“We Have to Play Temple Basketball:” Owls’ Diane Richardson Sounds Off

“I’m a grown ass woman that feels like crying right now.”

Temple Women’s Basketball head coach Diane Richardson didn’t mince words in her postgame press conference after the Owls lost 88-58 to Villanova on Saturday, Nov. 22.

I don’t think we played hard, I really don’t think we were very competitive today. Transition points are not something that we normally give up, and we didn’t spring back,” Richardson said. “They had a lot of transition points, 26 points to us with six, and we’re a transition team. So I don’t know what to say.”

“We have to play Temple basketball”

Holding a 3-3 record six games in, Temple faces a crossroads. While Richardson acknowledged the Owls face a brutal nonconference schedule, taking on AP Top 25 teams like West Virginia and Michigan State, she isn’t satisfied with the effort she sees from her players. 

“As old as I am, I usually have more energy than they do, and that can’t happen. I’m like somebody’s grandmother, and I have more energy than them. So if your granny can run around and be excited then surely you can at 18 to 22,” Richardson said. “We’ve just gotta go back to the drawing board. I mean I still believe in them, but we have to bounce back because we can’t play like this the rest of the season…We have to play Temple basketball, and we have to be competitive. I don’t think we competed today.”

After beating Villanova on their home court to win the Big 5 crown last season, Richardson said she expected a motivated Wildcats’ team, calling that the standard under head coach Denise Dillon. As reigning champions, however, she expected more out of her own athletes.

“I’ve known Denise for 25 years. Denise always has a chip on her shoulder. So I didn’t expect anything less,” Richardson said. “I mean we came out here last year on their court and beat them for the Big 5 Championship. I expected her to have her team bouncing back. But I also expected more out of our team as reigning champions, to play like champions, and we didn’t do that today.”

Transition is Key

Richardson described the similarities she sees between her team and the Wildcats, saying that she knew the fast break would become a major point of emphasis between two fast teams. 

“Usually we’re on the other end of fastbreak points because of our speed and because of our length, but today we didn’t show that,” Richardson said.
“We had a great scout prepared but we can’t play for them… Obviously they were pushing the ball in transition and we knew that coming in, we knew that we’re a transition team and they’re a transition team… just a testament to them, they were up for it and we didn’t defend well and we didn’t get back.”

After the teams played to a 13-13 tie in the opening quarter, Villanova turned the game into a rout in the second period, going on an 18-1 run that gave them a 20-point lead, struggles that Richardson linked back to the effort she saw from her team. 

“The second quarter really, really punched us, and we didn’t respond well enough, especially because they got a lot of points in transition, and we were jogging,” Richardson said.

“I want players that want to play”

Heading into the third period, Richardson said she opted for a lineup that she trusted to play hard, including players like sophomore forward Felicia Jacobs. The London, England native finished her night with 10 points and five rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench. Richardson’s strategy paid off, as the Owls cut the scoring margin to a more respectable 19-18 in the Wildcats’ favor as a result.

“Maybe it was the halftime speech. I’m just kidding y’all. I think we put in some different lineups to kinda see. Felicia Jacobs went out there and played her heart out coming off the bench, and we left her in there,” Richardson said. “Just looking at who was ready to play. And I said I want players that wanna play, and they wanna play hard. In the third quarter we did that, we did some switching with the lineups and we saw that it worked for us.”

Click here to hear the perspective of Villanova head coach Denise Dillon after the game.