#25 Women's Basketball Defeats #22 USF on the Road

Sunday, February 19

Tampa, Fla.

1:00 p.m.

Temple University

21-5, 11-2AAC

USF

20-6, 9-4AAC

Temple

USF

Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University

#25 Women's Basketball Defeats #22 USF on the Road

2.19.17 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Video Highlights

TAMPA, Fla. -- The 25th-ranked Temple women's basketball team grabbed a huge road win on Sunday afternoon, topping #22 USF, 77-71. The win improves Temple to 21-5 overall, 11-2 in The American, as the cherry and white take a two-game lead over the Bulls for second place in the conference. USF falls to 21-6 overall, 9-4 in conference play.

Temple led by as many as 13 points, before USF rallied to take a 67-64 lead with 2:43 to play. From there, Temple senior Feyonda Fitzgerald and junior Donnaizha Fountain took over, as the pair combined to out-score the Bulls, 13-4, over the final two minutes of play, sealing the win for the Owls. The victory was the second for Temple over a ranked opponent this season.

Fitzgerald led Temple with 23 points and seven assists, while Fountain finished with 22 points and five rebounds. Junior Alliya Butts finished with 13 points and four assists, while classmate Tanaya Atkinson added 11 points with 10 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the year. Junior Khadijah Berger finished with six points and four rebounds to round out the box score.

A back-and-forth first quarter saw the lead change hands five times with USF holding a slim 10-9 lead with 3:35 to play. From there, a three from Fitzgerald keyed a 9-2 Temple run that gave the Owls an 18-12 lead after one.

Temple opened the second half with an 8-4 run to push their lead to 10 (26-16) on threes from Fountain and Fitzgerald. USF battled back with a 7-3 surge to cut the Owls lead to five with 3:27 left. Berger then sparked a 10-2 Temple run to close the frame, as the Owls led by 13 at the half.

Fountain had 15 points to lead all scorers at the half, while Fitzgerald had 11 points and four assists. Atkinson led Temple with five rebounds, but USF held a 28-18 advantage on the glass. The Bulls were paced by eight points each from Maria Jespersen and Tamara Henshaw, while Henshaw had seven boards in the first 20 minutes.

USF rallied early in the second half, cutting the Owls' lead to 45-41 on a Henshaw free throw. After the Owls pushed the lead back to seven, another Bulls' run closed the gap even further, making it a three-point Temple lead, 49-46, with 1:50 left in the third. Temple was able to re-gain some of its cushion, out-scoring USF, 7-3 over the final two minutes to lead 56-49 heading into the fourth quarter.

Though Temple pushed its lead to eight points early in the fourth quarter, the USF run didn't stop. The Bulls used an 18-8 run, capped by a conventional three-point play by Jespersen that put USF up 67-64 with 2:46 on the clock. From there, it was all Temple. Fitzgerald nailed a three to tie the score at 67-67 and then after a defensive stop, she sunk two free throws. Another defensive stop, and another three for the Owls, this one from Fountain, putting Temple up, 72-67. Fitzgerald and Foutain each sunk two more free throws to give the Owls a 76-67, putting the game out of reach, as some inconsequential lay-ups from USF set the final to 77-71 in Temple's favor.

For USF, Jespersen finished with a game-high 26 points, adding 11 boards for a double-double. Laksa ended her night with 14 points and five boards, while Henshaw had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Temple hits the road on Wednesday, traveling to play at #1 UConn.

Box Score (PDF) | Highlights