UNCASVILLE, Conn. – No. 8 seed Temple moved into the quarterfinals of the 2020 American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championship thanks to a 67-57 win over No. 9 seed East Carolina on Friday at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The Owls advance to face No. 1 seed UConn on Saturday at 2 p.m. (ET) on ESPN3.
 
Mia Davis registered her conference-best 18th double-double of the season with 24 points and 12 rebounds to lead Temple, adding a game-high six assists. Alexa Williamson scored 12 points and pulled down seven boards, and Marissa Mackins tallied 11 points in the win for the Owls. Lashonda Monk guided ECU with 21 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals, and Taniyah Thompson added 14 points and seven rebounds in defeat for the Pirates.
 
A back-and-forth first quarter saw Temple take a 19-15 advantage behind six points each from Davis and Ashley Jones. A 12-0 run for the Owls through the second quarter extended the Temple lead to 31-17. ECU’s Thompson ended a five-minute scoring drought for the Pirates with a jumper at the 4:25 mark of the second frame (31-19) but Temple’s Emani Mayo answered right back with a layup to re-extend the lead to 14 at 33-19. Temple ultimately connected on four of its final five shots of the first half to take a comfortable 40-25 advantage into the break.
 
Steady defense out of the gate from Monk and ECU trimmed the Temple lead to 12 at 44-32 midway through the third quarter. The Owls snapped a 1-for-10 slump from the field on a Davis made jumper from the elbow to make it 47-35 Temple at 4:11 of the third frame. ECU chipped away on the scoreboard to cap the quarter trailing by only eight at 50-42. The Pirates found themselves within seven (52-45) three minutes into the fourth quarter when Monk went in uncontested for a layup to cut into the deficit further at 52-47. An 8-2 surge for Temple, punctuated by a Mackins 3-pointer at 3:49, vaulted the Owls back ahead by 11 (60-49).  
 
Fans can watch the entire tournament on ESPN platforms, including ESPN3, ESPNU and ESPN2.
 
For full coverage of this week’s American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championship, visit theamerican.org/wbb and follow @American_WBB on Twitter.