March 9, 2021 –
The 5th seeded Temple Owls were eliminated in the American Women’s Basketball Tournament losing to the #4 seed Tulane Green Wave 83 – 73 in Fort Worth, Texas. The Owls finish the season 11 – 11. The Owls did not play well enough to win.
“I don’t think we played a good basketball game today,” said Temple Coach Tonya Cardoza.
“We could have played better basketball. I felt like collectively we were all in a bit of a funk because we weren’t getting stops, so we weren’t making shots. We have to be better at bearing down and focusing more when things are not going our way.”
Tulane shot the ball a little better making 32 of 64 while Temple was 30 of 73. The Cherry and White won the boards 38 – 36, and had a 21 – 14 edge in offensive rebounds. But the Owls did not make layups, put backs, and that was costly. Tulane had more second chance points 21 – 15. The opportunities were there.
Turnovers hurt the Cherry and White. Even though the Green Wave had one more miscue, they had two more points off turnovers than Temple.
“We should have been better on the boards, and we turned the ball over a lot,” said Temple forward Mia Davis. “Both of those are things we can control. We have to be better in those aspects.”
Jasha Clinton led the Owls 22 points, one shy of her career-high. Alexa Williamson recorded her second double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Seven caroms were off the offensive glass, a career-high. Davis contributed 10 points. Kash Ayuso recorded a career-high with 10 points.
Four Green Wave players scored in double-digits headed by Krystal Freeman with 18 points. Arsula Clark scored 14 points, Sierra Cheatham got 13, and Anijah Grant contributed 12. The Green Wave went to the foul line 17 times converting 14 while the Cherry and White got to the charity stripe 11 times converting 6 times.
The season ends for the Owls. Many of the core group will be back, and look for better results.
“We still have a young team and we have a lot to work on, and are willing to put in the work,” Davis said.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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