Women's Basketball Hosts #1 UConn on Wednesday

PHILADELPHIA -- The Temple women's basketball team will host #1 UConn on Wednesday night at the Liacouras Center in a conference clash beginning at 7:00 p.m. The game will be carried live by SportsNetwork NY and will be simulcast on ESPN3. It's a "White Out" game for the Owls, so fans are encouraged to wear white.

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SCOUTING TEMPLE
Temple is 16-4 overall with a 6-1 mark in American Athletic Conference play. Temple had a string of 12-straight victories snapped by #23 USF on Sunday.

Four Temple players average in double-figures in scoring, led by senior guard Feyonda Fitzgerald's 17.9 points and 7.5 assists per contest, with the assist number ranked her sixth in the nation. Junior Alliya Butts averages 15.1 points per game with a team-best 43 steals. Junior Donnaizha Fountain averages 13.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, while classmate Tanaya Atkinson (11.8 ppg, 8.3 rpg) contributes on both ends of the floor.

Senior Ruth Sherrill has come on strong since breaking into the starting line-up and averages 5.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Junior Khadijah Berger averages 4.4 points and 2.9 boards per game, while senior Safiya Martin (2.0 ppg, 3.4 rpg) tops the team with 23 total blocks.

Temple averages 70.5 points per game, giving up 59.0. The Owls shoot 39.4% from the field and 31.4% from long-range. Temple forces an average of 14.1 turnovers per game, and out-rebounds opponents by a +5.1 margin.

LAST TIME OUT
Junior Khadijah Berger scored 11 fourth-quarter points to key a furious comeback for Temple, but the Owls fell just short, dropping a 55-51 game to #23 USF on Sunday. The loss snapped Temple's 12-game win streak.

Trailing by 16 early in the fourth, the Owls used an 18-4 run, sparked by Berger to get the USF lead down to two (51-49) with 1:45 on the clock. USF made it a three-point game (54-51) with under 20 seconds to play, but Temple couldn't connect on the game-tying three in the final seconds.

Temple was led by senior Feyonda Fitzgerald who tallied 14 points and eight assists, accounting for every Temple assist during the contest. Butts finished with 12 points and five steals, while junior Tanaya Atkinson led the Owls on the glass with a game-high 11 rebounds. Donnaizha Fountain finished with seven points, five rebounds, and three steals.

Temple shot a season-low 25.8% (16-62) from the field, and just 18.5% (5-27) from long-range, while USF finished with a 47-36 advantage on the glass.

SCOUTING UCONN
#1 UConn enters the contest with a 20-0 overall record and an 8-0 mark in The American. The Huskies have won their last 34 road games leading up to this mid-week match up, and are on win number 95 in a row, the longest streak for an NCAA program.

UConn has four players in double-figures in scoring, led by Katie Lou Samuelson's 21.6 points per game. Napheesa Collier averages 18.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per contest, while Kia Nurse adds 13.3 points and 2.5 boards per game. Gabby Williams (12.6 ppg,) tops the team with an average of 8.7 rebounds per game. Saniya Chong (6.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg) rounds out the Huskies starting five.

As a team, UConn shoots 51.7% from the field and 41.9% from long-range. The Huskies have a +6.1 rebounding margin against opponents this season, and hold teams to an average of just 54.0 points per game.

LAST TIME OUT
Gabby Williams scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead top-ranked UConn to its 95th straight win, a 91-42 rout of Houston on Saturday. The sophomore, coming off the first triple-double of her career, has scored and rebounded in double figures 16 times, including seven this season.

Katie Lou Samuelson and Kia Nurse each scored 16 and Napheesa Collier added 12 points and 10 boards for the Huskies, who are 20-0 for the 10th time in the program's history.

The Huskies outshot the Cougars 49% to 29% from the floor, forced 25 Houston turnovers and outrebounded the Cougars 47-31.

THE OWLS VS. THE HUSKIES
Temple is 2-7 all-time against UConn, winning the first two match-ups, but falling in seven-straight. The Owls and the Huskies have met six times since the start of the American Athletic Conference, with
UConn winning all six meetings.

LAST TIME THEY MET: February 14, 2016 - UConn 85, Temple 60
Temple fell to top-ranked UConn, 85-60, in front of a sold-out crowd at McGonigle Hall.

Temple held the latest lead for any team against the Huskies since UConn faced a two-point third-quarter deficit in a win over No. 6 Maryland on December. But despite the Owls forcing a season-high 18 turnovers for the Huskies, UConn shot 58.7% (37-63) from the field to finish out the victory.

The Owls were paced by 15 points, six rebounds, and two blocks from sophomore Donnaizha Fountain, while classmate Alliya Butts finished with 14 points. Junior Feyonda Fitzgerald had 10 points and a team-high four assists, while sophomore Tanaya Atkinson had nine points, six rebounds and four steals.

Moriah Jefferson finished with 25 points, eight assists, and eight steals, while Breanna Stewart had 24 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and six blocks. Gabby Williams rounded out the double-digit scorers for UConn with 19 points.

Game Notes (PDF)

Women's Basketball Hosts #1 UConn on Wednesday

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Players Mentioned

Tanaya Atkinson

Khadijah Berger

Alliya Butts

Feyonda Fitzgerald

Donnaizha Fountain

Safiya Martin

Ruth Sherrill

Temple University Athletics