Butts Three Sparks Women's Basketball to Win Over Quinnipiac

Sunday, November 27

McGonigle Hall

2:00 p.m.

Temple University

3-1

Quinnipiac

4-1

Quinnipiac

Temple

Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University

Butts Three Sparks Women's Basketball to Win Over Quinnipiac

11.27.16 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Video Highlights Press Conference

PHILADELPHIA -- A go-ahead three from junior Alliya Butts with 40 seconds left in the game gave the Temple women's basketball team a lead that held, as the Owls overcame a seven-point fourth quarter deficit to top visiting Quinnipiac, 71-68. The win moved Temple to 3-1 on the season, while the Bobcats suffer their first defeat of the year, to go to 4-1.

Temple trailed by as many as eight points in the game, and rallied to overcome several late deficits, only to see Quinnipiac answer. Finally Temple broke through to take its first lead of the second half with a Butts three at 3:55. The teams traded leads twice after that, until a wild play after a steal from freshman Shannen Atkinson ended with Butts hitting the go-ahead three to make it 69-66.

The Owls got a huge defensive board from junior Tanaya Atkinson on the next possession, and senior Feyonda Fitzgerald iced the game with a pair of free throws that put Temple up five with 19 seconds on the clock. A Quinnipiac lay-up at the buzzer set the final to 71-68.

Butts led the Owls with 24 points, 14 of which came in the fourth quarter, while also adding three steals. Fitzgerald finished with 19 points, six assists, and five rebounds, while Tanaya Atkinson finished with her second-straight double-double, tallying 14 points and 11 rebounds. Junior Khadijah Berger ended her night with six points and a career-high eight boards, while Shannen Atkinson added four points and five boards, and classmate Shantay Taylor had six rebounds.

A back-and-forth first quarter saw both teams grab leads, but Quinnipac, spurred by a pair of Jen Fay threes, led 20-16 after one. The Bobcats shot 44.4% (8-18) from the field, while the Owls managed just a 4-13 (30.8%) effort.

Quinnipiac opened the second quarter on a 6-3 run to extend the lead to 26-19. Temple responded with six unanswered, cutting it to 26-24 on a three from Berger. Quinnipiac, however, rattled off a 5-1 run to end the quarter with a 31-25 advantage.

At the break, Butts and Atkinson each had eight points, with Atkinson adding a team-best five boards.

Temple cut the lead to just two points on two occasions early in the third quarter, but both times, Quinnipiac responded. The Bobcats pushed their advantage to 44-37 on a three with 2:38 on the clock, before Temple went on an 8-2 run to cut it to 46-45. Quinnipiac countered with the final bucket of the frame, setting it to 48-45 after three.

Shannen Atkinson opened up the fourth quarter scoring with a bucket that cut the Quinnipiac lead to 48-47. The Bobcats answered, increasing their advantage to the largest of the frame, 54-47, before Temple began its furious comeback. An effective fourth-quarter press got the Owls back into the game, while Butts and Fitzgerald each got huge buckets to put Temple on top in the final four minutes, setting up the final surge.

Temple led for only 2:29 in the contest, including early 3-0 and 8-7 advantages.

The Owls are back in action on Thursday, heading to Cambridge to take on Harvard at 7:00 p.m.

Box Score (PDF) | Video Highlights | Press Conference