Postseason Central

Alliya Butts hit a go-ahead three with 3:04 to play and Feyonda Fitzgerald scored the final 10 points of the game as Temple avenged an early season loss to Penn by topping the Quakers 61-56, in second round action of the WNIT Sunday afternoon at The Palestra. The win improved the Owls to 18-16 overall and sent the team to the WNIT round of 16 for the first time since the 2011-12 season. Penn concluded the season at 21-9 with the loss.

Fitzgerald finished the game with a game-high 16 points. The Virginia native finished a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line and added four assists and four rebounds. Butts had 12 points while Erica Covile tallied nine points and a team-high 13 rebounds, while also adding five steals and three assists. Taylor Robinson had nine points in 10 minutes of action and Tyonna Williams posted seven points. Williams made a pair of 3-pointers, giving her the all-time program record with 164 in her career.

The Owls outshot the Quakers 40-percent to 36-percent and converted 12-of-25 attempts from beyond the arc. Temple had a slight edge on turnovers, forcing 14 while giving up 13, while Penn had a 41-31 advantage on the glass.

Temple's win avenged an earlier loss to Penn at The Palestra, as the Quakers won a 52-50 decision in Philadelphia Big 5 action on January 5. The Owls will next host NC State at McGonigle Hall on Thursday, March 26 at 7 p.m. ET.