By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
First half
A UTSA offense that had a good start in the first quarter shut down completely in the face of a tenacious Temple defense in the final six minutes before intermission.
The Roadrunners failed to score and missed their last nine attempts from the field in the final 6:19 as the Owls took a 26-25 lead into the break.
On the flip side of the narrative, the Roadrunners’ defense didn’t allow much of anything in the way of offense for the Owls in the second quarter, either.
While UTSA shot 2 of 13 shooting in the period, Temple could only manage 3 of 17.
Guard Kaylah Turner scored seven points to lead the Owls, followed by Jaleesa Molina and Saniyah Craig with six.
Ereauna Hardaway had seven for the Roadrunners, with Cheyenne Rowe and Mia Hammonds contributing six each.
UTSA coach Karen Aston went to her bench early, playing nine players in the first half.
Temple coach Diane Richardson, whose team downed FAU 86-77 in overtime on Tuesday.
For UTSA, with a first-round, the Temple game was its tournament opener.
Wednesday’s Game 1
Former UTSA guard Aysia Proctor led the fifth-seeded North Texas Mean Green with a game-high 24 points in a 80-57 second-round victory Wednesday over the No. 9 FAU Owls.
Proctor, formerly of Clemens High School, played 26 minutes and hit eight of 13 shots from the field, including five of eight from beyond the 3-point arc.
With the win, North Texas advanced to the quarterfinals against fourth-seeded Tulsa.
Later today, sixth-seeded UTSA will take on the Temple Owls, with the winner advancing to play No. 3 South Florida.
The American’s five-day event is being played in Birmingham, Ala., with the winner of Saturday’s title game earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
American Conference
Women’s basketball tournament
At Birmingham, Ala.
Tuesday
Game 1 — (9) FAU defeats (8) Charlotte, 74-70, overtime
Game 2 — (7) Temple defeats (10) Tulane, 86-77, overtime
Wednesday
Game 3 — (5) North Texas defeats (9) FAU, 80-57
Game 4 — (7) Temple vs. (6) UTSA, 2:30 p.m.
Thursday
Game 5 — (5) North Texas vs. (4) Tulsa, noon
Game 6 — Game 4 winner vs. (3) South Florida, 2:30 p.m.
Friday
Game 7 — Game 5 winner vs. (1) Rice, 6 p.m.
Game 8 — Game 6 winner vs. (2) East Carolina, 8:30 p.m.
Saturday
Game 9 (championship) — Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 8:30 p.m.
Records
(1) Rice 27-4, 17-1
(2) East Carolina 22-9, 14-4
(3) South Florida 20-11, 13-5
(4) Tulsa 19-11, 11-7
(5) North Texas 18-13, 11-7
(6) UTSA 14-15, 9-9
(7) Temple 15-16, 8-10
(8) Charlotte 14-18, 8-10
(9) FAU 14-18, 7-11
(10) Tulane 11-20, 6-12