#23/20 Women's Basketball Plays at #1 UConn on Wednesday

PHILADELPHIA -- The recently ranked #23/20 Temple women's basketball team faces a tough road test on Wednesday, playing at #1 UConn. The game tips off at 7:00 p.m. at the XL Center in Hartford and will be broadcast by SportsNetwork NY and ESPN3.

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SCOUTING TEMPLE
Temple is 21-5 overall with an 11-2 mark in American Athletic Conference play. The Owls have won five-straight games and have sole possession of second place in The American. Nationally, the Owls broke into the Top 25 with a #25 ranking in the USA Today/Coaches Poll and a #23 ranking in the AP Poll.

Four Temple players average in double-figures in scoring, led by senior guard Feyonda Fitzgerald's 16.9 points and 7.3 assists per contest, with the assist total ranking her sixth in the nation. Junior Donnaizha Fountain contributes 14.7 points and 7.8 rebounds a game, also adding 56 total steals, while classmate Alliya Butts averages 14.6 points per game with a team-best 59 steals. Junior Tanaya Atkinson averages 12.3 points per game and leads the team with 8.2 rebounds.

Elsewhere, senior forward Ruth Sherrill averages 4.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, while junior Khadijah Berger averages 4.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. Senior Safiya Martin (1.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg) tops the team with 31 total blocks.

Temple averages 70.9 points per game, giving up 59.1. The Owls shoot 39.6% from the field and 32.8% from three. Temple forces 16.5 turnovers per game and out-rebounds opponents by a +4.1 margin.

LAST TIME OUT
The #25 Owls grabbed a huge road win on Sunday afternoon, topping #22 USF, 77-71. 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.

Temple out-shot USF, 40.6% to 37.5%, and turned the ball over a season-low five times. The Owls forced 12 steals from the Bulls, working around the 50-33 advantage that USF held on the glass.

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.

SCOUTING UCONN
#1 UConn enters the contest with a 26-0 overall record and a 13-0 mark in The American. The Huskies have won an NCAA-record 101 straight games.

UConn has four players in double-figures in scoring, led by Katie Lou Samuelson's 20.6 points per game. Napheesa Collier averages 19.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per contest. Gabby Williams averages 12.9 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, while Saniya Chong adds 7.8 points per game. The Huskies saw Kia Nurse contribute 12.8 points a contest, but she is not expected to play against Temple due to injury. In her place is rookie Crystal Dangerfield, who adds 5.7 points per game to the UConn starting line-up.

As a team, UConn shoots 51.2% from the field and 38.7% from long-range. The Huskies have a +6.0 rebounding margin against opponents this season, and hold teams to an average of just 54.0 points per game.

LAST TIME OUT
Napheesa Collier had 26 points and 12 rebounds as #1 UConn held off Tulane 63-60 on Saturday night to push its record winning streak to 101 games. Katie Lou Samuelson scored 15 consecutive Huskies' points in a second-half spurt, finishing with 17, while Gabby Williams added 14 rebounds.

The Green Wave pulled within two points three times late, but could never get a defensive stop. They did get the ball with four seconds left, but a desperation three fell short, preserving the win streak.

It was just the third game in the Huskies win streak that they didn't win by at least 10 points. In addition to the 78-76 victory against Florida State, UConn beat Maryland 87-81 on Dec. 29.

THE OWLS VS. THE HUSKIES
Temple is 2-8 all-time against UConn, winning the first two match-ups, but falling in eight-straight. The Owls and the Huskies have met seven times since the start of the American Athletic Conference, with UConn winning all seven meetings.

LAST TIME THEY MET: February 1, 2017 - #1 UConn 97, Temple 69
UConn won 97-69 at the Liacouras Center on Februray 1 for the Huskies 96th-straight win. UConn built a 54-18 lead at the break, negating a third-quarter that saw Temple out-score the Huskies, 29-22. For the game, the Owls out-rebounded UConn, 42-30, including 26-8 on the offensive glass, but the Huskies forced 19 Temple turnovers and out-shot the Owls, 61.3% to 36.5%.

Junior Tanaya Atkinson recorded her sixth double-double of the season, scoring 20 points with 10 rebounds (nine offensive) and adding a career-high four assists. Junior Alliya Butts finished with 13 points, five assists, and two steals, while classmate Khadijah Berger notched 12 points. Senior Feyonda Fitzgerald scored seven points and dished out seven assists, while senior Ruth Sherrill had six points and six rebounds and junior Donnaizha Fountain had six points.

Four Huskies finished in double digits, including Napheesa Collier who tallied a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Katie Lou Samuelson (24 points), Gabby Williams (14 points, six assists, four blocks), and Saniya Chong (12 points, 6 assists) rounded out the box score.

Game Notes (PDF)

#23/20 Women's Basketball Plays at #1 UConn on Wednesday

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Players Mentioned

Tanaya Atkinson

Khadijah Berger

Alliya Butts

Feyonda Fitzgerald

Donnaizha Fountain

Safiya Martin

Ruth Sherrill

Temple University Athletics