Women's Basketball Wins Second-Straight; TU Tops Fordham

Saturday, December 12

Bronx, N.Y.

2:00 p.m.

Temple University

5-4

Fordham

3-6

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Temple	21	9	18	9	57
Fordham	8	6	14	16	44

Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University

Women's Basketball Wins Second-Straight; TU Tops Fordham

12.12.15 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

BRONX, N.Y. -- The Temple women's basketball team won its second-straight game, topping Fordham, 57-44, on the road on Saturday. The Owls snapped a three-game losing streak to the Rams, improving to 5-4 on the season, while Fordham dips to 3-6.

Temple had a balanced offense, led by 14 points and seven rebounds from sophomore Donnaizha Fountain. The transfer guard has improved her Temple career-high in points in each of the last three games. Sophomore Alliya Butts had 12 points and a pair of steals, while junior Feyonda Fitzgerald had 10 points, five assists and four steals in the win.

Temple jumped out to a large lead at the break and then held on as Fordham used a fourth-quarter charge to get back into the game. While the Owls shot just 37% in the second-half, Temple held the Rams to 35.% and out-rebounded Fordham, 23-16 in the frame to close out the win.

Temple senior Erica Covile added six points and seven rebounds in the victory, while sophomore Khadijah Berger had five poiunts. Graduate student Ugo Nwaigwe rounded out the box score with four points, four rebounds, and a pair of blocks.

Fordham struck first, scoring the initial four points of the game, before Temple battled back to take a 6-4 lead on a bucket from Covile. After Fordham knotted it at 6-6, Temple surged ahead with five-straight from Fitzgerald, opening an 11-6 advantage. The Rams briefly cut it to a three-point game (11-8), but the Owls closed the stanza with a 10-0 run to go up, 21-8.

The second quarter was a low-scoring defensive battle with the teams combining for just 15 points. Temple opened with a 5-2 run, as Berger connected on both attempts from the field to put the Owls up, 26-10. Fordham answered with back-to-back buckets to close it to 26-14, but Fountain scored four-unanswered points to give the Owls a 30-14 lead at the half.

Fountain led all players with 10 points, adding a pair of steals. Fitzgerald had nine points, three assists, and two steals at the break, while Berger had five points.

Fordham opened the third with a slight 6-4 edge, cutting the lead to 34-20. Temple responded with a 9-1 run, as Butts connected for five and Nwaigwe added four, making it a 43-21 game with 5:25 on the clock. Fordham cut the lead to under 20, as a 5-0 run made it 43-26, but again Temple responded, as the Owls used a 5-2 surge to take a 48-28 lead at the end of three.

Fordham used a 12-2 run to get the Temple lead to 11 points (50-39), using the first seven minutes of the frame. A conventional three-point play from Butts then made it 53-39, but Fordham answered with one from downtown and it was 53-42 with 1:29 left. From there, Temple held on, as Atkinson hit three-of-four free throws, and the Owls sealed the 57-44 victory.

The Owls return to action at home on Saturday, December 9. Temple hosts a double-header with Delaware State, with the women tipping off at 1 p.m. and the men playing at 4 p.m.

Box Score (PDF)