Owls Fall In Conference Opener Against UTSA

Saturday, January 3

Philadelphia, Pa.

2:30 PM

Temple University

6-7,0-1American

UTSA

7-6,2-0American

UTSA

Temple

Owls Fall In Conference Opener Against UTSA

1.3.26 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – The Temple women's basketball team (6-7, 0-1 American) came up short against UTSA (7-6, 1-0 American) to open the New Year. Tristen Taylor led the Owls in scoring with 18 points, going 5-for-12 from the field and 2-for-5 from behind the arc.

How It Happened
First Quarter

Tristen Taylor scored the Owls' first basket of the game to tie it at 2-2 with 7:15 remaining in the opening quarter.
Temple made back-to-back baskets to take a 6-2 lead nearly halfway through the period.
A fastbreak layup by Saniyah Craig ignited a 6-0 run for the Owls, as UTSA committed three straight turnovers, leading to a three-minute scoring drought.
The Roadrunners went 1-for-10 from the field over a 2:30 stretch.
Temple then went cold, shooting 0-for-4 from the field over nearly 3:30 minutes.

Second Quarter

Damara Allen drove to the basket to pull UTSA within one, 12-11. Allen finished the half with six points on 3-of-5 shooting.
Following a Taylor miss, the Owls went 0-for-4 from the field dating back to the 9:43 mark.
UTSA's Robles converted a layup after being fouled by Taylor, giving the Roadrunners their first lead of the game, 13-12.
Temple went scoreless for over four minutes, shooting 0-for-5 during that span.
UTSA capitalized with a 10-0 run over 4:25.
The Owls continued to struggle offensively, missing five straight shots and committing three consecutive turnovers since the 7:38 mark.
Kaylah Turner ended the drought with a three-pointer, cutting the deficit to 21-14.
Turner closed the half with a fastbreak layup to pull Temple within seven, 25-18.

Third Quarter

UTSA opened the second half on a 6-0 run over the first 3:04.
Taylor knocked down a three to end the run and bring the Owls within 10, 31-21.
That basket sparked a 7-0 run for Temple, while UTSA went scoreless for more than two minutes.
Both teams struggled offensively as the score remained 33-25 UTSA for over 2:30.
An Ereauna Hardaway three sparked a 6-0 Roadrunners run over three minutes, extending the lead to 37-25.
Temple closed the quarter on a drought, going 0-for-6 from the field after the 6:56 mark.

Fourth Quarter

Temple opened the final quarter strong, hitting back-to-back threes from Taylor and Drew Alexander.
Craig added a layup to cut the deficit to six, 41-35.
Alexander knocked down another three to spark an 8-0 Owls run.
Temple pulled within three after another Alexander three-pointer, making it 44-41 UTSA with 6:18 remaining.
Damara Allen answered with a three to push UTSA's lead to 47-41.
Both teams experienced scoring droughts, with UTSA going over 2:42 without a basket and Temple scoreless from the 6:57 mark.
Molina ended a five-minute Temple drought with an and-one layup, cutting the score to 47-44.
Turner drilled a clutch three-pointer with 22.7 seconds remaining to pull the Owls within two, 49-47.
UTSA closed the game by making just one of its final seven field-goal attempts.

Inside the Box

Temple's eight points in the first quarter marked its lowest scoring start of the season and tied its lowest-scoring quarter overall.
The Owls scored just 18 first-half points, their fewest in a game this season.
Temple shot 16-for-57 from the field, while UTSA finished 18-for-53.
The Owls went 6-for-26 from three-point range; the Roadrunners shot 2-for-14.
UTSA received 12 bench points, while Temple was held scoreless off the bench.
The Roadrunners outscored the Owls 28-10 in the paint.
UTSA had four players score in double figures (Hardaway, Allen, Rowe, and Hammonds).
Temple had two players in double figures: Taylor and Turner.

Up Next
The Owls will travel for the first time in 2026 as they take on Wichita State on Jan. 6 at 7:00 p.m. The game will air live on ESPN+.