Temple University Athletics
Wednesday, April 1
Morgantown, WV
7:00 p.m.
Temple University
20-17
58
at
66
West Virginia University
23-14
1
2
OT 1
F
Temple
31
22
5
58
West Virginia
26
27
13
66
Tyonna Williams scored 15 points in her final collegiate game
Photo by: Julia Martin
Women's Basketball Falls in OT in WNIT Semifinals
4.1.15 | Women's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.V. - The story book post-season run for the Temple women's basketball team came to an end in the WNIT semifinals on Wednesday, as the Owls fell to West Virginia, 66-58, in overtime. Temple closes the 2014-15 campaign with a 20-17 overall mark.
"I'm proud of my team, I'm proud of the way they fought tonight in a hostile environment," said head coach Tonya Cardoza following the game. "We have some young guys and we let the game slip away, but I know this whole experience will help this program in the future."
Senior Tyonna Williams led the Owls with 15 points and three assists in the final game of her collegiate career. She hit three from long-range and closes out her time in cherry and white with a program record 171 made three pointers. Williams also became the all-time program leader in career free throw percentage, connecting on 81.6% (230-282) of all attempts from the charity stripe. She broke a 27-year old record of 81.4% that had been held by Addie Jackson '88. Williams also finishes 17th on the career scoring list with 1,075 points, and fourth on the all-time assists list with 397 helpers.
Also topping the box score for Temple, freshman Tanaya Atkinson notched a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards, while junior Erica Covile had nine points and six boards. Freshmen Khadijah Berger (9 points) and Alliya Butts (8 points) rounded out the scoring for the Owls, while sophomore Safiya Martin tied a team-high with 11 boards.
Temple shot an uncharacteristic and season-low 38.9% (7-18) from the free throw line. West Virginia, meanwhile, shot 77.8% from the line, and 34.4% from the field, while also holding a 58-47 advantage on the boards.
A tightly contested first half featured four ties and 11 lead changes, with neither team managing more than a five-point cushion at any point. Temple had a slight edge offensively, due in part to Khadijah Berger's surge from three-point range, as the freshman connected on three-of-four early attempts. In total, the Owls shot 41.7% from long range and 34.4% from the field. West Virginia had the edge on the glass, out-rebounding the Owls, 27-21.
Berger led Temple with nine first-half points, while Williams added seven and Covile, six. Martin pulled down six rebounds, while Atkinson had five points and five boards in the half. WVU was led by 12 points from Bria Holmes, while Laney Montgomery pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds for the Mountaineers.
Temple stretched its lead to eight points (38-30) early in the second half, sparked by a Covile three and back-to-back steals and lay-ups from Butts and Atkinson. West Virginia battled back with a 6-0 run, and and then took a 44-43 lead on an Averee Fields jumper with 7:20 to play.
The Owls got threes from Butts and Williams to take a 51-50 lead with 1:45 to play, before another Williams bucket pushed it to 53-50 with 1:26 remaining. West Virginia, however, hit a free throw to make it 53-51, and forced a Temple turnover with 26 seconds on the clock. The Mountaineers then tied it up with a pair of Bria Holmes free throws with 12 seconds to play.
Temple had a chance to win it at the end of regulation, but a pair of contested attempts under the basket missed the mark. The Owls were looking for a foul on both plays, but no whistle blew, sending the game to overtime.
In overtime, Temple ran out of gas. The Mountaineers took the early lead and pushed it to 62-55 before a three from Williams brought it to 62-58 with 33 seconds to play. West Virginia made both sets of free throws in the final 30 seconds, while the Owls missed their last-ditch attempts, giving the Mountaineers the win.
Holmes led all players with 22 points, while Averee Fields scored 20 with eight rebounds. Lanay Montgomery was a monster on the boards, pulling down a game-high 24 rebounds. The Mountaineers advance to the WNIT Championship with a 23-14 record and will face UCLA for the title.
Temple's 2014-15 season saw the Owls win 20 games for the first time since 2012. The team also reached a post-season final four for the first time in program history.
Box Score (PDF)
"I'm proud of my team, I'm proud of the way they fought tonight in a hostile environment," said head coach Tonya Cardoza following the game. "We have some young guys and we let the game slip away, but I know this whole experience will help this program in the future."
Senior Tyonna Williams led the Owls with 15 points and three assists in the final game of her collegiate career. She hit three from long-range and closes out her time in cherry and white with a program record 171 made three pointers. Williams also became the all-time program leader in career free throw percentage, connecting on 81.6% (230-282) of all attempts from the charity stripe. She broke a 27-year old record of 81.4% that had been held by Addie Jackson '88. Williams also finishes 17th on the career scoring list with 1,075 points, and fourth on the all-time assists list with 397 helpers.
Also topping the box score for Temple, freshman Tanaya Atkinson notched a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards, while junior Erica Covile had nine points and six boards. Freshmen Khadijah Berger (9 points) and Alliya Butts (8 points) rounded out the scoring for the Owls, while sophomore Safiya Martin tied a team-high with 11 boards.
Temple shot an uncharacteristic and season-low 38.9% (7-18) from the free throw line. West Virginia, meanwhile, shot 77.8% from the line, and 34.4% from the field, while also holding a 58-47 advantage on the boards.
A tightly contested first half featured four ties and 11 lead changes, with neither team managing more than a five-point cushion at any point. Temple had a slight edge offensively, due in part to Khadijah Berger's surge from three-point range, as the freshman connected on three-of-four early attempts. In total, the Owls shot 41.7% from long range and 34.4% from the field. West Virginia had the edge on the glass, out-rebounding the Owls, 27-21.
Berger led Temple with nine first-half points, while Williams added seven and Covile, six. Martin pulled down six rebounds, while Atkinson had five points and five boards in the half. WVU was led by 12 points from Bria Holmes, while Laney Montgomery pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds for the Mountaineers.
Temple stretched its lead to eight points (38-30) early in the second half, sparked by a Covile three and back-to-back steals and lay-ups from Butts and Atkinson. West Virginia battled back with a 6-0 run, and and then took a 44-43 lead on an Averee Fields jumper with 7:20 to play.
The Owls got threes from Butts and Williams to take a 51-50 lead with 1:45 to play, before another Williams bucket pushed it to 53-50 with 1:26 remaining. West Virginia, however, hit a free throw to make it 53-51, and forced a Temple turnover with 26 seconds on the clock. The Mountaineers then tied it up with a pair of Bria Holmes free throws with 12 seconds to play.
Temple had a chance to win it at the end of regulation, but a pair of contested attempts under the basket missed the mark. The Owls were looking for a foul on both plays, but no whistle blew, sending the game to overtime.
In overtime, Temple ran out of gas. The Mountaineers took the early lead and pushed it to 62-55 before a three from Williams brought it to 62-58 with 33 seconds to play. West Virginia made both sets of free throws in the final 30 seconds, while the Owls missed their last-ditch attempts, giving the Mountaineers the win.
Holmes led all players with 22 points, while Averee Fields scored 20 with eight rebounds. Lanay Montgomery was a monster on the boards, pulling down a game-high 24 rebounds. The Mountaineers advance to the WNIT Championship with a 23-14 record and will face UCLA for the title.
Temple's 2014-15 season saw the Owls win 20 games for the first time since 2012. The team also reached a post-season final four for the first time in program history.
Box Score (PDF)
Team Stats
TEMPLE
WVU
FG%
.296
.344
3FG%
.429
.200
FT%
.389
.778
RB
47
58
TO
9
11
STL
6
4
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's BasketballG
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