Over the next two weeks we will be counting down the top 10 moments from the 2014-15 basketball seasons. Each day we will be bringing you one moment from either the men or women that stood out to us this season.
#7: Temple WNIT Run
The 2014-15 Temple women’s basketball team embarked on one of the most impactful runs in team history this postseason. The Owls, who finished tied for third in The American before earning a WNIT bid, reeled off four straight wins in the postseason before dropping a nail biter in overtime to West Virginia in the WNIT semifinals. Temple's season saw the Owls win 20 games for the first time since 2012 and the squad also reached a postseason final four for the first time in program history.
The Owls opened up WNIT play with a win at perennial women’s basketball powerhouse Marist College before dropping Philadelphia Big 5 rival Penn on the road at The Palestra. Temple hosted North Carolina State at home on March 26 and downed the Wolfpack in overtime on a heroic shot by Feyonda Fitzgerald. The sophomore hit an off-balanced jumper with a under a second left in the extra frame to give the Owls a one-point win, sending Temple to the WNIT quarterfinals. Fitzgerald's bucket completed late comebacks for the Owls at both the end of regulation and the end of overtime. Temple trailed by seven at the half before rallying to tie the game early in the second stanza. After the Owls fell behind late in regulation, junior Erica Covile's lay-up sent the game into OT where Fitzgerald won it for Temple.
The Owls continued their winning ways with a victory at Middle Tennessee in the WNIT quarterfinals. The Blue Raiders were 24-9 entering the contest and the Owls handed them their 10
th loss of the season. The Temple defense held Middle Tennessee to just five field goals in the first half, en route to a 20-point advantage at the break.