Four days later, they appear to be stuck in neutral, possibly heading in reverse.
Lacking any intensity in a blowout home loss to Copperas Cove on Tuesday, Temple followed that performance by making just 13 of 60 shots (22 percent) in a 67-42 drubbing at the hands of Killeen Ellison on Friday night.
First-year Tem-Cats coach Tamarah Sanders was obviously disappointed - not because Temple (12-10 overall, 1-4 in 12-5A) never was within single digits after late in the first half, but with the overall defeat.
“A loss is always disappointing regardless of what the score is,” said Sanders, whose team was outrebounded 44-39. “It doesn’t matter what kind of loss. You can lose by one point. They’re all the same.
“We got outrebounded - same story. We’re playing hard, but we just got outrebounded and we shot badly tonight. We missed easy layups.”
In order to reach the playoffs, the Tem-Cats can’t afford losses to the Lady Eagles (10-10, 2-3), Killeen Shoemaker, Belton or Harker Heights, the four teams likely competing with Temple for the fourth playoff spot.
Even more discouraging for the Tem-Cats is that they lost to an Ellison team they beat 47-45 in overtime at Cove’s Bush’s Chicken Holiday Classic on Dec. 30.
“We were just more intense now and focused because it’s a district game instead of a tournament game,” Lady Eagles coach Sherry McKinnon said about the difference between the two games. “These girls are planning on getting to the playoffs and they know these are some games they have to win. It was a must-win game.”
Friday’s lopsided victory didn’t resemble the first encounter at all.
Freshman Loryn Goodwin (10 points) sliced through defenders for an inside basket to bring Temple within 21-19 before Ellison’s Jasmine Washington exploded.
The 5-7 sophomore hit two free throws, had a putback basket and a steal for a layup and Michelle Shepherd added a basket to cap a 9-0 run for a 30-19 lead.
The Tem-Cats came out of halftime attacking the basket, but after pulling to within 36-25, Jourdan Truesdale missed inside and Goodwin missed a layup that would have pulled Temple closer.
The Tem-Cats’ shooting struggles continued. They missed their first eight shots of the quarter just as their defense allowed a 17-2 run that all but ended the game. Five players scored before Kristina Berry capped the run with a jumper that gave Ellison a 53-27 lead late in the third.
“(Our poor shooting) - that has nothing to do with defense,” Sanders said. “You still have to stop people. It’s one of those things that you might not be able to shoot the ball, but if you can play defense you can stop them from scoring. We had troubles stopping the ball.”
Shantae Hewins, who was whistled for her second foul with 4:37 left in the first quarter and didn’t return until 3 minutes remained in the second with her team down 30-19, scored a team-high 12 points.
Next up for the Tem-Cats is a 7 p.m. game Tuesday at second-place Bryan, which defeated previously league unbeaten College Station A&M Consolidated 73-61 on Friday. Temple will play Harker Heights on Jan. 16 before the second half of 12-5A play starts.
With its playoff hopes fading, Temple is facing a critical juncture of its season.
“We just have to buckle down,” Sanders said. “There are no excuses."
cmeister@temple-telegram.com
