelson hit two, with Tristen Taylor hitting the third. Temple led 48-40.
> Molina knocked down a layup to put the lead back at double digits, the Owls kept pushing, forcing a UD turnover and scoring on the other end (52-40, TU).
> The Blue Hens recorded a 6-0 run, trimming the lead to 52-46 with 2:10 left in the frame.
> With under a minute left, Nelson extended her point total to 17 with a corner three that put the Owls up 55-46. Delaware answered with a deep two of its own, cutting Temple's advantage to 55-48 at the end of the third quarter.
Fourth Quarter: Temple 72, Delaware 65
> Nelson got the scoring started in the fourth quarter with a mid range jump shot, setting a new season high in points (19).
> Delaware scored eight of the first 10 points in the frame to trim the lead to one point, 57-56.
> Temple answered in a big way, as East converted a four-point play off a corner three to push the lead back to 61-56 with 5:23 remaining in regulation.
> Both teams exchanged runs, as Delaware cut Temple's lead to 63-60 with just under four minutes to go. The Owls responded by scoring six out of the next nine points to build a 69-63 lead with 1:11 remaining in regulation.
> Temple held off the last-minute efforts of Delaware to win the game 72-65.
Game Notes
> This is the first time this season Temple has won back-to-back games.
> Prior to the game, Aleah Nelson was recognized for being the third player in program history to pass for 500 assists. She reached the marker in Sunday's win over Penn.
> Rayne Tucker recorded a double-double, with 10 points and 10 rebounds on the night. Tonight marked her seventh career double-double. She has picked up at least seven rebounds in three straight games.
> This was the first time Temple has played a CAA opponent since facing Coach Richardson's Towson team on 12-4-19. The Owls won at the Tigers, 74-59.
> During the second quarter, Denise Solis recorded her 500th career rebound. She is the 25th Owl to break the marker in program history. The center also tied a season-high in rebounds (3).
> Nelson recorded a season high in points (22) to go with five assists and five rebounds, it is the fifth straight game she has passed for five or more assists.
> Demi Washington tied her season-high in rebounds with six. Washington also set a career-high in minutes played with 37.
> Rayne Tucker tied her career-high in assists with three.
Up Next
> Temple concludes Big 5 play with a trip to La Salle this Sunday at 1 p.m. The game will stream on ESPN+ and the Varsity Network App.
