Owls Close Out Non-Conference Play With an 87–77 Loss to No. 25 Princeton

Monday, December 22

Princeton, N.J.

11:30 AM

Temple University

6-6,0-0American

Princeton

12-1,0-0Ivy League

Temple

Princeton

Owls Close Out Non-Conference Play With an 87–77 Loss to No. 25 Princeton

12.22.25 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PRINCETON, N.J. – The Temple women's basketball team (6-6) came up short to No. 25 Princeton (12-1) on Monday afternoon in Princeton, New Jersey, falling 87-77. Kaylah Turner led the Owls in scoring, setting a new career high with 36 points. Turner went 13-for-21 from the field, and her eight three-pointers also marked a new career high.

How it happened
First Quarter

Jaleesa Molina made a corner three to give the Owls a 5-0 lead early in the contest.
The Tigers answered with a 12-0 run over a three-minute span.
Since Molina's three, the Owls went 1-for-6 from the floor and endured a scoreless drought of more than three minutes.
Toby Nweke hit a corner three right before the media timeout, making it 12-5 Princeton with 5:16 left in the opening quarter.
Savannah Curry hit a jump shot coming out of the media timeout to end the Tigers' run.
Skye Belker scored from behind the arc for her third straight made field goal, making it 17-9 Princeton.
Olivia Hutcherson converted a layup and a free throw to give the Tigers 20 points with under three minutes left in the quarter.
Kaylah Turner scored back-to-back baskets to spark an 8-0 Owls run, cutting the deficit to 20-17.
Drew Alexander knocked down her first three of the game to bring Temple within four.
Turner and Belker led all scorers in the opening quarter with 10 points each.

Second Quarter

Princeton opened the quarter with back-to-back baskets to take a 30-20 lead.
At the halfway point of the second quarter, Temple's only basket was a layup by Curry at the 7:06 mark.
A strong transition play led to a Turner three-pointer, bringing the Owls within seven at 32-25.
Turner followed with another three, giving her 16 points.
Madison St. Rose answered with a three of her own, sparking a 6-0 run for the Tigers to make it 42-28.

Third Quarter

The teams traded baskets to open the second half, resulting in a 46-33 Princeton lead three minutes into the quarter.
Turner hit her sixth three of the game to give her 22 points.
Princeton went 5-for-6 from the field while Temple went 1-for-6, extending the Tigers' lead to 54-36.
Molina made a tough layup and drew a foul, converting the and-one to make it a 54-41 game.
Nweke scored back-to-back baskets and Belker added a three to push Princeton's lead to 62-43.
Felicia Jacobs scored on a putback layup to make it 62-45.
Ashley Chea beat the buzzer with a three to close the quarter, giving Princeton a 67-45 lead.

Fourth Quarter

Brianna Mead scored her first basket of the game with a three, making it 71-50 Princeton.
Nweke immediately answered with a three-pointer, giving her 11 points and making her the third Tiger in double figures.
Turner hit two free throws to set a new career high with 30 points (11-for-17 FG).
Cedano finished a finger-roll layup through traffic to make it 78-54 Princeton.
Saniyah Craig followed with a layup, leaving the Owls down 22 with under four minutes remaining.
Turner found Drew Alexander for a corner three, making it 79-59.
Temple converted a quick transition fast-break opportunity with a Molina layup, cutting it to 79-63.
Princeton went scoreless for more than three minutes.
Temple went on an 11-0 run over nearly three minutes, making four of its last five field goals to make it 79-67.
Coming out of a Temple timeout, Turner hit her seventh three of the game to make it 81-70.
Cedano scored through contact and converted the free throw to cut the deficit to 10 with 13 seconds remaining.
A well-executed inbound play led to Turner's eighth three, but Temple was forced to foul St. Rose, who made both free throws.
Mead added a late free throw as time expired, resulting in an 87-77 final.

Inside the Box

Temple attempted just two free throws in the first half, compared to Princeton's six.
Turner led all scorers with 16 points in the first half.
Turner was the only Owl with more than six points entering the fourth quarter.
Turner made eight three-pointers, a new career high.
Both teams shot 30-for-60 from the field.
Temple went 12-for-24 from three-point range, while Princeton shot 9-for-22.
Princeton shot 18-for-20 from the free-throw line, while Temple went 5-for-12.
Molina was the only other Owl in double figures with 12 points.
Princeton had four players score in double figures (Belker, Chea, St. Rose, and Nweke).
Temple outscored Princeton 32-20 in the fourth quarter, its highest-scoring quarter of the season.
Temple scored just eight points in the second quarter, its lowest-scoring quarter of the season.

Up Next
The Owls return home to open conference play against UTSA on Jan. 3. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. and the game will air live on ESPN+.