Posted March 21, 2016

Women’s basketball advances to WNIT Sweet 16

The team topped Drexel and Quinnipiac over the weekend to make it to the tournament’s third round.

A Temple women’s basketball player dribbling the basketball.
Joseph V. Labolito
The Owls will host the Sweet 16 matchup against the Ohio University Bearcats at McGonigle Hall Thursday night.

This past weekend Temple women’s basketball powered through the first and second rounds of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). The Owls defeated Drexel on the Dragons’  home court Friday night and held on to their lead over Quinnipiac on Sunday to win a nail-biter of a game. With those two wins, the team secured a spot in the WNIT Sweet 16 for the second year in a row. 

The team will host Ohio University with home-court advantage at McGonigle Hall Thursday, March 24 at 7 p.m. The Owls enter the game with a 22–11 record, and the Bobcats bested Marshall and Virginia Tech to reach the third round of the Tournament. Ohio has a 26–6 record for the season. 

Philadelphia Big 5 Awards
Following the win over Quinnipiac, four Owls learned they had won Philadelphia Big 5 Awards, announced Monday. The Big 5 consists of five prestigious Philadelphia universities—La Salle, Pennsylvania, Saint Joseph's, Temple and Villanova—and the top players and coaches each year are honored with Philadelphia Big 5 Awards. 

The Owls’ Alliya Butts was named to the All-Big 5 first team, Feyonda Fitzgerald and Tanaya Atkinson were selected as second-team All-Big 5, and Erica Covile was named the city series’ top free throw shooter with a season average of 88.8 percent. The women will receive their awards during the Big 5 banquet, to be held April 11. 

Buy tickets for Thursday’s game

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