Temple University Athletics
Wednesday, December 30
McGonigle Hall
7:00 p.m.
Temple University
7-4,1-0American
82
vs
58
Memphis
6-6,0-1American
1
2
3
4
F
Memphis
16
10
15
17
58
Temple
23
19
25
15
82
Temple celebrates its 82-58 win over Memphis
Photo by: Julia Martin
Women's Basketball Downs Memphis, 82-58, to Open American Play
12.30.15 | Women's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA -- The Temple women's basketball team opened American Athletic Conference play with an 82-58 victory over Memphis on Wednesday night at McGonigle Hall. The Owls improved to 7-4 overall, 1-0 in The American, while the Tigers dip to 6-6, 0-1 to start conference play.
The Owls jumped out to an 11-point lead and didn't look back, leading from buzzer to buzzer. Memphis cut the lead to three at the end of the first quarter, but Temple held a double-digit advantage through most of the match-up.
Four Owls scored in double-figures as Temple finished the game shooting 53.1% from the floor. Sophomore Alliya Butts ended her night with 21 points, four assists, and four steals, while classmate Tanaya Atkinson had 18 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Sophomore Donnaizha Fountain hit a career-high with 16 points, also adding five boards and a pair of steals in the win. Junior Feyonda Fitzgerald had another solid all-around game, scoring 12 points with six assists and two steals, while senior Erica Covile had nine points and a team-best nine rebounds.
Temple scored the first 11 points of the game, forcing four Memphis turnovers in the first two minutes. Fountain contributed six during the initial surge, while Butts added five. Memphis finally broke into the scoring column with a Mooriah Rowser bucket at 7:32, and Memphis added another jumper to cut the lead to 11-4. The Owls hit back-to-back threes (Butts, Fountain) to make push their lead back to 11, but Memphis used a 10-2 run, including a pair of threes from Roswer, to cut the lead to three (19-16) with 1:41 to play. Temple had the last surge of the quarter, however, as Atkinson and Covile added lay-ups in the final minute to make it a 23-16 Temple lead after one.
The Owls extended their lead to 14 points (34-20) with an 11-4 run that lasted through the first five minutes of the second quarter. After a Memphis score, Temple increased its lead to 16 with Atkinson and Butts connecting to make it 38-22 with 3:23 to play. Memphis hit back-to-back shots to get to within 12 (38-26), but Temple ended the quarter with four-straight from Fitzgerald, setting the score to 42-26 at the half.
Butts led all players with 13 at the break, including going 3-of-5 from three. Fountain had nine points, while Atkinson added eight, as the Owls shot 52.9% in the first half. Memphis' Rowser led the Tigers with 12 points, all coming in the first quarter.
Memphis struck first in the third quarter, cutting the lead to 42-28. From there, it was all Temple, as the Owls used a stingy press and hot shooting to score 17-straight points. Atkinson scored eight during the run, while Butts added four, making it a 31-point advantage (59-38) with 6:18 remaining in the quarter. The Tigers halted the Temple run and then scored seven unanswered to get the Tiemple lead down to 24, but the Owls closed the quarter with an Ugo Nwaigwe bucket and a 67-41 lead.
Temple and Memphis traded the first 16 points of the fourth quarter, making it 75-49 with 3:25 to play in the game. Memphis surged slightly with a 5-0 run to make it a 21-point game, but Temple's lead was too great and the Owls finished out the 82-58 victory.
Rowser ended the night with 21 points for Memphis, while Briana Wright had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Temple will next embark on an extended road trip to Texas. The Owls leave on January 1 to head to Houston to play on January 2. Following the Houston game, the Owls will stay in the Lone Star state, going to SMU for a January 5 game.
Box Score (PDF) | Highlights | Post-Game Press Conference
The Owls jumped out to an 11-point lead and didn't look back, leading from buzzer to buzzer. Memphis cut the lead to three at the end of the first quarter, but Temple held a double-digit advantage through most of the match-up.
Four Owls scored in double-figures as Temple finished the game shooting 53.1% from the floor. Sophomore Alliya Butts ended her night with 21 points, four assists, and four steals, while classmate Tanaya Atkinson had 18 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Sophomore Donnaizha Fountain hit a career-high with 16 points, also adding five boards and a pair of steals in the win. Junior Feyonda Fitzgerald had another solid all-around game, scoring 12 points with six assists and two steals, while senior Erica Covile had nine points and a team-best nine rebounds.
Temple scored the first 11 points of the game, forcing four Memphis turnovers in the first two minutes. Fountain contributed six during the initial surge, while Butts added five. Memphis finally broke into the scoring column with a Mooriah Rowser bucket at 7:32, and Memphis added another jumper to cut the lead to 11-4. The Owls hit back-to-back threes (Butts, Fountain) to make push their lead back to 11, but Memphis used a 10-2 run, including a pair of threes from Roswer, to cut the lead to three (19-16) with 1:41 to play. Temple had the last surge of the quarter, however, as Atkinson and Covile added lay-ups in the final minute to make it a 23-16 Temple lead after one.
The Owls extended their lead to 14 points (34-20) with an 11-4 run that lasted through the first five minutes of the second quarter. After a Memphis score, Temple increased its lead to 16 with Atkinson and Butts connecting to make it 38-22 with 3:23 to play. Memphis hit back-to-back shots to get to within 12 (38-26), but Temple ended the quarter with four-straight from Fitzgerald, setting the score to 42-26 at the half.
Butts led all players with 13 at the break, including going 3-of-5 from three. Fountain had nine points, while Atkinson added eight, as the Owls shot 52.9% in the first half. Memphis' Rowser led the Tigers with 12 points, all coming in the first quarter.
Memphis struck first in the third quarter, cutting the lead to 42-28. From there, it was all Temple, as the Owls used a stingy press and hot shooting to score 17-straight points. Atkinson scored eight during the run, while Butts added four, making it a 31-point advantage (59-38) with 6:18 remaining in the quarter. The Tigers halted the Temple run and then scored seven unanswered to get the Tiemple lead down to 24, but the Owls closed the quarter with an Ugo Nwaigwe bucket and a 67-41 lead.
Temple and Memphis traded the first 16 points of the fourth quarter, making it 75-49 with 3:25 to play in the game. Memphis surged slightly with a 5-0 run to make it a 21-point game, but Temple's lead was too great and the Owls finished out the 82-58 victory.
Rowser ended the night with 21 points for Memphis, while Briana Wright had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Temple will next embark on an extended road trip to Texas. The Owls leave on January 1 to head to Houston to play on January 2. Following the Houston game, the Owls will stay in the Lone Star state, going to SMU for a January 5 game.
Box Score (PDF) | Highlights | Post-Game Press Conference
Team Stats
MEM
TEMPLE
FG%
.390
.531
3FG%
.235
.350
FT%
.800
.700
RB
36
31
TO
23
17
STL
7
16
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
18
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
C
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