Behind by two points with about a minute to play, Temple’s Marisa Rauss had a breakaway opportunity to try to tie the game and put the momentum back on TC’s side.
Instead, she was bumped by Angelina’s Ebony Roland, lost the ball and didn’t get a foul call, and the Lady Runners were able to hold on and edge Temple 96-89 at TC Gym on Tuesday night.
“Angelina came out on fire,” TC coach Kim Sebek said. “They were eager and hungry for a win and they wanted it a little bit more than we did tonight.”
What had been a back-and-forth battle between two evenly matched teams came down to the one late play that took the wind out of the Lady Leopards, who fell to 2-2.
With 1:37 to go and Angelina (1-2) up 89-85, Temple’s Alex Pinney got a steal and sent Rauss on a fast break, which she easily converted to cut it to 89-87.
It looked like the play was about repeat itself as Rauss again found herself on a fast break, and it looked like she was about to tie the game. But right as she went up Roland came charging, hitting Rauss in the process and changing the direction of the ball.
Rauss tried to save it from going out of bounds, but it eventually ended up back with the Lady Runners, who got it to the other end quickly and made it a 91-87 game with just under one minute to go.
“That was definitely a crucial no-call,” Sebek said. “It was a big turning point and the momentum shifted their way. It hurt us in the long run.”
Temple was forced to foul the rest of the game, and Angelina did its part by missing a couple of free throws down the stretch, but TC failed to convert on several opportunities.
“We played a little inconsistent at times,” Sebek said. “We couldn’t get over that hump. This should be a motivator for us to work on the things we need to get done.”
Among the top priorities might be free throw shooting. The Lady Leopards converted only 22 of 35, well below Sebek’s expectations.
“We had a horrible night at the line,” she said. “Free throws are big. We can’t go up to the line and just make one of two. I thought it was one of the keys to the game.”
Along with that, the Lady Leopards will also look at protecting the perimeter better after Angelina was able to stay competitive with deadly 3-point shooting.
Desiree Waller nailed one from the right wing to tie the game at 62 with 13:55 to go, sparking an 8-0 run by Angelina.
Temple fought back to take a 69-66 lead, but that’s when Katie Fenchner hit her first 3 to tie the game again. A short run by Temple was interrupted by Fenchner’s second 3, and TC held just a 73-72 lead with about nine minutes to go. The Lady Leopards never had a lead of more than six points the rest of the way and Angelina had a 3 each time it needed one, finally grabbing the lead for good with 2:22 to go.
“The past Angelina teams have been fast-paced and they get the ball down the floor quick,” Sebek said. “And they also can knock down the 3. They did those things tonight. Plus, they shot the ball really well, and knocked down their free throws."
Temple product Shondria Combs led the Lady Leopards with 19 points and Brittany Bryant added 16.
The Lady Leopards will host South Plains College at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
mhood@temple-telegram.com
