The women’s basketball team is set to take on Xavier, Feb. 20 in a must-win game.

The Owls (12-13, 5-5) remain two wins away from clinching an Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament berth, and the Musketeers (9-15, 3-7) present the easiest match-up on paper in Temple’s final four games. Following tonight, the Owls’ opponents get much more difficult with the likes of Dayton, Butler and Fordham. Temple will also look to avoid losing two straight games for the first time in more than a month.

Xavier has had its fair share of struggles this season, but the Musketeers come into McGonigle Hall with two straight wins under their belts. This includes a victory over a LaSalle team that beat Temple by 16 points on Jan. 27. Xavier’s offensive attack is led by redshirt-senior forward Amber Gray, who is averaging 11.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Junior guard Ashley Wanninger and redshirt-senior forward Jessica Pachko each average 9.5 points per game.

At the very least, this game is an important one for the Owls in terms of their confidence. Even if they fail to pull out two more wins in their final four games, there’s still a chance they make the conference tournament with some significant help. However, a loss to Xavier on its home court this late in the season could break Temple’s spirit.

Temple and Xavier will tip off at 7 p.m. at McGonigle Hall.

When the Owls take on Xavier Wednesday, it will mark the final time this season that the they face a team with a sub-.500 record in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

On paper, Temple’s easiest chance for one more win comes against the Musketeers as they look to lock up a seed in the A-10 Tournament. The Owls lost Sunday to crosstown rival St. Joseph’s, keeping their magic number for a postseason berth at two.

The Musketeers don’t have the firepower of recent opponents. Led by redshirt-senior forward Amber Gray, who averages 11.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, Xavier is scoring 60.4 points per game.

However, three other players average at least nine points per game.

One of Temple’s strengths is shutting down the marquee player on a team’s roster and forcing another player or players to beat them. But the Musketeers don’t provide that opportunity for the Owls.

The game is the second to last home game the Owls have this season. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

The Owls signed three players for the class of 2017, and more are expected in the coming months.

Temple’s early focus in recruiting appears to be in the low post, with two centers signed.

Six-feet, four-inch Taylor Robinson hails from St. Louis, Miss., and played for Midwest Elite AAU. She wasn’t eligible in the fall semester for her high school team because of grades but has since rejoined the lineup.

Fayetteville, Ga., native Safiya Martin also stands at 6 feet, 4 inches and was a member of the Georgia Pearls AAU squad.

The Owls also signed Feyonda Fitzgerald, a 5 feet, 7 inches guard from Norfolk, Va. She averaged 16.9 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Lake Taylor Titans, according to 757Teamz.com. She also played for Boo Williams AAU.

The presence of two freshmen centers indicates coach Tonya Cardoza will likely have an open competition to replace senior Victoria Macaulay after her graduation following this season. There are no other centers on the current roster, and nobody listed taller than six feet, one inch.

Temple is still recruiting for the class, but cannot comment on later commits until they have signed their letter of intent.

-Jake Adams

Coming off a win over St. Louis that coach Tonya Cardoza called one of the best overall performances the Owls have put together all season, Temple has shifted its focus to tomorrow’s matinee against Rhode Island.

            The Owls (11-12, 4-4) beat the Billikens 54-50 on Sunday Feb. 10, where four starters finished in double-figures. Senior center Victoria Macaulay had 16 points and a career-high nine blocks. Freshman forward Sally Kabengano, freshman guard Meghan Roxas, and redshirt-junior forward Natasha Thames all finished with 11 points each. Sophomore point guard Tyonna Williams went 0-for-10 from the floor, but set up her teammates all game in route to ten assists.

            Rhode Island (5-7, 0-7) is a young squad in the midst of a dismal season. The Rams have lost eleven straight games and and 12 of their last 14, with their latest defeat coming against Butler on Thursday Feb. 7. Freshman guard Tayra Melendez leads them in scoring, averaging 11 points per game. Sophomore guard Samantha Tabakman averages 8.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.

            Temple has had its most success playing on North Broad, going 7-3 between the Liacouras Center and McGonigle Hall this season. Rhode Island, meanwhile, is 0-8 on the road.

            The Owls and Rams will tip off at 12 pm on Wednesday Feb. 13 at the Liacouras Center.

If Temple can pull off three more wins in the Atlantic 10 Conference, where it’s currently 4-4, they lock up a spot in the A-10 Tournament.

Temple holds tiebreakers over St. Bonaventure and Richmond, meaning their magic number the rest of the way is three. Virginia Commonwealth University is 2-7 but holds the tiebreaker over the Owls.

Assuming they defeat Xavier and Rhode Island (a combined 1-14 in the A-10), the Owls must beat one of the following: Dayton, St. Joseph’s, Butler or Fordham. That secures them a spot in the postseason.

Without three wins the Owls need serious help to get into the tournament.

Three of their remaining six games are at home, against Rhode Island, Xavier and Fordham.

Wednesday’s loss to Charlotte (17-4, 6-1 in the Atlantic 10 Conference) marked the fourth time this season the Owls failed to build a three-game winning streak.

Temple (10-12, 3-4 in the A-10) knocked off Richmond and Massachusetts in back-to-back games before falling to the Rams 66-43. On three other occasions this season the Owls came into a game with two wins in a row and promptly lost.

Back in November they dropped Seton Hall and Northeastern before falling to Rutgers at home 66-50. They followed that up with wins over Bowling Green and Syracuse before being upset by Kent State 71-62. Then after going winless for a month Temple defeated Western Michigan and St. Bonaventure before Virginia Commonwealth handed them a 53-51 loss.

The Owls have followed up back-to-back wins by losing by an average of 12.5 points the next game. With just seven games remaining in the regular season the Owls won’t be able to match their 13-game and 15-game winning streaks from the previous two years.

Coach Tonya Cardoza’s record of at least one five-game winning streak in a season is also in jeopardy if they Owls can’t string a few together.

Temple has winnable games against Saint Louis Sunday and Rhode Island next week before they face a 16-5 (7-0 in the A-10) S.t Joseph’s squad, setting up yet another possibility of not winning three straight.

It’s not exactly the road map this team had in mind.

Freshman forward Leah Horton has been told she won’t be rejoining the women’s basketball team this season, as confirmed by head coach Tonya Cardoza.

Cardoza said Horton’s conditioning and lackadaisical work ethic are the primary reasons why she will no longer be practicing or traveling with the Owls for the foreseeable future.

Horton played in just three games this season, a transition year for the Owls in which five other freshmen have seen significant playing time. Horton last played on Dec. 6 against Kent State. She played a career-high 18 minutes against Seton Hall on Nov. 14, recording three points and five rebounds.

While she is no longer welcome back this season, Cardoza said she has not ruled out the possibility of Horton returning to the team next fall.

Tyler Sablich can be reached at tyler.sablich@temple.edu or on Twitter @TySablich.

This season with the influx in Atlantic 10 Conference teams in Butler and Virginia Commonwealth University, the conference tournament adds four new teams this season.

In past years the Owls had to be one of the top eight teams in the A-10 to dance in the postseason. This season the Owls have to be 12th or better.

Currently Temple is in ninth as they get set to take on Massachusetts, which is 13th. As the season is shaping up the Owls need to stay to as close to .500 as possible to ensure a middle seed.

With a win, Temple will make sure that four teams have one win or fewer in the conference, providing a comfortable cushion as they try and build a winning streak and head into the postseason with momentum.

If they can’t get a head of steam going at least the Owls have some extra room to play with this season.

-Jake Adams