Owls Fall in Regular Season Finale at Temple

Saturday, March 7

Philadelphia, Pa.

2 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

13-17,7-11American

Temple

14-16,8-10American

Fla. Atlantic

Temple

3/7/2026 6:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

PHILADELPHIA – The Florida Atlantic women's basketball team dropped its regular-season finale 84-56 on the road at Temple on Saturday at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia.

The Owls close out the regular season at 13-17 overall and 7-11 in American play, while Temple finishes 14-16 on the season and 8-10 in conference play.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Florida Atlantic opened the contest on a 7-4 run off a pair of buckets from Erin Rodgers and a 3-pointer from Haley Walker to lead by three after the first four minutes of play. Temple responded, going on a 17-2 run over the remainder of the first to take a 21-9 lead after the first.

Walker connected on her second triple of the day to open the second, cutting the Owls' deficit to nine, 21-12. Temple pushed its lead back out to 14 at 28-14 through the 7:20-minute mark, but a 5-0 Owl run, highlighted by a Destyne Jackson layup and a transition triple from Michiyah Simmons, brought the Owls back within nine at 28-19 with 5:30 remaining in the opening half. However, Temple outscored FAU 10-5 over the final five minutes of the half as the Owls trailed 38-24 entering the halftime break.

Temple broke away after the halftime break. The Temple Owls outscored Florida Atlantic 27-10 over the third quarter, as the Owls trailed 65-34 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.

After the fourth quarter media timeout at 5:34, the Owls scored six unanswered, cutting a 73-46 deficit to 74-51, however, it was just too little too late as the Owls eventually fell 84-56 to close out regular season play.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH LEANN FREELAND
"Temple played a great game on both ends, and we were flat for three quarters. We are focusing on getting our legs back under us before we open American Tournament play on Tuesday. We have to be fresh, focused, and physical moving forward to keep our season alive."

NOTES AND TEAM STATS

Jackson led the way for the Owls, scoring a team-best 11 points, while Rodgers and Walker rounded out the Owls' double-figure scorers, tying for a team second-best 10 points on the day.
Jess Moors and Rodgers tied for a team-high five rebounds in the contest.
Grace Carstensen, Simmons, and Madi Gewirtz tied for a team-best three steals, and Gewirtz and Moors tied for a team-high two assists against Temple.
The Owls closed the contest strong, outscoring Temple 22-19 in the fourth.
FAU won the turnover battle, out-stealing Temple 13-6.

GALLERY

Gallery: (3-7-2026) WBB at Temple (March 7)

UP NEXT
The Florida Atlantic Owls will open up postseason play on Tuesday, March 10, in the American Conference Tournament as the No. 9-seed, taking on No. 8-seed Charlotte. Tip-off off is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.

FOLLOW THE OWLS
To stay up to date with everything Florida Atlantic women's basketball, follow @FAUWBB_Hoops on X and @FAUWBB on Instagram, or like Florida Atlantic Women's Basketball on Facebook.

Florida Atlantic's 2025-26 season is sponsored by Flagler Credit Union.