Women's Basketball Ends Season in AAC Quarterfinals

Sunday, March 4

Mohegan Sun - Uncasville, Conn.

12:00 p.m.

Temple University

12-19

UCF

21-9

Temple

UCF

Women's Basketball Ends Season in AAC Quarterfinals

3.4.18 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- Senior Tanaya Atkinson and graduate student Mykia Jones combined for 38 points, but upset minded #11 Temple fell just shy of another shocker, losing 77-70 to #3 UCF in the quarterfinals of the 2018 Aaron's American Athletic Conference Tournament. The Owls end the season at 12-19 overall, while UCF (21-9) moves on to the semifinals.

KEYS TO THE GAME
> Temple led by 15 in a huge first frame, but UCF rallied in the second to go up one at the half.
> The Knights broke things open in the third quarter, as a full court press tripped up the Owls, with UCF out-scoring Temple 25-17 in the frame.
> Temple made it a five point game late in the fourth, but couldn't complete the comeback.
> For the game, UCF made the most of Temple's miscues, scoring 25 points off of 23 Owl turnovers.
> The Knights shot 51.8% to Temple's 39.2%, and held a slim 33-30 advantage on the glass.

INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS
> Atkinson finished with 20 points and 17 rebounds in her final collegiate game.
> She set a new American Tournament record with the 17 boards, and also improved on her Temple record to finish with an all-time program best of 654 points this season.
> Atkinson finishes her collegiate career with 1,890 points and 1,053 rebounds, both second best in program history.
> Jones nailed five from long range, ending her collegiate career with a season-best 18 points.
> Elsewhere, freshman Mia Davis finished with 10 points and five boards, while classmates Emani Mayo (9 points) and Desiree Oliver (8 points) rounded out the scoring.

FIRST QUARTER
> Temple dominated the first frame, opening on an 11-2 run, punctuated by a three from Jones.
> UCF broke up the scoring run, but Jones wasn't done, hitting two more from keep as Temple led 19-4.
> The Knights responded with a 6-0 run to close the gap to 19-10 after one.

SECOND QUARTER
> UCF made it a new game, opening the second with a 19-4 run to lead 29-25.
> Temple held a slight edge, 6-4, in the final two minutes of play to trail by just one at the break, 32-31.

THIRD QUARTER
> UCF extended its lead in the third, outscoring Temple, 25-17, using an aggressive full court press to disrupt the Owls' offense.
> A pair of Atkinson free throws cut to 40-38, but UCF answered with a 12-5 run to lead 53-43.
> Temple trailed by 12 before a buzzer beater from Jones cut the deficit to 57-48 after three.

FOURTH QUARTER
> Temple made things interesting in the fourth quarter, sparked by 14 points and seven boards from Atkinson.
> The Owls cut the UCF lead down to five, but UCF came up with buckets when they needed them, staving off the upset.