No. 3 McLennan women fall at No. 22 Temple

The third-ranked McLennan women's basketball squad to No. 22 Temple 66-57 on the road tonight in Temple.
 
McLennan took control early in the first quarter. A pair of buckets from Aniya Williams and Mersadez Nephew began the scoring for McLennan. Temple got on the board with a Wilashia Burleson free throw but McLennan pulled away with an 8-0 run capped off by back-to-back 3-pointers by Nephew. The swarming McLennan defense kept Temple off balance for the entire quarter, allowing the only Leopard points to come from the free throw line, as they built a 15-4 lead.
 
Temple found its rhythm to start the second quarter, opening on a 5-0 run. The Leopards continued to rally, pulling with one 21-20  midway through the quarter. McLennan stepped up with a 9-0 run including seven points from Jalayah Ingram to push the lead back to double figures, 30-20. Temple's Evelyn Lorenzo ended the quarter on a 3-0 run of her own to make it a 30-23
McLennan lead at the half.
 
McLennan continue to lead by seven, 39-32 with 6:34 to play in the third. Temple rallied once again, taking its first lead of the night on a Erika Suarez 3-pointer with 4:43 to go in the period, 40-39. The Leopard continue to push, closing out a 12-2 run to lead 44-41 at the end of the third.
 
McLennan trialed by five, 48-43, with 8:02 remaining in the game. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Ingram and Alaina Payne put McLennan up by one, 49-48 with 6:34 to play. Momentum swung to Temple once again, and the Leopards built an eight-point lead down the stretch. A pair of Lorenzo made it a 10-point lead with 40 seconds to play, and McLennan couldn't recover.
 
Aniya Williams led the way for McLennan with 14 points. Mersadez Nephew and Jalayah Ingram added 13 and 12, respectively.

McLennan: Aysia Ward 3 0-0 6; Alaina Payne 1 0-0 3; Mersadez Nephew 5 0-0 13; Jalayah Ingram 4 3-4 12; Peyton Hearvey 0 0-2 0; Niyah Johnson 0 0-0 0; Aniya Williams 5 4-4 14; Kalisha Phillips 2 1-1 5; Pauline Maccarthy 2 0-0 4; Totals:  22 8-11 57.
 
Temple: Evelyn Lorenzo 4 6-7 15; Aniyah Lewis 0 0-0 0; Tia Mitchell 1 3-5 5; Kira Bass 13 1-1 28; Camille Pritchard 0 3-4 3; Erika Suarez 2 1-2 7; Wilashia Burleson 3 1-2 8; Totals: 23 15-22 66.
 
First Quarter score: McLennan 15, Temple 4; Halftime score: McLennan 30, Temple 23; Third Quarter score: Temple 44, McLennan 41; 3-pointers: McLennan 5 (Nephew 3, Payne 1, Ingram 1), Temple 5 (Suarez 2, Lorenzo 1, Bass 1, Burleson 1); Total fouls: McLennan 18, Temple 9; Record: McLennan 15-4 (4-1).