The Massachusetts women’s basketball team lost to Temple, 77-50, at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia Saturday night. The loss marks the Minutewomen’s eighth-consecutive defeat against Atlantic 10 opponents.
UMass (6-19, 1-9 A-10) could not rally much offensively against a solid Owl (16-8, 9-1 A-10) defense, especially in the 3-point game. One of the Minutewomen’s strongest offensive qualities lies in its ability to hit the long shot, but from beyond the arc, they were held to just 1-for-7, their lowest shooting percentage of the season.
Offensively for UMass, only junior center Jasmine Watson and junior forward Shakia Robinson were able to manage double-digit scoring efforts at 13 and 10 points, respectively. The rest of the squad was held to only six points or fewer in the game.
In addition, none of the starters for the Minutewomen played for more than 29 minutes over the course of the game, also the first time this has occurred this season.
Temple, on the other hand, saw five different players reach double-digit scores, including center Victoria Macaulay, who led the team with 18. The Owls also saw considerably more success from beyond the arc, as they shot 7-for-20.
In the first half, Temple jumped out to an early 21-9 lead and continued to sustain the offensive pressure, despite several short scoring bursts by the Minutewomen. Then, with just over six minutes remaining in the half, and with the score at 27-20 in the Owls’ favor, Temple broke ahead on a 15-5 run to cushion its lead to 42-25 at halftime.
From the start of the second half onward, it would prove to be more of the same story for UMass. The Owls continued to score in bunches off breakout plays and any miscues the Minutewomen allotted them. With just under nine minutes remaining, Temple led, 66-33, their second-largest lead in the game, and played mostly protective for the remainder of regulation.
The Owls never trailed UMass , as they outscored the Minutewomen, 29-10, on points off of turnovers, and 10-2 off of fast breaks. Also impressive was the performance of the Owls’ bench, which contributed 22 points on the night, compared to UMass’ 15 points.
The Minutewomen did see solid production from their bench throughout the second half, despite being outscored by Temple. Players like freshman forward Kim Pierre-Louis and freshman forward Ronni Grandison played strong both offensively and defensively, providing a positive spin on a normally negative outlook.
Overall, UMass shot 18-for-48 from the floor (37.5 percent) and 13-for-18 (72.2 percent) from the free-throw line. Temple went 32-for-71 from the floor (45.1 percent) from the floor and 6-for-8 (75 percent) from the charity stripe. The Owls also outrebounded the Minutewomen 39-34.
UMass currently finds itself looking up in the A-10 standings, just one spot ahead of last-place Saint Louis. Coincidentally, the Minutewomen will play their next game against the Billikens this Wednesday in Saint Louis, a match that bears undeniable importance and weight in regards to their postseason hopes.
Dave Martin can be reached at [email protected].
