#6 seed Temple Faces #3 seed USF in WBB Quarterfinals on Saturday

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THIS WEEK
The No. 6 seed Temple Owls open play at the 2014 American Athletic Conference Championship against No. 3 seed USF in quarterfinal round action on Saturday, March 8 at 8 p.m. ESPN3 will broadcast the game live online with Bob Picozzi calling the action, Brooke Weisbrod providing color commentary, and Tara Petrolino handling sideline reports.

The winner advances to Sunday's second semifinal at 3 p.m. on ESPN3. Beth Mowins will call the action with Brooke Weisbrod adding color commentary. The Championship game is slated for Monday, March 10 at 7 p.m. on ESPN. All games will be played at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

The winner of the American Athletic Conference Championship earns the league's automatic berth into the 2014 NCAA Tournament.

SCOUTING TEMPLE
The Owls, under sixth-year head coach Tonya Cardoza, stand 14-15 overall and 8-10 in American Athletic Conference play after a 66-54 win over Houston in the regular-season finale on March 3. Riding a two-game win streak, the Owls tied for fifth in the final American standings and clinched the No. 6 seed for the tournament.

After 29 games, freshman Feyonda Fitzgerald (Norfolk, Va.) is the Owls' leading scorer with 12.6 points and 3.9 assists per game. Senior Natasha Thames (Port Huron, Mich.) follows with 10.5 ppg and a team-best 7.3 rpg. Junior Tyonna Williams (Fort Washington, Md.) adds 9.6 points and a Conference-best .902 shooting from the free throw line. Senior Shi-Heria Shipp (Salisbury, N.C.) adds 9.0 ppg and 6.9 rpg. Sophomore Erica Covile (Detroit, Mich.) averages 8.3 ppg and 6.0 rpg, while junior Rateska Brown (Alvin, S.C.) comes off the bench for 8.0 ppg and 2.3 rpg.

Temple is the only school in the American Athletic Conference to have five scorers among the Top 30 best scorers in the league.

AMERICAN HONORS: BROWN NAMED SIXTH PLAYER OF THE TEAR
FITZGERALD, THAMES, ROBINSON EARN ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
Junior Rateska Brown was named the 2014 American Sixth Player of the Year, the American Athletic Conference announced on March 6.

Freshman Feyonda Fitzgerald and senior Natasha Thames earned second-team All-Conference honors. Fitzgerald and freshman Taylor Robinson (St. Louis, Mo.) were named to the All-Freshman Team. Fitzgerald was a unanimous selection.

SCOUTING USF
The Bulls, under the guidance of 14th-year head coach Jose Fernandez, stand 18-11 overall and 13-5 in American play after a 60-51 upset of No. 24 Rutgers on March 3. Riding a four-game winning streak, USF is the No. 3 seed for the American tournament.

Sophomore guard Courtney Williams is the Bulls' top scorer with 16.4 ppg and 7.2 rpg.
Senior guard Inga Orekhova follows with 10.3 ppg and a 4.1 rpg, while sophomore forward Alisia Jenkins adds 9.9 ppg and a team-best 10.3 rpg.

SERIES VS. BULLS
This is the just the third meeting between Temple and USF in women's basketball action. The Bulls lead 2-0.

On January 7, 2014, Temple lost its first American Athletic Conference game on the road with a 64-51 loss USF at the Sun Dome.

Freshman Feyonda Fitzgerald paced the Owls with 17 points. Senior Natasha Thames added her third double-double of the season with 12 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. Senior Shi-Heria Shipp had 10 points.

Alisia Jenkins led USF with a double-double of 18 points and 12 boards. Inga Orekhova was the only other Bull in double digits with 10 points.

Overall, USF out-rebounded Temple, 47-36. Both teams shot a dismal 36 percent (20-55) from the field. USF's bench out-scored TU's bench, 25-3. The Bulls also took advantage of second opportunities, scoring 15 second-chance points to the Owls' six.

In the second meeting on Feb. 22, 2014, at the Liacouras Center, Temple dropped a three-point heart-breaker, 72-69. The Owls tied the game at 69-69 on a three-pointer by junior Rateska Brown (Alvin, S.C.) with 45 seconds to play. USF sealed the win with three free throws.

Freshman point guard Feyonda Fitzgerald led the Owls with 23 points, scoring 15 in the first half. Junior Tyonna Williams followed with 19 points, while senior Natasha Thames added 10 points. Senior Shi-Heria Shipp grabbed a game-high 10 defensive rebounds.

Courtney Williams was the only Bull in double figures. She finished with 35 points, two shy of the Liacouras record for an opponent player.

Overall, Temple out-rebounded USF, 40-35. The Bulls shot 45 percent (29-64) from the field, compared to the Owls' 38 percent (23-60).

Temple University Athletics

#6 seed Temple Faces #3 seed USF in WBB Quarterfinals on Saturday

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