WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite a season-high 11 three-pointers and two career-high performances, Temple women’s basketball fell short in the final minutes at Georgetown in a 66-58 loss. The Owls (5-7) had a lead with four and a half minutes remaining, but the Hoyas (9-4) took advantage of trips to the free throw line to pull ahead for good.
Tyonna Williams hit 5-of-8 from behind the arc en route to a career-high 18 points, while also dishing eight assists and grabbing six boards. Meghan Roxas came off the bench for a career-high 13 points, including 3-of-7 from three-point range. Rateska Brown also hit three treys and finished with 13 points.
While Victoria Macaulay was held to just eight points, well below her average, she led all players in the contest with 11 rebounds.
Sugar Rodgers scored a game-high 21 points for Georgetown, making it a double-double with 10 boards. Three others also scored in double figures for the Hoyas.
“We just got out-played,” said head coach Tonya Cardoza. “We played scared, and that’s why we didn’t win the basketball game. We started turning the ball over and gave up offensive rebounds. They had 26 points off our turnovers, and 17 second-chance points. I sound like a broken record, but if you don’t take care of the ball and you give up offensive rebounds, you’re not going to win, especially on another team’s home court.”
The Owls hit 4-of-5 from behind the arc in the first seven minutes of the contest, with two apiece from Roxas and Williams. The second trey from Roxas gave Temple a 19-10 lead, but it was short-lived. Georgetown scored 11 straight points in just over two minutes of action to take a 21-19 lead at the midway point of the first half.
Roxas hit her third from three-point land to stop the run by the Hoyas, and a layup by Thames made it 24-21 in favor of Temple with 9:27 to go. After Georgetown tied the score and briefly took the lead once again, Williams hit her third trey and Temple’s sixth of the half for a 27-26 lead at 5:15.
Williams would turn out to be the only player on either team to hit a field goal in the final five minutes, as she also scored a layup with 3:22 remaining for a 29-26 advantage. Only one point went on the board for the remainder of the half, and it was a free throw for the Hoyas, giving Temple a two-point, 29-27 lead at the break.
By halftime, Roxas had a career-high 11 points, while Williams also had 11 points.
The second half became a back-and-forth affair with four ties and five lead changes in the first eight minutes. The pace of the game slowed drastically as the Owls and Hoyas combined for 10 fouls in just the first five minutes.
Georgetown took a 38-37 lead at 13:33 before Williams drained her fourth three-pointer, but Rodgers answered with two straight buckets for a 42-40 Hoya lead at 12:23. After Natasha Thames hit a layup for another tie, turnovers and fouls began to cause more problems for Temple.
Over a four-minute stretch, the Owls hit just one free throw while Georgetown used a 7-1 run to take its largest lead, 49-43 with eight minutes left. Brown broke the run with her second three-pointer, and Williams followed with her fifth trey which was Temple’s 10th overall.
The run for the Owls continued with a pair of free throws for Brown, giving them a 51-49 advantage at 6:41. As was the story of the second half, the Hoyas regained the lead until Brown’s third three-pointer put Temple ahead again, but it wasn’t long until another tie score.
With 3:55 remaining, the game had its sixth tie at 56-56, and both teams were into the double bonus with 10 fouls on each. Unfortunately for Temple, it was all Hoyas earning trips to the free throw line from then on out.
Georgetown players hit 8-of-9 at the line in the final three minutes and 40 seconds, while Temple went cold from three-point range. The Owls’ only bucket the rest of the way was a jumper from Brown in the final minute.
The Owls will remain in D.C. for another two days, and will face Howard University on Friday night, Jan. 4, at 7:00 p.m.
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