CHAMP CENTRAL
BOX SCORE
NOTES
QUOTES
HIGHLIGHTS
PHOTO GALLERY
UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Guard Tanaya Atkinson had game highs of 20 points and nine rebounds to push Temple into the semifinal round of the American Athletic Conference Championship with a 78-52 quarterfinal win against Tulsa Saturday night at Mohegan Sun Arena.
The No. 3-seeded Owls, who picked up their 20th win of the season (20-10), move on to face No. 2-seeded USF Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU with a spot in Monday’s final at stake.
Atkinson led five Temple players in double figures as the Owls shot 47.5 percent from the field and had a 46-30 rebounding advantage. The Owls’ two all-conference selections – guards Alliya Butts and Feyonda Fitzgerald – had 14 points each, while Donnaizha Fountain had 11 and Erica Covile had 10.
Temple’s defense effectively put the game away early as the Owls limited the Golden Hurricane to 19 points and 25.8-percent shooting in the first half. Atkinson scored 16 points in the first 20 minutes to help the Owls take a 36-19 advantage at the break.
Tulsa found an offensive rhythm in the second half, but couldn’t get closer than 11 points as Temple’s balance proved to be too much. Temple led by as many as 29 in the fourth quarter on its way to its second win against Tulsa this season.
Tulsa (12-19) was led by guard Ashley Clark, who had 18 points, while Erika Wakefield had 10.
Temple and USF, which meet in Sunday’s semifinal round, split a pair of regular-season meetings. The Owls were 68-66 winners in Philadelphia Feb. 6, while the Bulls took the Feb. 27 rematch in Tampa, 76-62.
2016 American Athletic Conference Championship
Mohegan Sun Arena · Uncasville, Conn.
Championship Schedule
Friday, March 4 · First Round (ESPN3)
Game 1: No. 8 East Carolina 70, No. 9 Cincinnati 61
Game 2: No. 7 SMU 83, No. 10 UCF 74 (OT)
Game 3: No. 6 Tulsa 76, No. 11 Houston 38
Saturday, March 5 · Quarterfinals (ESPN3)
Game 4: No. 5 Tulane 70, No. 4 Memphis 61
Game 5: No. 1 UConn 92, East Carolina 51
Game 6: No. 2 USF 73, No. 7 SMU 60
Game 7: No. 3 Temple 58, Tulsa 52
Sunday, March 6 · Semifinals (ESPNU)
Game 8: Tulane (21-10) vs. UConn (30-0) 4:30 p.m.
Game 9: USF (22-8) vs. Temple (20-10) 6:30 p.m.
Monday, March 7 · Final (ESPN2)
Game 10: Game 9 winner vs. Game 8 winner 7 p.m.
All times Eastern