Women's Basketball Heads South to Take on USF

Sunday, February 22

Tampa, Fla.

12:00 p.m.

Temple University

USF

Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University

Women's Basketball Heads South to Take on USF

2.20.15 | Women's Basketball

PHILADELPHIA -- The Temple women's basketball team will escape the cold and hope to remain hot on the court, as the Owls head to Tampa, Fla. on Sunday, to take on USF at 12 p.m. on ESPNU. Temple is 9-5 in conference play, 13-14, overall, having won two-straight games. USF enters the game 12-2 in The America, 21-5 overall, and is receiving votes in both national polls.

In their last outing, the Owls topped Tulane, 69-58, on Tuesday at McGonigle Hall. Against the Green Wave, The Owls shot 47.4% from the field and forced 21 turnovers to get by third-place Tulane. Senior Tyonna Williams shot 71.4% from the field to lead a balanced offense for Temple. Williams topped the team with 16 points, while also adding three assists and a block. Freshman Alliya Butts finished with 13 points, five assists, and three steals, while classmate Tanaya Atkinson had 12 points and five rebounds. Sophomore Feyonda Fitzgerald had nine points with a career-best six steals, while also tying a career-high with seven assists. Rounding out the box score, junior Erica Covile had seven points, six rebounds, and four steals, while sophomore Safiya Martin had seven points and five rebounds.

Butts leads the Owls in scoring with 13.0 points per game, a number that rises to 16.2 points per outing in conference play. Covile has bolstered Temple on both sides of the ball, averaging 11.4 points and a team-high 8.8 rebounds per game. Fitzgerald has come off the bench in the last 14 games and is averaging 11.2 points a contest, while dishing out 75 total assists. Atkinson puts up 10.7 points and 6.9 boards per game, while senior Tyonna Williams is averaging 9.9 points per game and leading the team with 83 total assists.

Temple's field goal percentage has risen from 34% five games ago to 36.9%, thanks to several hot performances in a row, as the Owls have shot over 40% in six out of their last eight games. Temple also shoots 32% from three-point range, while making 71.1% of its free throws. shoots 36.5% from the field and 31.6% from beyond-the-arc, while connecting on 71.4% of its free throws. Temple is out-scoring opponents by a slim margin (+0.6), but is being out-rebounded by a small number (-0.3).

After falling 65-64 to East Carolina, USF Bulls rebounded in their last outing with a big win over Tulsa, defeating the Golden Hurricane, 79-46, on Wednesday. Against Tulsa, USF had three players notch double-doubles, five players scoring in double digits, and also became their program's winningest regular season team. Courtney Williams led the Bulls in scoring with 17 points, while also racking up nine rebounds, five assists, and a block. Forward Alisia Jenkins nabbed her 18th double-double of the season with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks. Freshmen Laura Ferreiera and Maria Jespersen were the other two players who recorded double-doubles for the first time in their careers. Almost half of the Bulls' points against Tulsa (36) were scored by their bench.

Williams, who recently made the top-30 cut for the Naismith Trophy, leads USF and The American with 20.7 points per game, while also adding 8.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per outing. Jenkins averages a double-double for the Bulls with 12.1 points and 11.4 rebounds per game, while Williams and Jenkins have combined for 84 steals this season. Tamara Taylor chips in with 8.3 points per game, and Ferreira averages 7.6 points a contest for USF.

Second only to UConn, the Bulls boast a scoring average of 70.3 points per game. With the conference's leading rebounder in Jenkins, USF's rebounding margin of +8.9 also ranks second in the conference. USF shoots 41.4% from the field and 33% from three-point range, while making 70.9% of free throws.

Temple and USF have met four times in program history, with the Bulls taking all four meetings. USF won both regular season match-ups in 2014, and then ended Temple's season in the quarterfinals of the 2014 conference tournament. This season, USF took the first meeting between the teams, a 70-58 win at McGonigle Hall on January 11.

Earlier this season, Temple couldn't keep pace with hot-shooting USF, as the Owls fell 70-58 to the visiting Bulls at McGonigle Hall on January 11. Butts had a career-day, recording 24 points, including knocking down 5-8 from three-point range. Fitzgerald also had good day from the field, picking up 17 points. Atkinson had seven points and four boards, while Covile pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds. USF was led by Williams who recorded a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds, while Jenkins had 14 points and Ferreira added 10.

Watch Live (ESPNU) | Live Stats | Game Notes (PDF)