Defensive-Minded Second Half leads Women's Basketball Over SMU

Wednesday, February 25

Dallas, Texas

8:00 p.m.

Temple University

14-15, 10-6AAC

SMU

6-21, 2-14AAC

Temple

SMU

Alliya Butts had a game-high 17 points, including 10 in the second half

Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University

Defensive-Minded Second Half leads Women's Basketball Over SMU

2.25.15 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

DALLAS — The Temple women's basketball team allowed just 18 second half points, overcoming a slow start to post a 55-39 victory on the road at SMU on Wednesday night. The win improves the Owls to 10-6 in The American, 14-15 overall.

In the team's last meeting, Temple rode a strong first half to victory. Tonight, the Owls took a tie into the locker room and then outscored SMU, 34-18, in the second half to seal the victory.

Freshman Alliya Butts led all players with 17 points, adding three assists and a pair of steals. Classmate Tanaya Atkinson chipped in with 10 points and five boards, while senior Tyonna Williams added seven points and six assists. Also for the Owls, junior Mama Traore had seven boards with six points, while sophomore Feyonda Fitzgerald and freshman Khadijah Berger each added five points.

SMU had the early momentum, riding eight combined points from the Froling sisters to take an 8-3 lead. Temple responded with an 8-2 run of their own, taking their first lead of the game at 11-10 with 12:55 on the clock. Over the next five minutes of play, the teams traded buckets, settling on a 16-16 tie with 7:30 to play in the half.

Temple took its largest lead of the game on a baseline jumper from Traore to put the Owls up 19-16 at 5:55. However, SMU was able to battle back to tie the game at 19-19 and then at 21-21, where it sat at the break.

Butts led all scorers at the half with seven points, while Williams and Traore had four each. Temple shot just 25.9% in the stanza, and were without Covile and Atkinson, who combined for just 11 first-half minutes due to foul trouble. SMU also struggled offensively, shooting 32.1%, but the Mustangs held a 23-18 advantage on the boards.

Temple opened the second half on an 11-4 run to open a 32-25 lead. The Owls got five points from Butts during the early surge. SMU was able to get the lead back down to three points on a 6-0 run, but a three from Williams as the shot clock expired sparked a 9-4 run to put Temple up 43-35 with 7:26 to play.

SMU cut into the Temple run with a bucket from Destinee Hives-McCray, but the Owls responded with another surge, this time, 6-0, to push the Temple advantage to 12 points (49-37) with 4:57 remaining.

Over the final five minutes of play, the Temple defense held SMU to just two total points, squashing any hope of a Mustang comeback.

Temple shot 43.5% in the second half to finish with an overall shooting percentage of 34.5%. The Owls also improved on the boards, finishing with a 41-35 rebounding edge in the second stanza.

SMU was paced by nine points each from Alicia and Keely Froling, while Hives-McCray had eight points and a team-best six boards.

Up next, the Owls return home to celebrate Senior Day for Williams on Saturday. Temple will play host to conference-foe East Carolina in a key-up at 2:00 p.m. at McGonigle Hall.

Box Score (PDF)