San Antonio, TX—–Temple had no answer for UTSA senior forward Cheyenne Rowe in Tuesday night’s rematch, as the Owls’ hopes for a bounce-back performance fell short on the road. The Roadrunners secured a 52-43 victory at the Convocation Center, completing a season sweep in American Conference play.
In the teams’ first meeting on Jan. 3, UTSA (12-11, 7-5 AAC) narrowly escaped with a 50-47 win over Temple (10-13, 4-7 AAC), despite a strong showing from the Owls’ backcourt. Junior guard Tristen Taylor led all scorers with 18 points, while Kaylah Turner added seven points and seven rebounds.
“Tristen wore us out the first time,” UTSA head coach Karen Aston said. “We did a much better job on her tonight. The transition from when we played them the first time to how our guards handled the pressure this time was dramatically different. That was really the difference in the game.”
UTSA trailed by six early in the second quarter before Rowe sparked a momentum shift. The senior scored eight straight points during a six-minute stretch in which Temple was held scoreless, giving the Roadrunners a 21-19 lead with four minutes remaining in the half. Temple junior forward Saniyah Craig answered with a fast-break basket to tie the game at 21 heading into halftime. Craig finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Clinging to a 34-32 lead after three quarters, UTSA seized control in the final period. Rowe, who entered the game averaging 13.5 points per contest, capped a 10-2 run with a turnaround putback to extend the lead and force a Temple timeout. Moments later, she recorded a block on one end and converted a layup on the other, pushing the advantage to 46-34 with 4:33 remaining as part of a 12-2 surge.
Craig briefly stopped the bleeding with a pair of free throws, but UTSA senior guard Ereauna Hardaway answered with a quick bucket to restore a double-digit lead. Temple sophomore guard Drew Alexander knocked down a three-pointer from the top of the key to cut the deficit to eight, 48-40, but it was as close as the Owls would get. Forwards Idara Udo and Rowe responded with back-to-back baskets to stretch the margin to 52-40 with 26 seconds left. A late three from sophomore guard Savannah Curry trimmed the final score to 52-43.
Rowe delivered a dominant performance with a game-high 26 points and 11 rebounds. Udo contributed five points, 11 rebounds and four blocks, while sophomore guard Mia Hammonds added 10 points and six boards. UTSA outrebounded Temple 43-29 and effectively neutralized the Owls’ guards after struggling against them in the first matchup.
Turner, who ranks among the nation’s top 50 and top three in the conference in three-point percentage (41.5%), three-pointers made (61) and threes per game (2.77), entered the contest averaging a conference-best 17.4 points. She was limited to 12 points. Taylor, who scored 18 in the first meeting, was held scoreless on 0-for-2 shooting with three rebounds.
Aston credited her team’s growth, noting that her younger players are beginning to find their footing as the season progresses.
Temple has now dropped two straight and will look to rebound Saturday when it hosts ECU at 1 p.m. CST. UTSA aims for its third consecutive win when it welcomes USF at 6:30 p.m. CST.
