Temple University Athletics
East and Nelson Earn All-AAC Honors
3.8.24 | Women's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA — The American Athletic Conference announced its postseason all-conference awards, with Tiarra East and Aleah Nelson earning recognition.
East, a junior guard, earned a spot on the All-AAC second team, while Nelson, a fifth-year senior, was selected to the all-conference third team.
East, a member of the 2021-22 All-AAC Freshman Team, has come 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, a team captain, has served as the team's leader in the Diane Richardson era. This season she has averaged 12.1 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.4 rebounds per game. Nelson 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.
East and Nelson played crucial roles in Temple's share of the AAC regular season title. The Owls finished with 19 wins, the most in a regular season since 2016-17. The Cherry & White enter the AAC tournament as the No. 3 seed, tipping off in its first game on March 11 at 9 p.m.
Temple has employed its "Equal Opportunity Offense" and has had many contributors to its success. The Owls are the first team in AAC history to win a regular season conference title without ever winning a conference player of the week that season.
