Temple University Athletics
Monday, November 14
McGonigle Hall
5:00 p.m.
Temple University
2-0, 2-0Big 5
86
vs
70
La Salle
0-2, 0-2Big 5
1
2
3
4
F
La Salle
21
18
17
14
70
Temple
27
13
27
19
86
Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University
Women's Basketball Tops La Salle, Moves to 2-0
11.14.16 | Women's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA – The Temple women's basketball team picked up its second-straight Philadelphia Big 5 victory, opening the 2016-17 home slate with a win over La Salle. For the second time in two games, it was an 86-70 victory for the Owls, who start the season 2-0. The Explorers dip to 0-2 overall, 0-1 in Big 5 play with the loss.
Temple got a huge performance from senior Feyonda Fitzgerald, who led the team in points (27), rebounds (9), and assists (9) for the third time in her career. The Owls got a second-half boost from junior Alliya Butts, who netted 15 points in the final 20 minutes, including the 1,000th of her career. She became the 24th player in program history to accomplish that feat.
The Owls finished the game outshooting the Explorers 45.9% (28-61) to 40.9 (27-66), while La Salle held a slim 41-49 edge on the boards. Temple forced 21 turnovers from their Big 5 rivals, working around the 9-2 advantage that La Salle held in blocks.
Fitzgerald's 27 points and nine assists were game-highs, while her nine boards tied a career-high. Junior Tanaya Atkinson recorded her second-straight 20-point effort, while Butts finished with 17 total points and four steals. Elsewhere junior Khadijah Berger notched nine points in her second-career start, while junior Donnaizha Fountain (5 points, 4 boards) and senior Monasia Bolduc (4 points, 5 rebounds) contributed on both ends of the floor.
Both teams shot over 50% in the first frame, with Temple connecting on 9-of-14 (64.3%) from the floor. The Owls led by as many as 12 points in the quarter, backed by nine points from Fitzgerald and eight from Atkinson. La Salle closed the gap towards the end of the stanza, using a 5-1 closing surge to make it a 27-21 game after one.
The Explorers cut Temple's advantage to just one after a second-quarter that saw the Owls shoot only 27.3% (3-11). After going up by nine on a three and two free throws from Fountain, La Salle battled back to within one point, closing the frame on an 8-2 run to make it 40-39 at the break.
At the half, Fitzgerald led all players with 13 points and six assists, while Atkinson had 10 points.
La Salle struck first in the third quarter, as a bucket from Ashanti Freeland gave the Explorers their first lead of the game at 41-40. Temple quickly took over, as Butts scored seven of the next nine points for the Owls, as Temple went up 47-43. From there, the Owls used a 13-4 point run open up a 60-44 advantage. La Salle was able to get the lead down to nine, but Temple pushed ahead, closing the third with a 67-56 lead.
An 11-3 Temple run spanning over five minutes opened the fourth quarter, effectively putting the game out of reach for La Salle. The Explorers were unable to get the deficit under 15 points the rest of the way, as Temple closed out its second-straight 86-70 victory.
The Owls, who are receiving votes in both national polls, are back in action on Saturday, heading south to take on #19/24 Florida in Ocala on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
Box Score (PDF) | Video Highlights | Press Conference
Temple got a huge performance from senior Feyonda Fitzgerald, who led the team in points (27), rebounds (9), and assists (9) for the third time in her career. The Owls got a second-half boost from junior Alliya Butts, who netted 15 points in the final 20 minutes, including the 1,000th of her career. She became the 24th player in program history to accomplish that feat.
The Owls finished the game outshooting the Explorers 45.9% (28-61) to 40.9 (27-66), while La Salle held a slim 41-49 edge on the boards. Temple forced 21 turnovers from their Big 5 rivals, working around the 9-2 advantage that La Salle held in blocks.
Fitzgerald's 27 points and nine assists were game-highs, while her nine boards tied a career-high. Junior Tanaya Atkinson recorded her second-straight 20-point effort, while Butts finished with 17 total points and four steals. Elsewhere junior Khadijah Berger notched nine points in her second-career start, while junior Donnaizha Fountain (5 points, 4 boards) and senior Monasia Bolduc (4 points, 5 rebounds) contributed on both ends of the floor.
Both teams shot over 50% in the first frame, with Temple connecting on 9-of-14 (64.3%) from the floor. The Owls led by as many as 12 points in the quarter, backed by nine points from Fitzgerald and eight from Atkinson. La Salle closed the gap towards the end of the stanza, using a 5-1 closing surge to make it a 27-21 game after one.
The Explorers cut Temple's advantage to just one after a second-quarter that saw the Owls shoot only 27.3% (3-11). After going up by nine on a three and two free throws from Fountain, La Salle battled back to within one point, closing the frame on an 8-2 run to make it 40-39 at the break.
At the half, Fitzgerald led all players with 13 points and six assists, while Atkinson had 10 points.
La Salle struck first in the third quarter, as a bucket from Ashanti Freeland gave the Explorers their first lead of the game at 41-40. Temple quickly took over, as Butts scored seven of the next nine points for the Owls, as Temple went up 47-43. From there, the Owls used a 13-4 point run open up a 60-44 advantage. La Salle was able to get the lead down to nine, but Temple pushed ahead, closing the third with a 67-56 lead.
An 11-3 Temple run spanning over five minutes opened the fourth quarter, effectively putting the game out of reach for La Salle. The Explorers were unable to get the deficit under 15 points the rest of the way, as Temple closed out its second-straight 86-70 victory.
The Owls, who are receiving votes in both national polls, are back in action on Saturday, heading south to take on #19/24 Florida in Ocala on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
Box Score (PDF) | Video Highlights | Press Conference
Team Stats
LAS
TEMPLE
FG%
.409
.459
3FG%
.300
.438
FT%
.650
.697
RB
41
39
TO
21
16
STL
3
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
27
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
8
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
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