Women's Basketball Plays at Harvard on Thursday

PHILADELPHIA -- The Temple women's basketball team heads to New England this week, playing at Harvard on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. The 3-1 Owls will look to snap Harvard's (5-1) five-game winning streak, in just the third-career meeting between the programs. The Ivy League Digital Network will broadcast the game, which is being played at Harvard's Lavietes Pavilion.

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SCOUTING THE OWLS
Temple is 3-1 this season, with the only Owls' loss coming on the road at #19/23 Florida, 83-76. Senior guard Feyonda Fitzgerald leads the Temple offense with 20.3 points and 7.3 assists per game, also adding 6.0 rebounds per outing, ranking second on the team. Junior guard Tanaya Atkinson has produced 18.0 points and 8.8 rebounds per game this season, while junior Alliya Butts has added 16.0 points per outing and a team-best 11 steals.

The Owls are shooting 42.0% from the field and 40.0% from three-point range, holding opponents to just 28.8% from beyond-the-arc.Temple is outscoring opponents by an average of 7.0 points per game, and have forced an average of 16.8 turnovers per contest.

LAST TIME OUT
A go-ahead three from junior Alliya Butts with 40 seconds left in the game gave Temple a lead that held, as the Owls overcame a seven-point fourth quarter deficit to top visiting Quinnipiac, 71-68.

Temple trailed by as many as eight points in the game, and rallied to overcome several late deficits, only to see Quinnipiac answer. Finally Temple broke through to take its first lead of the second half with a Butts three at 3:55. The teams traded leads twice after that, until a wild play after a steal from freshman Shannen Atkinson ended with Butts hitting the go-ahead three to make it 69-66.

The Owls got a huge defensive board from junior Tanaya Atkinson on the next possession, and senior Feyonda Fitzgerald iced the game with a pair of free throws that put Temple up five with 19 seconds on the clock. A Quinnipiac lay-up at the buzzer set the final to 71-68.

Butts led the Owls with 24 points, 14 of which came in the fourth quarter, while also adding three steals. Fitzgerald finished with 19 points, six assists, and five rebounds, while Tanaya Atkinson finished with her second-straight double-double, tallying 14 points and 11 rebounds. Junior Khadijah Berger ended her night with six points and a career-high eight boards, while Shannen Atkinson added four points and five boards, and classmate Shantay Taylor had six rebounds.

SCOUTING HARVARD
After a season-opening 103-87 loss at Minnesota, Harvard has rattled off five-straight wins to improve to 5-1 on the season.

The Crimson have five players who average over 9.0 points per game, led by senior Destiny Nunley (12.2 ppg) and freshman Katie Benzan (12.0 ppg), who also adds 2.8 assists per outing. Sophomores Madeline Raster (10.0 ppg) and Sydney Skinner (9.3 ppg) aid the offense with Skinner leading the team with 3.0 assists per game. Rookie Jeannie Boehm contributes on both ends to the tune of 9.5 points and a team-best 6.8 rebounds per game.

Harvard is averaging 67.3 points per game, shooting 41.7% from the field and 39.7% from the line. They have allowed 62.2 points per game to opponents, while out-rebounding them by a +8.3 margin so far this season.

LAST TIME OUT
Harvard picked up a 68-60 win on the road at Sacred Heart on Tuesday. Madeline Raster had 17 points and eight rebounds, while Jeannie Boehm notched her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds to lead four players in double-figures.

Harvard held Sacred Heart to just nine field goals in the second half, and survived a late game run by the Pioneers with good defense in the final minutes of the game. The Crimson outrebounded Sacred Heart 46-32 on the night, including 12 offensive rebounds which produced 21 second chance points. Sydney Skinner (11 points) and Destiny Nunley (10 points, five rebounds) also aided the Harvard scoring effort.

TEMPLE VS. THE CRIMSON
Temple leads the all-time series against Harvard, 2-0. The first meeting between the programs came in the 2012 WNIT Second Round with Temple topping Harvard, 64-59 at McGonigle Hall. The Owls then grabbed the second all-time meeting between the schools, an 81-69 win at Mohegan Sun Arena in 2014.

LAST TIME THEY MET: 11/30/14 - Temple 81, Harvard 69
Temple topped Harvard, 81-69, to close out the 2014 Hall of Fame Tournament Challenge at Mohegan Sun Arena. Then a freshman, Tanaya Atkinson was named MVP, scoring 20 points and adding seven rebounds.

The Owls withstood a 23-point, 24-rebound effort from Harvard's Temi Fagbenle with solid defense and hot second-half shooting. Feyonda Fitzgerald scored 11 second-half points, leading Temple to a season-best 50% shooting in the half. Fitzgerald finished with 14 points, three assists, and three steals, while senior Tyonna Williams had 10 points (all coming in the second half) and eight assists.

Khadijah Berger scored the first 13 points of her career, including connecting on four of five from three-point range. On the glass, junior Erica Covile led the Owls with 12 boards, while sophomore Safiya Martin pulled down seven.

Game Notes (PDF)

Women's Basketball Plays at Harvard on Thursday

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Players Mentioned

Shannen Atkinson

Tanaya Atkinson

Khadijah Berger

Alliya Butts

Erica Covile

Feyonda Fitzgerald

Safiya Martin

Shantay Taylor

Temple University Athletics