AUBURN, Ala. – The defensive pressure of Auburn forced Temple women’s basketball into giving away too many opportunities, resulting in a 71-49 road loss for the Owls (5-4) on Sunday afternoon at Auburn Arena. The Tigers (8-2) won their fifth straight and had four players score in double figures, led by Tyrese Tanner with 18.
Despite only a six-turnover differential between the two teams (28 for Temple and 22 for Auburn), the Tigers took full advantage with 36 points off Owl turnovers. Temple did not fare as well, scoring just 12 points off turnovers.
Victoria Macaulay finished with a team-best 18 points and six rebounds, shooting 8-of-11 from the field. The rest of the team struggled, as Temple shot 34 percent overall to Auburn’s 52 percent.
Tyonna Williams hit a pair of treys on her way to 12 points, while Megan Roxas also hit two from behind the arc and finished with eight points off the bench. Natasha Thames scored nine points and grabbed five boards.
An early 9-0 run for Auburn gave the Tigers an eight-point, 11-3 lead in the first few minutes. The Owls went four minutes without even attempting a shot, but Williams got Temple back on track. Her steal and layup, followed in the next possession by two free throws, narrowed the gap to 11-7 at 11:18.
The four-point margin was as close as the Owls would get the rest of the way, after another run for Auburn gave the Tigers their first double-digit lead with eight minutes to go in the half.
Roxas came off the bench with the Owls trailing by 11, and made an immediate impact by hitting her first two shots including a trey. The Tigers made only one small run down the stretch, but with 23 percent shooting the Owls failed to make much of a dent. Back-to-back buckets from Macaulay and Thames had Temple within nine in the last two minutes, but Auburn answered back with two of its own and took a 30-17 lead into the break.
Macaulay scored two quick layups to open the second half as part of a 7-2 run along with a three-pointer by Williams. The run brought the Owls to within eight, but it was as close as they would get the rest of the way.
Auburn built up an 18-point lead before Temple cut it to 13, but the Tigers then surged ahead and controlled the pace down the stretch. After shooting almost 45 percent in the first half, Auburn came on even stronger at a 59.4 percent clip in the second half.
The Owls will again be on the road for their next game, but closer to home as they head to Villanova for a 6:00 p.m. contest on Friday, Dec. 21.
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