Exactly one month ago to the day, the women’s basketball team upset a previously unbeaten Syracuse team at McGonigle Hall. Since then the Owls have lost four straight.
Temple’s latest defeat came at the hands of Michigan State on Saturday. They’ll look to end their worst losing streak of the season tonight against Georgetown, in what will be their fifth game of a six-game road swing.
Georgetown enters tonight at 8-4 and is coming off a 90-67 dismantling of Yale. The Hoyas’ most impressive win thus far is a 62-56 knock off of then nationally-ranked Delaware.
Senior guard Sugar Rodgers recently became the all-time scoring leader in program history at Georgetown, becoming the first ever to reach the 2,000-point plateau. Rodgers leads the Hoyas in scoring with 26 points per game and rebounding with 7 boards per game.
Temple senior center Victoria Macaulay is coming off her sixth double-double of the season after scoring 12 points and grabbing ten rebounds in the loss to Michigan State. Sophomore point guard Tyonna Williams has struggled the last two games, shooting a combined 2-for-21 from the field while committing eight turnovers.
Freshman guard Erica Covile, who at one point took over as the starting two-guard, has since seen her playing time steadily diminish. Covile has played just a total of five minutes the last two games. Freshman guard Meghan Roxas has consumed most of the playing time in the midst of Covile’s struggles. Roxas played 20 minutes against the Spartans, going 3-for-6 from three-point range for nine points.
Given their youth, turnovers and inconsistencies have plagued the Owls. As a result, coach Tonya Cardoza has been forced to experiment with different lineups in pursuit of a shooting guard that can start and provide significant minutes night-in and night-out. Temple’s back court will face another obstacle tonight in trying to contain Rodgers.
Temple vs. Georgetown will tip-off tonight at 7 p.m. in Washington D.C.
-Tyler Sablich