Women's Basketball Opens American Play on New Year's Day

PHILADELPHIA -- The Temple women's basketball team will open play in the American Athletic Conference on Sunday, January 1, on the road at Memphis. The Owls and Tigers will tip off at 6:00 p.m. (5:00 p.m. CST) on ESPN2 with Bob Picozzi and Steffi Sorenson on the call. Both teams are riding four-game win streaks heading into the match-up.

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SCOUTING TEMPLE
The 8-3 Owls are led by backcourt duo - senior Feyonda Fitzgerald and junior Alliya Butts, who combine to score 35.8 points per game. Fitzgerald leads Temple with 18.8 points and 6.5 assists per game, while Butts adds 17.0 points and 3.5 assists per game, with a team-best 27 total steals. Juniors Tanaya Atkinson (13.3 ppg, 8.6 rpg) and Donnaizha Fountain (12.2 ppg, 8.6 rpg) contribute for the Owls on both ends of the floor.

Junior Khadijah Berger averages 5.1 points and 2.7 boards per game, while senior Ruth Sherrill chips in with 4.0 points and 6.0 rebounds an outing, including pulling down nine or more boards in four of the last five games. Senior Safiya Martin 2.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg) tops the team with 16 total blocks.

Temple averages 71.5 points per game, giving up 62.9. The Owls shoot 38.5% from the field and 33.5% from long-range. Temple forces an average of 16.6 turnovers per game, and out-rebounds opponents by a 4.0 margin.

LAST TIME OUT
Temple used a 20-0 run from the end of the third quarter to midway through the fourth to put away visiting Fairfield, 73-59, on December 22 at McGonigle Hall. Temple trailed by as many as six points in the third, before the late surge pushed the cherry and white to victory.

Alliya Butts led the Owls with 26 points, tying a career-best with six threes, and in the process, became Temple's all-time career leader in the category. Feyonda Fitzgerald recorded her first double-double of the season and third of her career, recording 12 points and a career-best 12 assists.

Tanaya Atkinson also put up a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Butts added a season-best five steals in the game, while junior Khadijah Berger had eight points and classmate Donnaizha Fountain added seven. Rounding out the box score, Safiya Martin had four points, four blocks, and seven rebounds, while Ruth Sherrill had six boards.

SCOUTING MEMPHIS
Memphis is 7-6 overall, entering Sunday's match-up with a four-game winning streak.
Three players average in double figures for the Tigers, led by Cheyenne Creighton, whose 15.4 points and 8.0 rebounds per game are tops on the team. Brea Elmore averages 12.8 points per game, while Taylor Williams adds 11.4 points an outing. Breigha Wilder-Cochran rounds out the scoring threats with 7.6 points per game.

Memphis shoots 41.0% from the field and 28.1% from three. The Tigers average 60.7 points per game, giving up 61.2. Memphis collects 10.0 steals per game and has a 2.1 turnover ratio.

LAST TIME OUT
Memphis topped Vanderbilt, 75-59, at home on Wednesday night for their fourth-straight win. The Tigers built a 43-27 halftime advantage and survived a third-quarter Vanderbilt run to seal the victory.

Cheyenne Creighton scored a career-high 26 points and pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds for her fifth-straight double-double. Brea Elmore went 3-for-5 from long range and 5-for-12 from the floor to score 18 points, while Breigha Wilder-Cochran chipped in with 11 points and four steals.

THE OWLS VS. THE TIGERS
Temple leads the all-time series with Memphis, 5-1, with all six meetings coming in American Athletic Conference regular season play.

Memphis broke a string of five-straight losses to Temple with a five-overtime victory in their last meeting.

LAST TIME THEY MET: February 18, 2016 - Memphis 100, Temple 97 (5OT)
In what tied for the longest NCAA women's college basketball game in history, Memphis held on for a 100-97 victory in five overtimes. The game featured 14 lead changes and 20 ties in the extra periods alone.

In the end, Memphis got a turnaround jumper from center Briana Wright with 6.4 ticks on the clock to go up 98-97, and then stole the inbounds pass on Temple's next possession. Brea Elmore then sealed it for the Tigers with a free throw.

Feyonda Fitzgerald led the Owls' offense with 26 points, despite playing the final 32 minutes with four fouls. Alliya Butts had 19 points, while Tanaya Atkinson and Donnaizha Fountain both notched double-doubles. Atkinson had 15 points and a career-high 20 rebounds, while Fountain finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

For Memphis, Wright finished with 35 points to lead Memphis, while Mooriah Rowser added 21.

Game Notes (PDF)

Women's Basketball Opens American Play on New Year's Day

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Players Mentioned

Tanaya Atkinson

Khadijah Berger

Alliya Butts

Feyonda Fitzgerald

Donnaizha Fountain

Safiya Martin

Ruth Sherrill

Temple University Athletics