Nationally-Recognized USF Upends Women's Basketball

Sunday, February 22

Tampa, Fla.

12:00 p.m.

Temple University

13-15, 9-6

USF

22-5, 13-2

Temple

USF

Tyonna Williams moved into second place on Temple's career three-pointer list

Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University

Nationally-Recognized USF Upends Women's Basketball

2.22.15 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

TAMPA, Fla. — The Temple women's basketball team struggled offensively, dropping a 79-53 American Athletic Conference meeting on the road on Sunday. The Bulls, who are receiving votes in both national polls, improve to 22-5 overall, 13-2 in The American, while Temple dips to 13-15, 9-6 in conference play.

The Owls shot just 26.9% (18-67) from the field, while USF went 29-for-60 to finish near 50%. The Bulls out-rebounded Temple, 48-36, while each team committed 13 turnovers.

Owls' senior Tyonna Williams led the cherry and white with 17 points, while adding three assists, three boards and a steal. With three made three pointers, Williams moved into sole possession of second place on Temple's all-time career list with 155 makes from beyond-the-arc, passing Stacey Smalls '03 (155 threes). She also now holds the program record with 507 threes attempted in her career.

Also for the Owls, sophomore Feyonda Fitzgerald scored 15 points with three boards and a pair of steals. Freshman Tanaya Atkinson pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds, adding five points and three steals. Rounding out the box score, junior Erica Covile had six points, while freshman Alliya Butts added five.

USF opened play with a 5-0 lead as Laura Ferreira sank her first two attempts for the Bulls. Temple then used an 8-2 run to take what proved to be its only lead of the game, 9-8, at 15:55. USF responded with a 13-3 surge, holding a 20-11 advantage with 10:50 left in the half.

A Butts three brought the USF lead down to 21-14 at 10:17 but Ferreira matched it from deep for the Bulls. That basket sparked a 16-3 run that pushed the hosts' advantage to 37-17, taking the clock all the way down to 1:34. Leading scorer Courtney Williams came alive for the Bulls during the run, picking up her first six points.

After USF held Temple without a bucket for nearly nine minutes, the Owls' Williams scored five-straight to break the drought. The 5-0 Temple run made it 37-22, but USF got the last bucket of the half, to take a 39-22 lead into the locker room.

The hosts shot 53% in the first half, holding Temple to just 25% from the field. The Bulls also held a 26-14 edge on the glass with 18 points in the paint to Temple's eight. Ferreira led all players with 12 points, while Alicia Jenkins added nine points. For Temple, Williams had seven points, while Fitzgerald and Butts combined for 11 in the stanza.

USF's offense didn't slow in the second half, as the Bulls opened with a 15-2 run to take a 54-24 lead with 14:25 remaining in the game. Temple remained cold, connecting on just 2-of-16 from the field in the early part of the second half.

The Owls got a little offense going with a late 13-7 run to cut the lead to 71-43 with 5:05 to play. However, USF responded with a 5-0 run of their own, making it 76-43 with 2:09 to play. Temple closed out the game on a 10-3 offensive surge, but the Bulls' advantage was too large, as the hosts finished with the 79-53 win.

USF's Ferreira finished with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Jenkins had a double-double with 13 points and 13 boards. Leading scorer Courtney Williams finished with just eight points, but also picked up eight rebounds and four assists in the Bulls' win.

Next up for Temple, the team travels to Dallas, Texas to take on SMU on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. EST. The match-up between the Owls and the Mustangs will be broadcast by the American Digital Network.

Box Score (PDF)