During Wednesday’s championship game against host and District 12-5A foe Copperas Cove, Temple simply had little left in its tank.
The Tem-Cats made just 12 of 48 shots and never seriously challenged as the fresher Lady Bulldawgs rolled to a 51-36 victory.
Coming into the title tilt, Temple (11-9) had played three games and 13 total quarters because of its 47-45 overtime victory against Killeen Ellison in the semifinals. Cove, on the other hand, had played just two games, winning 69-36 over San Angelo Central and 76-38 against Whitehouse.
From the outset, the Lady Bulldawgs (14-5) looked eager to retain the Classic title after losing to Harker Heights last season.
“It made a difference because my girls were a little tired,” first-year Tem-Cats coach Tamarah Sanders said, “but we’re not going to have any excuses. We came out ready to play. Our energy in the first half wasn’t where it needed to be.”
Cove jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead in the opening minutes and led 15-5 after the first quarter.
Maya Williams made a pair of free throws and Shantae Hewins had a basket to trim the lead to 15-9, but that was the final time the Tem-Cats would threaten.
Two inside baskets by Tina Miller (game-high 15 points), two free throws by Desiree Nelson and a 3-pointer and a jumper by Angelique Campbell stretched the margin to 26-9. The lead eventually grew to 20 points before halftime as Temple was unable to generate any offense.
“I was watching them in warm-ups and thought ‘Oh, it’s going to be one of those games,’” Sanders said. “Despite all that, they fought to end.”
Part of the Tem-Cats’ struggles had to do with Cove’s backcourt of Leslie Martinez and Nikki Faison. With their sure-handed ball handling, the Lady Bulldawgs committed just 10 turnovers, a far cry from the 64 turnovers Temple forced in Tuesday’s wins against Tuscola Jim Ned and Ellison.
“One thing that helps is Leslie and Nikki work together on handling the ball a lot so there’s not as much pressure on one girl handling it,” said Cove coach Richard Herbst, whose team was making its third straight finals appearance at the Classic. “They help each other and feed off each other. It’s something we’re fortunate to have.”
Jourdan Truesdale chipped in 10 points along with Hewins, who was named the event’s co-MVP along with Martinez. Temple’s Alisha Mosley was named to the all-tournament team and Cove’s Nani Fano was named defensive MVP.
Temple entered the tournament on a four-game losing streak but won three of four and learned how to finish games. The Tem-Cats will try to carry that momentum over to Saturday’s 12-5A battle against rival Belton in which both teams are seeking their first win in district play.
“We’ve grown a whole lot,” Sanders said. “We’ve been playing some good ball this whole week. We’re going to take the good and run with it to Saturday.”
