Owls Come Up Short Against UTSA in the Second Round

Wednesday, March 11

Birmingham, AL

3 PM

Temple University

15-17,8-10American

UTSA

15-15,9-9American

Temple

UTSA

Owls Come Up Short Against UTSA in the Second Round

3.11.26 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Temple women's basketball team (15–17, 8–10 American) came up short against the UTSA Roadrunners (15–15, 9–9 American) in the second round of the American Conference Championship on Wednesday afternoon, 59–51. Jaleesa Molina (6-for-11 FG) and Tristen Taylor (3-for-10 FG) led the Owls with 12 points each.

How it Happened
First Quarter

Saniyah Craig connected on the first basket for the Owls, making it a 3–2 game.
Ereauna Hardaway hit a three-pointer to put the Roadrunners up 6–2.
Cheyenne Rowe added a layup to make it an 8–4 UTSA lead with 7:04 left in the opening quarter.
Savannah Curry knocked down a wide-open three to bring the Owls within three, 12–9.
Tristen Taylor followed with a floater to pull Temple within one, 12–11.
Jaleesa Molina banked a shot off the glass to give Temple its first lead of the afternoon, 13–12.
Kaylah Turner knocked down a jumper to extend a 9–0 Owls run and make it 15–12.
UTSA went on a scoring drought of 2:37 and committed three turnovers in a 3:05 span.
Turner added another pull-up jumper to increase the Owls' lead to five, 17–12.
Rowe ended the scoring drought for UTSA with a mid-range jumper.
Temple then went on a scoring drought lasting over 2:21.
A Hardaway three-pointer found the bottom of the net, giving the Roadrunners a 21–19 lead to end the first quarter.

Second Quarter

Mia Hammonds hit a floater to increase the UTSA lead to four, 23–19.
After grabbing multiple offensive rebounds, Molina finally converted on a putback to make it 23–21 UTSA.
Turner hit a three-pointer to cut the Roadrunners' lead to one, 25–24, with 5:59 left in the half.
UTSA committed five turnovers on five possessions over a 4:39 span.
Both teams struggled coming out of the media timeout, going scoreless for more than four minutes.
Molina ended Temple's drought with a jumper to give the Owls a 26–25 lead.
UTSA missed its final nine field goals of the half, resulting in a scoring drought of more than six minutes while committing seven turnovers in an 8:43 span.
Following back-to-back turnovers by both teams in the final seconds, Temple headed into halftime with a 26–25 lead.

Third Quarter

Udo scored on an easy layup off an inbound play to give UTSA the lead back, 27–26. It was the Roadrunners' first basket since the 6:18 mark of the second quarter.
UTSA stretched its lead to five after Hardaway converted on a layup, 31–26.
Temple opened the second half struggling offensively, going scoreless for more than two minutes.
Taylor made two free throws to halt the scoring drought and cut the deficit to five, 33–28 UTSA.
Taylor later added a layup to make it 37–30 Roadrunners.
Both teams continued to struggle from the floor, with scoring droughts lasting more than two minutes.
After several trips to the free-throw line, UTSA pushed its lead to double digits, 42–31.
Molina scored on a layup for Temple's first field goal since the 5:11 mark of the quarter.
Rowe knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Roadrunners a 46–35 lead heading into the fourth.

Fourth Quarter

Brianna Mead used a pump fake to create space for a mid-range jumper, pulling Temple within nine, 46–37.
Molina banked in another shot to become the first Owl to reach double figures, cutting the deficit to 46–39.
Mead drilled a deep three to bring Temple within six, 48–42.
Adriana Robles answered with a layup to extend the UTSA lead to 52–42.
Molina converted on a fastbreak opportunity to cut the deficit to eight, 52–44, with 4:43 remaining.
UTSA committed five turnovers in a 4:06 span, while Temple had four turnovers over 2:30. Both teams experienced scoring droughts during the stretch.
A steal by Molina led to a jumper from Taylor, making it 54–47 UTSA with 34 seconds left in regulation.
Turner knocked down a three-pointer to cut the deficit to six, 57–51, with 10 seconds remaining.
Hardaway made two free throws in the final seconds to seal the game for UTSA, 59–51.

Inside the Box

Temple shot 35% (11-for-31) from the field in the first half, while UTSA shot 40% (10-for-25).
The Owls were 33% (2-for-6) from three, while the Roadrunners shot 50% (2-for-4) from deep in the first half.
UTSA committed 13 first-half turnovers compared to Temple's five.
The Roadrunners scored just four points in the second quarter, the fewest by any team against Temple this season.
Temple finished the game shooting 32% (19-for-59) from the field, while UTSA shot 43% (20-for-47).
UTSA shot 29% (2-for-7) from three compared to Temple's 25% (4-for-16).
The Roadrunners committed 23 turnovers, while the Owls had 12.
Temple finished with 27 rebounds compared to UTSA's 44.
Both teams finished with five or fewer bench points.