By Tony Adams, Temple College
The Temple College women's basketball made a weekend trip for tournament action at the 2024 Tonkawa Classic in Tonkawa, Okla.
Last Friday, the Leopards took on tournament host Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa.
The Leopards withstood a late rally by the Mavericks and held on for a 97-90 win.
TC held a 24-19 advantage at the end of the first quarter and the same five-point lead at the half, 45-41.
Tonkawa made up ground on the Leopards in the third quarter, but Temple maintained a two-point lead going into the fourth quarter, 69-67.
Temple outscored the Mavericks in the fourth quarter, 28-23.
The Leopards shot 43.4% from the field, 40.9% from behind the three-point stripe, and were 22-of-29 (75.9%) from the free-throw line. Although they were outrebounded 45-36, the Leopards forced 24 turnovers, had 22 assists, 13 steals, and five blocks.
Imani McCray led a balanced scoring attack for Temple with 14 points. Aniyah Lewis and Jaylice Rosario each had 13 points, and Shaylane Morgan added 11.
"This was our first long road game test of the season" Temple College head coach Amber Taylor said. "We traveled up to Tonkawa the day before our game, so this trip was a three-day, two-game road swing. Our Friday night game against Tonkawa was a tough one. Playing the home team after a long travel is always challenging. Tonkawa beat us in a few statistical categories; three-point percentage, total rebounds, and field goal percentage. We were able to force 24 turnovers and convert on a lot of those. This was a hard-fought win, and I was proud of our team for finding a way to win.
On Saturday, the Leopards took on the NOC-Enid Jets.
TC broke the game open late in the first quarter and shot 17-of-17 from the free-throw line, as the Leopards grounded the Jets, 111-44.
The Leopards leapt off the mark with a 13-3 in the first 4:12. The Jets kept pace, as Enid trailed TC at the end of the first quarter, 21-11.
McCray hit four field goals in the first 88 seconds of the second quarter, as the Jets called a timeout having watched their ten-point deficit double to 20.
Rosario added to her seven first-quarter points with a 12-point second as the Leopards outscored the Jets 36-13 in the second 20 minutes and led at halftime, 57-24.
Taylor was able to flex her bench with Biva Byrd having made four field goals in the third quarter, as seven Leopards combined for 26 points and they led at the end of 30 minutes, 83-36.
Mikie White scored nine of Temple's final 28 points, as the Leopards held the Jets to eight points in the fourth quarter to ice the 67-point win.
All 12 Leopards that dressed scored at least two points each and five scored in double-digits. Rosario scored 23, White posted 19, McCray contributed 18, and Morgan and Byrd each chipped in ten. Temple went 17-of-17 from the free-throw line.
Enid went 15-of-19 from the free-throw line, led by Savannah King with 20 points and Morgan Massey having added ten.
"I think as a coach, we always worry about the second game of back-to-back days, especially with the quick turnaround between games," Taylor said. "On Friday night, we played the late game and on Saturday we had the first game. As hard as we had to fight to get the win on Friday night, it is easy for a team to come out flat with no energy for the Saturday game. We did the opposite of that, we came out from jump playing hard, with energy, and executing our game plan. We shot the ball well and our defense was smothering. It is always good when everyone on the team can get quality minutes and give us production, whether its offensive or defensive."
On Thursday, the Leopards will travel to Snyder to take part in the Western Texas College Classic.
The Leopards will play two games in the span of 48 hours. On Thursday, TC takes on WTC at 6 p.m. On Friday, Temple will play Clarendon at 6 p.m. In a schedule change on Wednesday afternoon, TC will get an additional home game with WTC on Jan. 1.
"This will be another test on the road for us, except this time it's for the games," Taylor said. "This will be a good test for us, including playing two Region 5 opponents, who we could potentially see at the Regional Tournament."
Following the tournament, the Leopards will host Blinn College on Tuesday. But make no mistake about it: TC is not looking ahead by any means.
"Of course, we will be happy to be playing at home on the 26th," Taylor said. "But we are focused on one game at a time and that game for us is the next one, which is Western Texas College."