Temple University Athletics
Temple University
20-11,13-5AAC
Tulane
12-20,3-15AAC
Women’s Basketball Defeats Tulane in Historic Three-Overtime Thriller
3.12.24 | Women's Basketball
FORTH WORTH, Texas – The Temple Women's Basketball team (20-11, 13-5 AAC) defeated the Tulane Green Wave (12-20, 3-15), 76-72, in a three-overtime nailbiter in the quarterfinal round of the American Athletic Conference tournament.
Tiarra East led Temple with 22 points and nine rebounds, with 12 of those points coming in the overtime periods. The game marked the first ever AAC Women's Tournament game to go into triple overtime.
First Quarter: Temple 20, Tulane 17
> The game started off with an exchange of long-range shots, as Tulane's Kyren Whittington and Aleah Nelson both hit three-pointers to bring the score to 3-3 out of the gates. The Owls went on a 9-0 run and built a 12-7 lead by the first media timeout at 4:25..
> A deep, contested jump shot by Nelson put the Owls up 15-8 with 3:44 remaining in the first. She finished the quarter with a team-high 6 points.
> Tulane went on a run of its own, a 7-0 spree to tie the game, before Demi Washington ended that streak with a two-point basket at 0:38.
> The quarter ended with a three-pointer from Tristen Taylor to give the Owls a three-point advantage, 20-17.
Second Quarter: Temple 35, Tulane 30
> A 7-2 run to start the quarter gave Tulane its first lead since the first basket, 24-22 at the 8:28 mark.
> With four minutes remaining, Tulane built its lead to 30-25. Temple endured two and a half minutes without a field goal, before Rayne Tucker snapped the cold streak (30-27, TUL).
> A Tulane turnover led to a fastbreak by Taylor who sunk a layup and an and-one to tie the game at 30.
> The Owls' momentum extended into a 10-0 run, putting the Cherry & White up 35-30 with just over a minute remaining. That score would hold into halftime.
> Demi Washington led the Owls with eight points in the first half, while Nelson added seven.
> Temple shot 4-7 (57%) from three-point range in the first half, while Tulane went 3-13 (23%).
Third Quarter: Temple 42, Tulane 40
> Both teams started a combined 3-15 from the field out of halftime, as Temple held a narrow 40-32 lead four minutes into the third quarter.
> A 4-0 run by the Green Wave pulled Tulane back within four points with 4:37 remaining in the quarter. (40-36, TU).
> This was Temple's lowest scoring third quarter of the season with just seven points. It also tied for the fewest given up by the Owls with 10 for Tulane.
Fourth Quarter: Temple 53, Tulane 53
> On par with the low-scoring game, both teams went scoreless for the first 3:02 of the fourth quarter. Tulane tied the game at 42-42 with a pair of free-throws.
> A three-pointer by Taylor followed by one from East put the Owls up 50-45 at a 4:45 media timeout.
> Down the stretch, Temple held Tulane without a field goal for over four minutes of game time. Likewise, Temple was held scoreless for over three and a half minutes down the stretch.
> A three-pointer by Tulane put Temple behind 51-50 with 1:08 remaining.
> A free-throw by Nelson tied the game at 51-51, before a defensive stop gave the Owls the ball with 25 seconds remaining.
> A pair of free-throws by Tiarra East put Temple up 53-51 with 15 seconds remaining in regulation. With 7.8 second to go, the Green Wave knotted the score at 53-53 with two free-throws. Temple was unable to score on two attempts on the final possession of regulation, sending the game to overtime.
Overtime: Temple 60, Tulane 60
> A 4-0 run by Temple to start overtime gave Temple a 4-point lead before Tulane scored its first basket — a three-pointer (TEM 57-56).
> A free-throw by Washington and an interior basket by Tulane evened the score at 58-58 with 1:17 remaining in the overtime period.
> Temple had a possession after a timeout with 0:04 remaining but failed to score, sending the game into double-overtime.
Double Overtime: Temple 65, Tulane 65
> Temple started off the quarter with a jumper by East and free-throw by Washington to take a slim 63-60 advantage with 3:02 remaining.
> With 1:56 remaining, Kyren Wittington cut Temple's lead to 63-62.
> With 0:07 East sank two free throws to tie the score 65-65.
Triple Overtime: Temple 76, Tulane 72
> After Tulane scored the opening jumper, a three-pointer by Taylor put the Owls up 68-67 with 4:15 to go.
> East put the Owls on top, 70-69, with a close-range jumper with 2:18 remaining.
> With 34.6 seconds remaining, Taylor found Tucker on an inbound to put the Owls up 72-69.
> Tulane cut the lead to 72-71, before East went to the free-throw line and put Temple up 74-71 with 22.5 seconds remaining.
> After the Green Wave split a pair of free-throws, Taylor went to the line for the Owls. She nailed both to put Temple up by four with 10 seconds remaining. Temple blanked Tulane in the final possession, holding on to win by four points in the longest women's basketball game in AAC tournament history.
Game Notes
> The game marked the first multiple-overtime game in AAC Women's tournament history. It was the longest game for Temple since a five-overtime game at Memphis on February 18, 2016 (tied for the longest in women's basketball history).
> The victory marked the first time Temple has advanced to the AAC semifinal since the 2016-17 season. This is the Cherry & White's first AAC tournament victory since the 2019-20 season.
> Temple's 20 wins this year are the most in a regular season since 2016-17. After an 11-win season a year ago, the Owls have improved by nine wins, tying the best turnaround in program history (The 2000-01 team improved to 19 wins after just 10 in 1999-2000).
> Temple is 19-3 when leading at halftime this season.
> Temple's AAC quarterfinal matchup against Tulane marked the team's third overtime game of the season. Twice this season the Owls have gone to at least double overtime (Charlotte, 2/4/24).
Statistically Speaking
> East's 22 points marked her 10th double-digit scoring effort in the team's last 11 outings. Overall, East has 22 double-digit games this season.
> Rayne Tucker led the way with 14 rebounds, her 12th time recording double-digit rebounds this season.
> Tiarra East finished with 22 points and nine rebounds, just one rebound shy of her third double-double of the season.
> East scored 12 of her 12 points in overtime.
> With Taylor's 14 points, she has eclipsed 200 for her career.
> Temple outpaced Tulane 13-5 in steals which led to a 17-13 advantage in Points off Turnovers and 10 fastbreak points.
> The Owls limited the Green Wave to 6-28 (21%) from three-point range.
Up Next
The Owls will play against Rice in the AAC Semifinal round tomorrow night, March 12. The game will tip off at 9 p.m. ET, airing on ESPN+ and the Varsity Network App.
