Lady Pirates unable to hold off Temple's second half surge

A poor third quarter doomed the ECU women’s basketball team to an 84-62 loss at Temple on Saturday afternoon.

ECU (10-9, 1-5 AAC) were led by Alex Frazier and Raven Johnson, who finished with 19 and 18 points respectively. Frazier’s 19 points are a career-high and the senior guard added 10 rebounds for her second career double-double. ECU shot just 22-of-72 (.306) from the field though and 2-of-15 (.133) from behind the three-point arc.

Temple (5-14, 1-5 AAC) used big efforts from Preseason All-Conference picks Mia Davis and Alliya Butts as well as shots from three-point range to win. Butts finished with a game-high 28 points, hitting 5-of-8 (.625) from three-point range. Davis recorded a double-double, tallying 20 points and 12 rebounds. As a group, the Owls shot 28-of-60 (.467) from the floor and 11-of-28 (.393) from deep.

After a fairly even first quarter, Temple took a double-digit lead in the second quarter. The Owls were up 31-18 with 2:42 left in the first half, but the Pirates fought back. ECU finished the half on an 8-1 run, starting with a Destiny Campbell jump shot. Frazier was fouled on the next ECU possession and stroked both free throws. A Necole Hope steal led to a layup from Johnson and then a Campbell steal led to another Frazier layup. The half came to a close with a Temple free throw, with the Owls leading 32-26 at the break.

Whatever momentum ECU had at the half quickly disappeared early in the third. The Owls outscored ECU 25-13 in the frame and did most of that damage early. In the first six and a half minutes of the third quarter, Temple went on a 19-7 run, with Davis and Butts combining for 13 of those 19 points. The lone bright spot in the quarter for ECU came at the free throw line. The Pirates got to the line 12 times, making seven of the attempts.

With Temple leading 57-39 heading into the fourth, the ECU offense came to life. ECU shot 8-of-15 (.533) from the field in the fourth and 6-of-8 (.750) from the free throw line. Unfortunately, Temple was even better, shooting 9-of-15 (.600) and 5-of-7 (.714) from three-point range. Ultimately, the Owls won the fourth quarter 27-23 to close out the win.

The Owls finished with a slight 47-45 advantage on the boards while ECU held an 18-14 edge in turnovers.

ECU has a quick turnaround, as the Pirates fly to take on Wichita State on Tuesday evening. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., in Kansas.