Both of those things came about as the game progressed and the Tem-Cats pulled away from Austin McCallum for a 60-34 win in a Tuesday night girls basketball game at Wildcat Gym.
Trenette Smith and Kaetlyn Murdoch scored a combined 33 points and the Tem-Cats enjoyed significant contributions from posts Monica McGill and Terris Goodwin to move their record to 5-2.
It was the kind of rebound they were looking for after dropping a pair of games Saturday in the Dr Pepper Chisholm Trail Classic.
“Until Saturday night, I had been impressed with our play,” Temple coach Don Layton. “We were dead Saturday night against (Arlington) Bowie. We needed to get that bad taste out of our mouths.
“In the first half I thought we drug around, but in the third and fourth quarters we got that taste out of our mouths.”
Smith ignited the Tem-Cats with a 10-point third quarter to help expand the 29-17 halftime lead to 46-22 going into the fourth. Smith finished with a game-high 18 points and three blocked shots.
Murdoch turned in a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds along with six steals, scoring eight of her points in the fourth quarter. Murdoch, a 6-foot senior, is scheduled to sign a letter of intent with the University of Denver on Thursday afternoon.
“We got back to doing what we do,” said Layton. “Our motion offense isn’t easy to run and it’s been out of (sync) and not what we’re trying to do. In the second half we started settling down and using each other.
“Trenette Smith got us going with some easy baskets and Murdoch had another double-double.”
McGill and Goodwin were solid in posting a combined 16 points and eight rebounds.
“Our three posts did an excellent job and our guards started settling down,” Layton said.
Temple shot a fair 41 percent from the field and turned the ball over only 11 times. The Tem-Cat defense put the clamps on the Lady Knights most of the game. McCallum (2-3) was just 1-of-5 from the field in the third quarter and 4-of-13 in the second half.
Gabby Wright led the Lady Knights with 10 points.
Temple also found its footing at the free-throw line with an impressive 19-of-25 showing.
In a departure from the original schedule, the Tem-Cats will host Robinson at 5 p.m. Friday. Only the varsity teams will play.
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