Women's Basketball Hosts NC State in WNIT Round of 16 on Thursday

PHILADELPHIA -- The Temple women's basketball will host NC State in the third round of the 2015 WNIT at McGonigle Hall on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. The Owls are 18-16 overall and advanced to the WNIT round of 16 with road wins at Marist and Penn. The Wolfpack come to Philadelphia with an 18-14 overall mark, also having won a pair of road contests in the tournament.

The game will be streamed live OwlSports TV, free of charge. Temple student Ed LeFurge will have play-by-play duties, while Senior Associate Athletic Director Kristen Foley will serve as analyst. Tickets are available for $6 at http://www.owlstix.com or by calling 215-204-8499.

Temple is coming off a thrilling 61-56 win at the Palestra against Penn in the second round on Sunday. After falling behind by seven points, Temple rallied as freshman Alliya Butts hit a go-ahead three with 3:04 to play, before giving way to the heroics of Feyonda Fitzgerald. The sophomore scored the final 10 points of the game for the Owls, including going 8-for-8 from the free throw line in the final 53 seconds to ice the game for Temple.

Fitzgerald finished the game with a team-high 16 points, also added four assists and four rebounds to bolster her stat line. Butts ended with 12 points, while junior Erica Covile had nine points and a team-high 13 rebounds, while also adding five steals and three assists. Sophomore Taylor Robinson had nine points in just 10 minutes of action, going 4-for-4 from the field, while also sinking her only free throw. Owls senior Tyonna Williams posted seven points, including making a pair of threes, that give her the all-time program record with 164 in her career. She also added a game-high five assists.

For the season, All-Conference and All-Freshman selection Butts leads the squad with 12.4 points per game and 68 total steals, while ranking third with 69 assists. Covile, also an All-Conference selection, contributes 11.6 points and a team-best 8.4 rebounds per outing, while also recording 62 steals and 21 blocks. Fitzgerald has come off the bench to average 11 points a contest, while dishing out 96 total assists. Also for the Owls, Atkinson averages 10.6 points and 6.9 boards per game, while Williams is averaging 10.3 points per game and is leading the team with 110 total assists.

As a team, Temple shoots 36.8% from the field and 32.1% from beyond-the-arc. The Owls finished the regular season with the American's top free throw percentage, and connect on 73% of attempts from the line. Temple averages 66.1 points and 39.9 rebounds per game, holding a slim leads in scoring over opponents, and a slim deficit in rebounding.

NC State earned the a WNIT bid out of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The Wolfpack finished the regular season at 16-14 and have defeated East Tennesee State (73-58) and East Carolina (69-65) on the road so far in the WNIT. In their last outing, NC State needed all 40 minutes to get by East Carolina, turning an eight-point deficit into a four-point win by closing the game on a 19-7 run. Sophomore Miah Spencer scored a game and career-high 26 points on 9-16 shooting and was was joined in double figures by sophomore Dominique Wilson (11 points) and sophomore Jennifer Mathurin (10 points), who also tallied 14 boards to wrap up a double-double.

For the season, Spencer leads three players in double figures, scoring 14.3 points per game, while also tallying team-highs of 103 assists and 59 steals. Wilson adds 13.7 points per game, with 71 assists, while senior Len'Nique Brown averages 10.3 points per game and 4.7 boards per game. Mathurin is the team's top rebounder, averaging 5.4 boards per game, while also contributing 7.2 points an outing.

NC State averages 66.9 points per game, while holding opponents to 62.4. The Pack shoot 38.4% from the field and 32.6% from beyond the arc. The team is also solid from the free throw line at 75.6%.

Thursday's game will be the 5th meeting between the programs. NC State has won the previous four meetings, with their last win coming on December 2, 2007 at the Liacouras Center. NC State grabbed that contest, 57-52.

Temple and NC State share three common opponents this season: Tulane, Villanova, and East Carolina. The Owls are 2-3 against that field, while East Carolina is 1-2.

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Women's Basketball Hosts NC State in WNIT Round of 16 on Thursday

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Players Mentioned

Alliya Butts

Erica Covile

Feyonda Fitzgerald

Taylor Robinson

Tyonna Williams

Temple University Athletics