Women's Basketball Downs Tulsa for Nine in a Row

Saturday, January 14

Tulsa, Okla.

3:00 p.m.

Temple University

13-3 (4-0AAC)

Tulsa

5-12 (1-3AAC)

Temple

Tulsa

Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University

Women's Basketball Downs Tulsa for Nine in a Row

1.14.17 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

TULSA, Okla. -- The Temple women's basketball team extended its winning streak to nine games with a 58-49 victory on the road at Tulsa on Saturday afternoon. The Owls run their record to 13-3 overall with a 4-0 mark in The American, while Tulsa slips to 5-12 overall, 1-3 in conference play.

With the usually high-powered Temple offense held in check, the Owls had to rely on their defense to grab the victory. Temple forced 20 Tulsa turnovers on the afternoon, holding the Golden Hurricane to 35% (21-60) from the field and 16.7% (2-12) from three-point range.

Junior Donnaizha Fountain and senior Feyonda Fitzgerald accounted for the bulk of points for the Owls, as each tallied 19 points while combining for 11 rebounds. Junior Alliya Butts notched 13 points and three assists, while senior Ruth Sherrill led Temple on the glass with 12 rebounds.

Temple got off to a hot start in the first quarter, as four points each from Fountain and Fitzgerald put the Owls up 10-2. The Teams traded buckets over the next three minutes until Temple led 14-5. Tulsa was able to close the gap to 14-9, closing the frame with four unanswered points.

The Owls extended their lead to 16-9 with an Atkinson lay-up on the first possession of the second quarter. After Tulsa cut the lead to four, Butts and Fountain connected for Temple pushing it back to a 21-14 advantage with 5:16 to play. From there, Tulsa used a 13-4 run that saw the hosts take the lead 25-23 on an Ebony Parker three. Fitzgerald tied the game at 25-25 before another Tulsa bucket had the Golden Hurricane on top, 27-25. Temple was able to rebound with a Butts three and a pair of Fitzgerald free throws, giving the Owls a 30-27 lead at the break.

Fitzgerald led all players with 12 first-half points, while Fountain had seven and Butts had five. Shug Dickson had eight to lead Tulsa.

Temple opened the third quarter on a 7-0 run that saw Fountain score five during the stretch. It took Tulsa over five minutes to get on the board in the frame, as the Owls increased the advantage to 37-27. After Tulsa finally scored, TU answered with five-straight to take their largest lead of the game, 42-29 with 1:33 remaining. Tulsa hit back-to-back shots in the final minute to cut it to 42-33 Temple after three.

Temple took its largest lead of the game early in the fourth quarter, as a Fountain three put the Owls on top by 15. A 10-4 Tulsa run cut the advantage to nine before a 6-2 surge, including a three-point play from Fitzgerald put Temple up 56-43 with under three to go. In the final two minutes, Tulsa out-scored the Owls 6-2, but Temple's lead was too much, as the cherry and white sealed the 58-49 victory.

Temple is back in action on Wednesday, playing at Houston.

Box Score (PDF)