The Temple Owls (6-4) are on a rebuild this season after tying for the AAC title last year with a 20-12 record. They lost their #2, #3 #5 & #6 scorers from the successful 2023-24 squad. Their HC Diane Richardson was only in her 2nd season in Philadelphia. She previously was the Towson head coach for five seasons.
Their stats for 2024-25 are misleading because of the difficulty of their schedule. It's also that the players are attempting to find their proper roles on this team.
2024-25 Women's Basketball Roster - Temple
The 3rd year HC has been employing a seven-player rotation that includes four guards and three posts. The team is led by their top two returning offensive threats from last year: #1 was 5-10 senior wing, Tiarra East, and #4 was 5-8 SG Tarriyonna Gary. The coach plays six players between 21.1-34.3 minutes per game. Her seventh player, soph Kaylah Turner, is "instant offense" off of the bench, generating 8 ppg in just 14 minutes on the floor!
A quick review of their backcourt: the Owls possess an excellent soph PG, 5-5 Tristen Taylor, who plays 30 minutes per game. Over nine games, she has generated 39 assists with only 11 turnovers. She contributes 7.7 points to the offense and is second on the team in steals(13). She is tied for 3rd in three-point baskets. Tiarra East is an excellent all-around player. She earned 2nd team all-AAC honors last season. She is averaging 16.4 points & 5 rebounds per game. She is 2nd in treys (11-30) and first by a mile in free throw made. Her only weakness would seem to be turnovers with 38 over 9 contests. Her backcourt mate, Tarriyonna Gary averaged 9 ppg last year and is putting similar numbers (8.4 points) so far in 2024-25. She is their top three-point shooter last season and this year with 15 treys made. Soph Kaylah Turner (mentioned above) is tied for 3rd in three-pointers.
Their trio of inside players are a diverse bunch. Their #2 scorer (8.7 points) & top rebounder (7.9) is Anissa Rivera. She is a 6-1 PF that is a grad transfer from Towson. She leads the Owls in steals w/ 18 & blocked shots w/ 12. Former St Mary's-Stockton star, Amaya Oliver, is a 6-1 post who has played for USC and is a grad transfer from Loyola Marymount. She has played at Haas before and had her breakout game of the season last night with 12 points and 14 boards. An interesting fact: 11 of her rebounds were on the offensive end. Their 3rd inside presence is 6-2 sophomore, Jaleesa Molina, from the Netherlands. She grabs 4.7 rebounds and contributes 3 points per contest.
Women's Basketball Stats - Temple
This Temple team is similar to Fordham in pressure defense. The Owls were forcing 19.7 TOs before creating 20 more last night vs Xavier. The Owls are not a good shooting team, so their defense needs to generate easy baskets. The key to this game will likely be Michelle Onyiah. Without Marta Suarez helping with the rebounding, Onyiah needs to play the majority of this game for the Bears to win the battle of the boards.
I predict Cal slips by Temple 65-60 if they can make their free throws. The Bears shot a miserable 48% from the charity stripe on Saturday. The Owls jumped out in the 1st quarter vs Xavier to an eight-point lead. They expanded it six more in the 2nd period for a 38-24 margin by halftime. The Bears are going to need to show energy early to forge a lead. Hopefully, Cal's prowess from long distance may be the difference. The Bears hit an average 10 three pointers as compared to the Owl's 5. GO BEARS!
Their stats for 2024-25 are misleading because of the difficulty of their schedule. It's also that the players are attempting to find their proper roles on this team.
2024-25 Women's Basketball Roster - Temple
The 3rd year HC has been employing a seven-player rotation that includes four guards and three posts. The team is led by their top two returning offensive threats from last year: #1 was 5-10 senior wing, Tiarra East, and #4 was 5-8 SG Tarriyonna Gary. The coach plays six players between 21.1-34.3 minutes per game. Her seventh player, soph Kaylah Turner, is "instant offense" off of the bench, generating 8 ppg in just 14 minutes on the floor!
A quick review of their backcourt: the Owls possess an excellent soph PG, 5-5 Tristen Taylor, who plays 30 minutes per game. Over nine games, she has generated 39 assists with only 11 turnovers. She contributes 7.7 points to the offense and is second on the team in steals(13). She is tied for 3rd in three-point baskets. Tiarra East is an excellent all-around player. She earned 2nd team all-AAC honors last season. She is averaging 16.4 points & 5 rebounds per game. She is 2nd in treys (11-30) and first by a mile in free throw made. Her only weakness would seem to be turnovers with 38 over 9 contests. Her backcourt mate, Tarriyonna Gary averaged 9 ppg last year and is putting similar numbers (8.4 points) so far in 2024-25. She is their top three-point shooter last season and this year with 15 treys made. Soph Kaylah Turner (mentioned above) is tied for 3rd in three-pointers.
Their trio of inside players are a diverse bunch. Their #2 scorer (8.7 points) & top rebounder (7.9) is Anissa Rivera. She is a 6-1 PF that is a grad transfer from Towson. She leads the Owls in steals w/ 18 & blocked shots w/ 12. Former St Mary's-Stockton star, Amaya Oliver, is a 6-1 post who has played for USC and is a grad transfer from Loyola Marymount. She has played at Haas before and had her breakout game of the season last night with 12 points and 14 boards. An interesting fact: 11 of her rebounds were on the offensive end. Their 3rd inside presence is 6-2 sophomore, Jaleesa Molina, from the Netherlands. She grabs 4.7 rebounds and contributes 3 points per contest.
Women's Basketball Stats - Temple
This Temple team is similar to Fordham in pressure defense. The Owls were forcing 19.7 TOs before creating 20 more last night vs Xavier. The Owls are not a good shooting team, so their defense needs to generate easy baskets. The key to this game will likely be Michelle Onyiah. Without Marta Suarez helping with the rebounding, Onyiah needs to play the majority of this game for the Bears to win the battle of the boards.
I predict Cal slips by Temple 65-60 if they can make their free throws. The Bears shot a miserable 48% from the charity stripe on Saturday. The Owls jumped out in the 1st quarter vs Xavier to an eight-point lead. They expanded it six more in the 2nd period for a 38-24 margin by halftime. The Bears are going to need to show energy early to forge a lead. Hopefully, Cal's prowess from long distance may be the difference. The Bears hit an average 10 three pointers as compared to the Owl's 5. GO BEARS!
