Temple Drops Tight Contest to North Texas at Home

PHILADELPHIA – The Temple women's basketball team (10-11, 4-5 American) came up short against the North Texas Mean Green (12-10, 6-4 American), falling 69-66 at home on Saturday afternoon. Savannah Curry led the Owls with 14 points, going 5-for-13 from the field. Saniyah Craig added 10 points on 4-for-11 shooting.

How It Happened
First Quarter

Tristen Taylor put up a floater to get the Owls on the board first.
Megan Nestor equalized with a jump shot from the line to make it 2-2.
Chania Price knocked down a three to put the Mean Green ahead 7-2 with 6:47 left in the opening quarter.
Following Taylor's basket, the Owls committed five turnovers over a four-minute span.
North Texas made three straight field goals to take a 13-6 lead heading into the media timeout.
Jazzy Owens-Barnett hit a jump shot as the shot clock expired to extend the lead to 15-6.
Curry fought through multiple defenders to bank in a shot, making it 16-9 North Texas.
In the final 2:26 of play, North Texas went scoreless while Curry buried a three to cut the deficit to 18-14.

Second Quarter

Kaylah Turner found Kelian Cedano on the fast break to bring Temple within four, 20-16.
The Owls ignited a 7-0 run, capped by back-to-back baskets from Briana Mead, to take a 21-20 lead—their first since the opening score.
North Texas went 0-for-8 from the field during a scoring drought of more than three minutes.
Ariana Meriedy drilled a key three-pointer to extend Temple's lead to 24-20.
Molina converted back-to-back layups to cap a 14-0 run and force a North Texas timeout with 6:10 left in the half.
Curry knocked down her second three of the afternoon to push the Owls' lead to 31-20.
Andi Schissler ended the Mean Green drought with a three-pointer, cutting the deficit to 31-23.
Drew Alexander answered with a three-pointer of her own to restore Temple's 11-point advantage.
North Texas closed the quarter shooting 2-for-17 from the field, as Temple carried a 38-28 lead into halftime.

Third Quarter

North Texas opened the second half with three straight field goals to pull within three, 38-35.
Aysia Proctor hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 38, prompting a Temple timeout with 8:02 remaining.
Both teams traded threes to keep the score knotted at 41.
Cherie Spencer connected from deep to give North Texas a 48-43 lead heading into the media timeout at the 4:56 mark.
Meriedy tied her career high with five points after a jump shot made it 48-45.
Cedano drilled a corner three to make it a three-point game, 56-53.
Craig hit a pull-up jumper in the final seconds to tie the game at 56 apiece heading into the fourth.

Fourth Quarter

Nestor made back-to-back trips to the free-throw line, converting all four attempts to give North Texas a 60-58 lead.
Mead got a friendly roll on a layup to tie the game at 60 with 6:21 left.
Over a 2:03 stretch, the Owls committed four turnovers and endured a scoring drought.
Craig finished a layup inside to knot the score at 64.
Nestor answered with a layup to put the Mean Green ahead 68-66 with 1:12 remaining.
Nestor then split a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 69-66 with three seconds left.
Temple was unable to get a shot off before time expired, sealing the win for North Texas.

Inside the Box

North Texas shot 47% (8-for-17) from the field in the first quarter, while Temple shot 42% (5-for-12).
The Owls finished the first half shooting 52% (14-for-27), compared to 31% (11-for-35) for the Mean Green.
Temple led the rebounding battle at halftime, 22-19.
The Owls scored 13 bench points in the first half, while North Texas tallied nine.
North Texas shot 33% (2-for-6) from three at halftime, while Temple shot 42% (5-for-12).
Temple committed 20 turnovers to North Texas' 10, with the Mean Green scoring 20 points off turnovers compared to nine for the Owls.
Both teams scored 32 points in the paint, despite Temple outrebounding North Texas 44-34.
Temple finished with 21 bench points after totaling just three in the previous game.

Up Next
Temple will travel to San Antonio to face UTSA on Feb. 10. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN+.