Late rally by Temple women falls short at Michigan State, 57-47

EAST LANSING, Mich. – After narrowing a 15-point gap to just six in the final minutes, the comeback attempt ultimately fell short for Temple women’s basketball in a 57-47 loss at Michigan State (12-1) on Saturday afternoon at the Breslin Center. Victoria Macaulay recorded her sixth double-double of the season to lead the Owls (5-6), scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

The Spartans’ Annalise Pickrel scored a game-high 16 points, while teammate Klarissa Bell pulled down a game-high 13 boards.

Meghan Roxas came off the bench for nine points, all scored on three-pointers in the final 10 minutes of the game to help the Owls in their comeback attempt. Natasha Thames scored eight points while adding six rebounds, and Tyonna Williams dished a game-high six assists. Williams and Rateska Brown scored seven points apiece.

Brown hit Temple’s first trey of the game four minutes in to tie the game for a second time at 7-7, but the Spartans scored on four of their next five possessions for a 16-10 lead at 12:43.

Only one trey by Williams broke up what became a 9-3 run for the Spartans over a six-minute stretch, as Michigan State took full advantage of its strength on the glass. The Spartans had 10 second-chance points compared to two for the Owls in the first half, and led Temple on the glass 16-8 in the first 10 minutes.

Jacquilyn Jackson scored a putback at 6:02 to end the run for Michigan State after the Spartans had increased their lead to 10. The teams traded buckets for the next couple minutes, but Michigan State pulled ahead with a 7-0 run for a 15-point, 34-19 lead with a minute and a half remaining. Williams hit her second trey for the final bucket of the half, sending Temple into the locker room down by 12, 34-22.

The Owls had closed the rebounding gap by halftime, trailing just 22-18 on the glass. The Spartans finished the half with 20 points in the paint to Temple’s four, and with 11 points off turnovers to Temple’s four.

Williams led Temple with seven points at halftime, while Courtney Schiffauer led the Spartans with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field.

Thames had four points in an 8-4 Temple run to open the second half as the Owls cut the margin to eight, 38-30 in the first four minutes. Three treys in a three-minute stretch for the Spartans put them ahead by 13, but Macaulay helped keep Temple in the game.

After being held to two points in the first half, Macaulay scored nine in the first nine minutes of the second half to reach double figures. Her help was limited for much of the half, as Roxas was the only other Owl to score over an 11-minute stretch when she hit her first trey at 9:17.

Pickrel scored 10 of her 16 points in the second half to help the Spartans keep their double-digit lead until the final minutes.