Women’s Basketball Set to Take on #5 South Carolina

PHILADELPHIA — The Temple women's basketball team returns from a week-and-a-half hiatus to take on No. 5 South Carolina in Columbia, S.C. on Thursday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. The game will be aired on the SEC Network.

THE OWLS
> The Cherry and White look to win their first game of the season against the fifth-ranked Gamecocks. Temple enters the non-conference matchup at 0-2 on the year.
> Senior Mia Davis averaged 28 points over the opening games for the Owls. In the 78-69 loss at FGCU, the forward recorded her first double-double of the season with a career-best 34 points and 12 rebounds.
> The Baltimore, Md. native racked up a number of preseason accolades this season as she has earned spots on both the 2020 Cheryl Miller Award Watch List and the 2020 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award Watch List while being tabbed the American Athletic Conference Preseason co-Player of the Year.
> Freshman Jasha Clinton is the Owls' second leading scorer with her 11.0 points per contest. The rookie out of Virginia Beach, Va. shined in her debut for the Cherry and White, collecting 16 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals.
> Graduate transfer Jada Graves has added a spark for Temple on both the offensive and defensive ends. The guard leads the Owls with her field goal percentage of 63.6%, while tying Clinton with five steals on the year.

LAST TIME OUT: FGCU 78, Temple 69
> The Owls led 24-17 at the end of the first quarter, but FGCU would go on to outscore Temple in the following three quarters to secure the win.
> Temple committed 20 turnovers in the loss, which equated to 21 points off turnovers for the Eagles.
> FGCU knocked down 10 threes despite shooting just 27.8% from long range.
> The Owls held a slight edge in field goal percentage, shooting 41.5% from the floor compared to the Eagles' 39.7%.
> Temple shot a disappointing 52.2% (12-23) from the foul line.
> Davis recorded her first double-double of the season with a career-high 34 points and 12 rebounds. Davis shot 66.7% (12-18) from the floor with a pair of threes.
> Williamson was one point shy of registering a double-double with her nine-point 11-rebound effort.
> Alexander led all players on the boards with her career-best 14 rebounds. The guard also dished out game-high seven assists.
> Emani Mayo also added nine points for the Owls.

SCOUTING SOUTH CAROLINA
> The Gamecocks boast a talented roster, including the 2019-20 Lisa Leslie Award winner Aliyah Boston. The sophomore was named to the 2020-21 Lisa Leslie Award Watch List, along with earning spots on the Wade Trophy and the Naismith Trophy Watch Lists. Boston leads South Carolina in the rebounding column 9.8 boards per game while adding 11.0 points per outing.
> Also joining her teammate on both the Wade Trophy and the Naismith Trophy Watch Lists is sophomore Zia Cooke. Cooke also earned a spot on the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List, an award granted to the top shooting guard in the country. Cooke currently leads South Carolina with 16.6 points per game.
> Destanni Henderson is another top-scorer for the Gamecocks, averaging 13.4 points per contest. The junior leads her team in assists with 4.6 per game.
> Brea Beal joins Temple's Mia Davis on the Cheryl Miller Award Watch List. Beal is currently averaging 8.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

LAST TIME OUT: #1 South Carolina 83, #23 Iowa State 65
> Zia Cooke led the Gamecocks with 19 points while Aliyah Boston registered her second double-double of the season with 13 points and 15 rebounds.
> South Carolina opened the game with a 10-0 lead, but Iowa State roared back to cut it to 16-15 with 3:07 left in the first quarter. However, the Gamecocks went on an 11-2 run to close out the first 10 minutes of action.
> After the first quarter, South Carolina didn't allow Iowa State to come within more than 12 points.
> The Gamecocks finished the game shooting 50% from long range and 47.6% from the field.

TEMPLE VS. SOUTH CAROLINA
> South Carolina holds a 5-0 record in the all-time series against Temple.
> The programs met in 2001 and 2002 and didn't meet again until 2017.
> In 2001, Temple fell in a close game to #23 South Carolina, 68-65, in Columbia, S.C. The following season, the Owls fell 57-39 to the #18 Gamecocks.
> In their first meeting in over 15 years, SC topped Temple 87-60 on Dec. 21, 2017. Exactly one year later, the Owls fell by almost the same score in South Carolina, as the Gamecocks cruised to an 88-60 win.
> The Owls almost collected their first win over the Gamecocks in 2019, but fell by a slight 78-71 edge at home on Dec. 7.
> Current South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley was the Owls' head coach for the 2001 and 2002 meetings between the two programs.

LAST TIME THEY MET: #6 South Carolina 78, Temple 71
> The Owls fought #6 South Carolina until the very end, falling just short as the Gamecocks topped Temple in McGonigle Hall, 78-71, on Dec. 7, 2019.
> Extended Gamecock runs at the end of the first and the beginning of the fourth proved to be the difference maker.
> Temple out-shot South Carolina by a slim margin (36.6% to 35.1%) but had 19 turnovers to South Carolina's nine.
> The Owls also out-rebounded the Gamecocks, 50-46.
> Graduate student Lena Niang tallied her first career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
> Davis also nabbed a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
> Elsewhere, Emani Mayo had a season high nine points, while Williamson and Alexander each had five. Alexander added six boards and a team-high six assists to her stat sheet.

Women’s Basketball Set to Take on #5 South Carolina

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Players Mentioned

Jasha Clinton

Mia Davis

Jada Graves

Emani Mayo

Lena Niang

Temple University Athletics