Women's Basketball Takes Part in Hall of Fame Challenge Tournament

PHILADELPHIA - The Temple women's basketball team is headed to Lawrence, Kan. to take part in the 2014 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Challenge. The first part of the tournament takes place Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the University of Kansas, while the teams will all head to Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. next weekend for the final day of the event.

Temple will play three straight games, beginning with a clash against Georgetown on Friday at 9:30 p.m. The Owls are back in action on Saturday, playing Kansas at 5 p.m. and will wrap up the tournament against Alabama on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.

The Owls, under seventh-year head coach Tonya Cardoza, are off to a 1-1 start after splitting a pair of Philadelphia Big 5 matches. Sophomore Feyonda Fitzgerald leads the Owls in scoring, averaging 23.5 points per game. A pair of freshman are next on the Temple scoring list, in Alliya Butts and Tanaya Atkinson. Butts is averaging 15 points a game, while Atkinson has recorded 13 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Junior Erica Coville averages 10.5 points per game, while sophomore Safiya Martin leads Temple on the boards with 12.5 rebounds per game.

Georgetown is 2-1 on the young season. Three players are scoring in double figures for the Hoyas, led by Dominique Vitalis who averages 15.3 points to go along with 7.0 rebounds per game. Dorothy Adomako is averaging a double-double of 13.7 points and 11.7 boards per game, while Brittany Horne has scored 12.0 points per game.

Temple is just 1-4 against Georgetown in the all-time series, which dates back to 1980. Temple's lone win in the series came on February 23, 1982 when the Owls grabbed an 89-70 win over the Hoyas in Philadelphia.

Kansas enters the weekend with a 2-0 overall record. Chelsea Gardner leads the Jayhawks with team highs of 19.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, while Natalie Knight is scoring 10.5 points per game. Chayla Cheadle and Lauren Aldridge have also contributed to the hot start for KU, as Cheadle has 9.5 points per game and Aldridge is averaging 9.0. This will be the first meeting between the programs.

Alabama enters this weekend's tournament with a 1-2 record. The Crimson Tide got a season-opening win over Alabama A&M (60-44), but have lost two-straight to Duke (40-90) and Jacksonville State (62-64). Ashley Williams and Hannah Cook have done a bulk of the scoring for Alabama with Williams averaging 18.3 points and Cook adding 15.7. Williams also contributes 7.0 boards per game, as does Briana Hutchen. This weekend's match-up will be the first meeting between the programs.

Sunday's game against Kansas will be broadcast on ESPN3, while the other two tournament games can be followed using live stats.

Game Notes | Live Video (Saturday) | Live Stats

Women's Basketball Takes Part in Hall of Fame Challenge Tournament

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Players Mentioned

Tanaya Atkinson

Alliya Butts

Feyonda Fitzgerald

Safiya Martin

Temple University Athletics