Temple University Athletics
2023-24 Season Recap
3.20.24 | Women's Basketball
- The Owls finished in a three-way tie for first place in the AAC. The last time Temple won its conference was during the 2011-12 season, when the Cherry & White led the Atlantic 10.
- Temple passed the 17-win plateau for the first time since 2016-17 when it finished the season with 24 victories.
- The Owls had 13 AAC wins. It was the first time Temple won that many conference games since 2015-16.
- Following an 11-win season a year ago, Temple tied a program record for best turnaround. The benchmark is nine set in 2000-01 when 19 wins followed a 10-win season. Coach Richardson is no stranger to turnarounds. In her second season at Towson, she took a monumental leap recording only the second 20-win season in Tigers program history at the time and qualifying for the only NCAA Tournament in the history of Towson women's basketball.
- Temple ranked 7th in the NCAA in offensive rebounds per game (16.2) and 24th in turnover margin (+4.66). The Owls also ranked first in the AAC in turnover margin.
- Tiarra East (13.3 ppg) and Aleah Nelson (11.8 ppg) reached double-digits in 23 and 21 games, respectively. In fact, nine Temple players combined for 110 double-digit scoring outputs this season. All five starters averaged over 7.9 points per game, and two others were just a shade under 7.0 ppg.
- The American Athletic Conference Honors were revealed on March 8 as East earned a spot on the All-AAC second team, while Nelson was selected to the all-conference third team.
- East came into her own this season for the Owls. Throughout the regular season she averaged a team-high 13.1 points per game and ranked second on the team with 5.1 rebounds per game. East tallied two double-doubles this season, highlighted by a 28-point, 13-rebound performance in a win over East Carolina — both totals marked new career highs. The Louisville, Kentucky, native scored in double figures in 22 of the 28 games she played in this regular season, scoring 20 or more points five times. Her shining moment came at home against Wichita State, hitting a buzzer-beating three to secure a victory over the Shockers.
- Nelson averaged 12.1 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.4 rebounds per game during the regular season. She scored in double figures 21 times this season but takes as much pride in her facilitating as she does her scoring — Nelson's 13-point, 11-assist double-double against East Carolina marked the only time an Owl has tallied a points-assists double-double this season.
- Temple employed its "Equal Opportunity Offense" and had many contributors to its success. The Owls were the first team in AAC history to win a regular season conference title without ever winning a conference player of the week that season.
Leader Board
| Points per game | Tiarra East 13.3 | Aleah Nelson 11.8 | Demi Washington 9.5 |
| Rebounds per game | Rayne Tucker 8.2 | Tiarra East 5.3 | Ines Piper 4.9 |
| Assists per game | Aleah Nelson 4.2 | Tristen Taylor 2.3 | Tiarra East 1.6 |
| Steals per game | Tiarra East 1.7 | Aleah Nelson 1.3 | Tarriyonna Gary 1.2 |
| Blocks per game | Rayne Tucker 1.1 | Ines Piper 0.9 | Tiarra East 0.4 |
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's BasketballTuesday, June 02
Saturday, May 30
Tuesday, May 19
Tuesday, May 05
