UNCASVILLE, Conn. – No. 3 USF reached the finals of the American Athletic Conference Championship for the third straight year with a 63-58 victory over No. 2 Temple Sunday evening at Mohegan Sun Arena.
The Bulls will face top-seeded UConn on Monday in the title game at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2/WatchESPN.
The tight-knit affair saw six lead changes and four players for USF play the entire 40 minutes. Behind 13-of-28 shooting from the floor, the Bulls took a 33-30 lead into half.
Kitija Laksa led USF with a game-high tying 18 points while American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year Tamara Henshaw had 15 points and six rebounds. Feyonda Fitzgerald paced three Owls in double figures with 18 points, while Alliya Butts added 17 points. In two tournament games, Fitzgerald, Butts and Tanaya Atkinson combined for 92-percent (115-of-125) of Temple’s points in the championship.
USF beat Temple in the semifinals for the second straight year, and are now 3-0 against the Owls in the championship.