Temple University Athletics
Tuesday, February 21
Orlando, Fla.
6:00 P.M.
Temple University
at
UCF
Photo by: Zamani Feelings
Women’s Basketball Hits the Road to Battle UCF
2.19.23 | Women's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA – The Temple women's basketball team (10-15, 5-8 AAC) hits the road for the first part of its final road trip of the regular season. The Owls will head south to face UCF (11-13, 2-10 AAC) on Tuesday (6 p.m./ESPN+/Varsity Network App).
LAST TIME OUT: Houston 56 @ Temple 48
> The Owls fell to Houston for the second time in two weeks, 56-48 on Saturday.
> Temple trailed 13-0 out of the gate, but roared back to cut the lead down to three at halftime. Houston dominated the third quarter to build an 11 point lead at the final break.
> Aleah Nelson stood out with 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. Ines Piper recorded six blocks for the most any Temple player has recorded in a game since 2016.
THE OWLS
> Nelson is sixth in the American in both scoring (15.5 ppg) and field goal percentage (.371). She also ranks third in the league in assists (4.3 apg) and assist to turnover ratio (+1.62).
> East continues to rank second on the Owls in scoring (11.6 ppg) and leads Temple on the glass as she has all season (6.0 rpg). The wing is also the team leader in steals (1.6 spg).
> Forward Caranda Perea has emerged in the last five games as perhaps Temple's most improved player this season. Over her last five she is putting up 10.8 ppg and 8.4 rpg, a stark contrast from her 5.0 points and 4.4 rebounds over the entire season. The Altoona native has collected more rebounds in the last four games (38) than all of last season (35).
> Shooting guard Tarriyonna Gary returned to form after a recent slump. Gary returned to double figures against Houston after four straight games with under 10 points. She also set a season-high in rebounds with seven.
SCOUTING UCF
> UCF has been one of the best teams in the American since 2016. From 2016-2022, the Knights earned a bid to either the NCAA tournament or WNIT in each season, including the NCAA in each of the last three seasons the tournament was held. Following the conclusion of the 2022 campaign, head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson stepped down from the role to a take the same position at Georgia.
> The squad is 11-13 this season and 2-10 in conference. Its AAC victories have come against Wichita State and Cincinnati.
> Forward Destiny Thomas is averaging a double-double with 11.0 and 10.5 points and rebounds per game, respectively. Sierra Godbolt is another player to watch, scoring 5.9 points while leading the team with 2.9 apg.
> Sytia Messer is in her first season leading the Knights after spending three years at the helm of Tennessee Tech and several seasons as an assistant under Hall of Fame head coach Kim Mulkey. She is 65-54 in her career.
SERIES HISTORY
> Temple and UCF have played each other every season since Temple joined the AAC in 2013. The Owls are 10-9 all time against The Knights. The two sides met once prior to sharing a conference in 1995. This will be the final meeting between the two as conference foes, with UCF joining the Big 12.
> The Cherry & White dominated the early portion of the series, winning seven straight games from 2014-2017. UCF has won eight of the last 11.
> The two sides met earlier this season at Liacouras Center, with Temple claiming victory, 63-56. Nelson scored 28 points, shooting 10-10 from the line.
UP NEXT
> Temple next will head to Kansas to face Wichita State (3 p.m./ESPN+/Varsity Network App). The Owls have just two games left this season, with the finale coming next Wednesday against SMU.
LAST TIME OUT: Houston 56 @ Temple 48
> The Owls fell to Houston for the second time in two weeks, 56-48 on Saturday.
> Temple trailed 13-0 out of the gate, but roared back to cut the lead down to three at halftime. Houston dominated the third quarter to build an 11 point lead at the final break.
> Aleah Nelson stood out with 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. Ines Piper recorded six blocks for the most any Temple player has recorded in a game since 2016.
THE OWLS
> Nelson is sixth in the American in both scoring (15.5 ppg) and field goal percentage (.371). She also ranks third in the league in assists (4.3 apg) and assist to turnover ratio (+1.62).
> East continues to rank second on the Owls in scoring (11.6 ppg) and leads Temple on the glass as she has all season (6.0 rpg). The wing is also the team leader in steals (1.6 spg).
> Forward Caranda Perea has emerged in the last five games as perhaps Temple's most improved player this season. Over her last five she is putting up 10.8 ppg and 8.4 rpg, a stark contrast from her 5.0 points and 4.4 rebounds over the entire season. The Altoona native has collected more rebounds in the last four games (38) than all of last season (35).
> Shooting guard Tarriyonna Gary returned to form after a recent slump. Gary returned to double figures against Houston after four straight games with under 10 points. She also set a season-high in rebounds with seven.
SCOUTING UCF
> UCF has been one of the best teams in the American since 2016. From 2016-2022, the Knights earned a bid to either the NCAA tournament or WNIT in each season, including the NCAA in each of the last three seasons the tournament was held. Following the conclusion of the 2022 campaign, head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson stepped down from the role to a take the same position at Georgia.
> The squad is 11-13 this season and 2-10 in conference. Its AAC victories have come against Wichita State and Cincinnati.
> Forward Destiny Thomas is averaging a double-double with 11.0 and 10.5 points and rebounds per game, respectively. Sierra Godbolt is another player to watch, scoring 5.9 points while leading the team with 2.9 apg.
> Sytia Messer is in her first season leading the Knights after spending three years at the helm of Tennessee Tech and several seasons as an assistant under Hall of Fame head coach Kim Mulkey. She is 65-54 in her career.
SERIES HISTORY
> Temple and UCF have played each other every season since Temple joined the AAC in 2013. The Owls are 10-9 all time against The Knights. The two sides met once prior to sharing a conference in 1995. This will be the final meeting between the two as conference foes, with UCF joining the Big 12.
> The Cherry & White dominated the early portion of the series, winning seven straight games from 2014-2017. UCF has won eight of the last 11.
> The two sides met earlier this season at Liacouras Center, with Temple claiming victory, 63-56. Nelson scored 28 points, shooting 10-10 from the line.
UP NEXT
> Temple next will head to Kansas to face Wichita State (3 p.m./ESPN+/Varsity Network App). The Owls have just two games left this season, with the finale coming next Wednesday against SMU.
Players Mentioned
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