Women’s Basketball Battles Temple

Thursday, December 14

Philadelphia, Pa.

7 PM

University of Delaware

4-6,0-0CAA

Temple

5-5,0-0AAC

Delaware

Temple

Photo by: Nick Vuylsteke

12/14/2023 9:35:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

PHILADELPHIA – The University of Delaware women's basketball team headed up to the City of Brotherly Love Thursday evening to face Temple in its 23rd all-time meeting inside Liacouras Center. The Blue Hens (4-6) saw its last quarter efforts go unrewarded falling 72-65 to the Owls (5-5), extending the skid to three games.

HEN HIGHLIGHTS

Sydney Boone paced Delaware with 16 points (6-10 FG) and four rebounds.
Nakiyah Mays-Prince followed with a season-best 13 points (3-5 FG, 2-2 3FG, 5-6 FT) and five rebounds in 26 minutes of action off the bench.
Chloe Wilson chipped in 11 points (9-10 FT) and 11 rebounds to post her second double-double on the season.
Delaware finished shooting 36.4 percent (20-55) from the field, 41.7 percent (5-12) from the field and 87.0 percent (20-23) from the free throw line.
The Blue Hens out-rebounded the Owls 42-40, scoring 15 second-chance points off of 15 offensive rebounds.
Delaware finished the night with 14 assists, five steals, 22 points in the paint, 23 bench points, two fast break points and scored 16 points of off 15 Owl miscues.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter: Temple 21, Delaware 14

Temple opened the game on a 8-4 spurt in the game's opening 5:06.
Boone laid in two at the 4:27 mark to get Delaware in as close as two points, 8-6, before the Owls scored five straight points to take the 13-6 lead with 3:08 remaining.
After Temple took a double-digit lead and 54 seconds was left on the clock (19-8), Mays-Prince took things into her own hands.
Mays-Prince single-handedly scored the Blue Hens six-straight points to slice the lead to five, 19-14, before a Tristen Taylor jumper at the buzzer pushed the lead back up to seven heading into quarter two, 21-14.

Second Quarter: Temple 35, Delaware 31

Temple got out to a strong start, and had a lead as large as 31-21 with four and a minutes to play in the half.
The Blue Hens wouldn't go down without a fight and finished the half off on a 10-4 run.
The run was started by Ande'a Cherisier off a second chance basket, and was capped off with a Boone layup to pull within three points, 34-31.
A Temple free throw sent the 35-31 game into the break.

Third Quarter: Temple 55, Delaware 48

The Blue Hens cut the Owl lead to as little as 42-40 lead with six and a half minutes in the frame.
Temple immediately responded with a 10-0 run to regain their double digit lead from the first half.
The Hens were able to cut it down to single digits to end the quarter, making it a 55-48 game, heading into the final quarter.

Fourth Quarter: Temple 72, Delaware 65

The time was now as the Blue Hens needed to turn up the intensity to get back into this game.
The Owls went up by nine before a hustle play by Mays-Prince to grab the offensive rebound and dish it out to Tara Cousins, who took a stepback behind the three-point line. Cousins then connected from deep igniting a much-needed 7-0 Blue Hen run.
The spurt was capped beautifully by Mays-Prince knocking down a triple of her own to pull Delaware within one, 57-56, with 6:09 left.
Temple regrew its lead back up to seven but the Blue Hens got it right back down to three thanks to a pair of freebies with 3:54 remaining, 63-60.
After Temple went back up seven points with 2:55 showing on the clock but Boone was able to get the Blue & Gold back within two possessions, 67-63, with a deep three at the 2:03 mark.
Delaware ran out of real estate as the Owls then scored five of the game's final seven points to settle the 72-65 final.

GAME NOTES

This is the second time this season Delaware is in a three-game slump.
Wilson posted her 13th-career double-double and led the team with two steals.
Cousins scored nine points and pulled down seven rebounds.
Cherisier added eight points and five boards off the bench.
This is the second time this season the Blue Hens shot over 80 percent from the free throw line as a unit. Tonight's 87 percent performance is a season-high.

UP NEXT
The Blue Hens will close out its three-game road trip by heading to Dover, Del. next Thursday, Dec. 21 to face in-state rival Delaware State inside Memorial Hall with tipoff slated for 2 p.m.

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