In their District 12-5A opener against Killeen Shoemaker, the depleted Tem-Cats failed to execute for much of the game in a 43-41 road loss.
But against 12-5A girls basketball favorite College Station A&M Consolidated, Temple might have found the leadership from Shantae Hewins and the fight its been looking for.
Down by 18 points early in the third, the Tem-Cats battled back to get within five points and had opportunities to pull closer before running out of gas in a 68-50 loss to Consol on Friday night at Wildcat Gym.
Despite the defeat, Sanders and Temple (8-8 overall, 0-2 12-5A) sure had a more optimistic outlook about the rest of the season.
“It is very encouraging,” she said. “When we went into the locker room at the end of the game, the girls were encouraged. They realized if they play like that all the time, they’ll be OK because they played their butts off tonight. The score doesn’t really reflect how well they played.”
Destiny Bell and Alisha Mosley each made a free throw as the Tem-Cats crept to within 50-45 with six minutes remaining, but that was as close as Temple got.
The Tem-Cats missed their next 10 shots as the Tigers (7-7, 2-0) went on a 15-0 run that put the game out of reach.
The drought started when Bell rushed a 3-pointer in the corner that would have pulled Temple within two.
“We just have to have better shot selection,” Sanders said. “I don’t think Destiny even realized how much time was left.”
Consol’s Kairian Chambers made a basket and Ashley Adeyemi converted a three-point play on the next two possessions for a 55-45 lead.
After a Tem-Cat turnover, Tierra Tucker had two baskets and Adeyemi scored inside before Rachel Carter hit a 3 for a 64-45 lead.
“I called that timeout so that they could realize that we’re rushing a game that doesn’t need to be rushed,” Lady Tigers coach Nelda Gilbert said of when Temple pulled to within 50-45. “We’re ahead and they have to come and catch up with us and we’re allowing them the momentum.
“So when you allow that to happen and you don’t have the energy that you had when you started the game, you have got to do the little things and that is play smarter basketball.”
The Tem-Cats hung with much taller Consol and trailed 29-24 at halftime. The Lady Tigers opened the second half scoring on their first six possessions for a 14-1 run to give them a 43-25 lead.
From the outset, Hewins played like the leader. She scored nine points in the third and finished 9-for-23 from the field for a game-high 21 points.
In its comeback attempt, Temple continued to attack the paint even though Consol’s front line featured Texas A&M commitment and 6-4 junior center Karla Gilbert, 6-1 Adeyemi and 6-foot Danyetta Williams.
“We had a gameplan,” Sanders said. “I just told them, ‘This is your house. Just play basketball.’ We were going to rebound hard. We were going to play hard. We were going to box out hard.”
And that’s what helped the Tem-Cats go on a 20-7 run to pull within five before going cold.
Temple’s Achilles’ heel resurfaced as the Tem-Cats shot 12-for-32 (38 percent) from the free-throw line and 18-for-67 (27 percent) from the field.
“Free throws are a mental thing and they were probably tight at the end,” Sanders said. “But that’s something where you just have to gather yourself and shoot the free throw. That’s been our plague throughout the year.”
But even the poor shooting won’t deter the positives Sanders and Temple plan to take from Friday’s game into the Copperas Cove’s Bush’s Classic beginning Dec. 29.
“I’m not going to take anything away from our girls,” she said. “They did everything I asked."
cmeister@temple-telegram.com
