Temple routs George Washington, 86-50, for program's first 2-0 start in six seasons

PHILADELPHIA- Temple was stuck in neutral for nearly 15 minutes to start its game against George Washington Friday night. The Owls were four days removed from a win over George Mason, the defending Atlantic 10 tournament champions, but the Revolutionaries hung around and stayed within nine points. 

But after Temple missed six of its first eight shots, forward Jaleesa Molina gave Temple the boost it needed to pull away. The junior hit a layup and didn’t look back from there, scoring five more points for an Owls offense that scored 17 of the last 22 points of the first half. 

Temple then came out of halftime to score the first eight points of the third quarter en route to an 86-50 win at the Liacouras Center, earning the program’s first 2-0 start since 2019-20.

“We talked about not resting on our morals from the first game and that we had to go out and jump on them early. I think we did that,” head coach Diane Richardson said. “We knew coming in that they are [a] well coached team. They made 15 threes on Monday, so we knew we had to defend the three-point line. I think we did that pretty well today.”

For the first 10 minutes, it felt more like Temple was letting George Washington hang around rather than the Revolutionaries keeping up with the Owls. Temple hit just two of its 17 first-quarter shots, but the Owls had 15 rebounds, with eight coming on the offensive end. Despite the success on the boards, Temple’s success vanished when it came time to shoot.

The Owls had just four second-chance points off of the extra chances, with two coming from free throws by Molina to start the scoring. While the offense was cold, the defense made sure to not let the game get out of hand. The Owls stifled the George Washington offense, limiting it to three makes and six turnovers.

“We knew they were a three point-threat team,” said Temple guard Drew Alexander. “We knew we had to shut them down, stop the ball early in transition, just find the shooters.”

The beginning of the second quarter essentially began the same exact way: too close for comfort.

Forward Saniyah Craig, who missed her first five shots, missed two more to begin the second period before a make by Khloe Miller gave Temple a small sigh of relief. But the offense went silent yet again, resulting in the Owls starting the game 4-for–25 from the field and holding a modest 19-12 lead. 

Then, Temple started to slowly pull away. Its shots began to fall and its defense that had been a thorn in George Washington’s side began to intensify. Molina got her buckets and guard Savannah Curry knocked down two threes and had one of her four steals in a run that pushed Temple to a 39-19 halftime lead.

“I was talking about that we have to wake up knowing that we were better than them,” Richardson said. “The first quarter, we were kind of jogging down. Didn’t get those transition buckets that we would like to have gotten.”

The second half was Temple essentially picking up where it left off. After George Washington guard Emma Theodorsson began the half with a bucket, Alexander scored on a layup and then followed it up with a three-pointer.

It started a three-point barrage for the Owls, who knocked down three consecutive shots from beyond the arc. The team movement and communication gave the Revolutionaries little breathing room. Temple sucked the life out of an already-dormant offense and George Washington had just six makes in the period.

Every player who touched the floor for Temple scored. Molina led the way with 15 points, while guard Kaylah Turner had 14. Alexander added 13 points off the bench on 3-of-4 shooting from three, and Tristen Taylor contributed 11 points to go with a game-high eight assists. 

“It’s a good sign for us that they can get in and be confident and take their shots,” Richardson said of her team’s balanced scoring. “They work really hard in practice to do that. We give them the green light and they have stepped up. They understand that when you go out, you got to give everything you have, because we’ve got plenty of subs on the bench.”

Freshman forward Anastasia Bulonova, who missed Monday’s opener with a knee injury, missed Friday night’s game as well. Richardson said after the game that she has no timeline for her return.

The Owls are back in action Nov. 11 to take on a 2-0 West Virginia team at 7 p.m. in Morgantown.