#25 Women's Basketball Plays at #22 USF on Sunday

Sunday, February 19

Tampa, Fla.

1:00 p.m.

Temple University

USF

Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University

#25 Women's Basketball Plays at #22 USF on Sunday

2.17.17 | Women's Basketball

Live Stats Watch Live (ESPN2)Game Notes (PDF)

PHILADELPHIA -- The #25 Temple women's basketball team hits the road this weekend, traveling to Tampa to play at #22 USF on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. on ESPN2. The Owls play their first ranked team vs. ranked team match-up since the cherry and white (#22/21) topped #9 Rutgers, 48-47, on January 19, 2006.

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SCOUTING TEMPLE
Temple is 20-5 overall with a 10-2 mark in American Athletic Conference play. The Owls have won four-straight games and have sole possession of second place in The American.

Four Temple players average in double-figures in scoring, led by senior guard Feyonda Fitzgerald's 16.7 points and 7.3 assists per contest, with the assist total ranking her sixth in the nation. Junior Alliya Butts averages 14.7 points per game with a team-best 51 steals, while classmate Donnaizha Fountain averages 14.3 points, 7.9 rebounds and has racked up 45 steals. Junior Tanaya Atkinson averages 12.4 points per game and leads the team with 8.1 rebounds.

Elsewhere, senior forward Ruth Sherrill averages 4.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, while junior Khadijah Berger averages 4.6 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. Senior Safiya Martin (2.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg) tops the team with 29 total blocks.

Temple averages 70.7 points per game, giving up 58.6. The Owls shoot 39.5% from the field and 32.3% from three. Temple forces 16.7 turnovers per game and out-rebounds opponents by a +5.0 margin.

LAST TIME OUT
Playing its first game as a ranked team since 2006, Temple notched a 66-52 win at home against SMU on Wednesday night. The Owls jumped out to an early lead and after the first eight minutes of play, never trailed by less than 10 points. Though SMU out-shot Temple, 38.3% to 33.8%, the Owls connected for 10 threes and held the Mustangs without one from beyond-the-arc.

Individually, Donnaizha Fountain tallied her second-straight double-double, scoring a game-high 19 points with 12 rebounds. Senior Feyonda Fitzgeraldfilled out the box score with 17 points, seven assists, and five steals. Junior Tanaya Atkinson finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, while senior Ruth Sherrill tallied a game-best 13 boards, five of which were offensive. Rounding out the individual highlights, junior Alliya Butts had seven points, five assists, and three steals, while classmate Khadijah Berger had six points, three assists, and two blocks.

SCOUTING USF
#22 USF enters the contest with a 20-5 overall record, including a 9-3 mark in The American.

USF has three players in double-figures in scoring, led by Kitija Laksa's 19.2 points per game. Maria Jespersen averages 15.2 points and 9.1 rebounds per contest, while Ariadna Pujol adds 12.9 points and 6.4 boards per game. Laia Flores (8.3 ppg, 6.1 apg) and Tamara Henshaw (6.5 ppg, 7.9 rpg) round out the Bulls' offense.

As a team, USF shoots 43.4% from the field and 33.0% from long-range. The Bulls have a +9.3 rebounding margin against opponents this season, and hold teams to an average of just 58.9 points per game.

LAST TIME OUT
Despite a late surge in the final quarter, USF couldn't overcome UCF at home on Tuesday, as the Bulls fell 66-62 to their in-state and conference rivals.

USF had four players in double-figures, led by Maria Jespersen with 18 points and a team-best eight rebounds. Freshman Tamara Henshaw sparked the Bulls' comeback in the second half scoring eight of her 14 points in the final quarter. Ariadna Pujol added 13 points, seven rebounds and eight assists while Kitija Laksa chipped in 10 points and six rebounds.

USF struggled to connect in the second and third quarters, finishing 9-for-15 from the charity stripe. The Bulls' shot over 50 percent in the first and fourth quarters, but a poor shooting performance (3-for-14) in the second quarter proved to be the deciding factor in the game.

THE OWLS VS. THE BULLS
USF leads the all-time series against Temple, 8-1. USF grabbed the win earlier this year at Temple, and held a 2-1 advantage in the 2015-16 season series.

LAST TIME THEY MET: January 29, 2017 - #23 USF 55, Temple 51
Temple saw its furious fourth quarter comeback bid fall just short, as the Owls' 12-game win streak was snapped by #23 USF, 55-51. 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.

Trailing by 16 early in the fourth, the Owls used an 18-4 run, sparked by eight-straight points from junior Khadijah Berger to get the USF lead down to two (51-49) with 1:45 on the clock. In the final Owls' possession, two offensive boards gave Temple three attempts at the game-tying three, but each of the final shots missed, and USF added a free throw in the final seconds to set the final to 55-51.

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 Berger ended her afternoon with 11 points, all coming during Temple's fourth-quarter rally. Junior Tanaya Atkinson led the Owls on the glass with a game-high 11 rebounds, while classmate Donnaizha Fountain finished with seven points, five rebounds, and three steals.

USF was led by 16 points from Kitija Laksa and a double-double of 10 points and 10 boards from Tamara Henshaw. Maria Jesperson nearly finished with a double-double, adding 13 points and nine rebounds.

Game Notes (PDF)