Temple Athletics

Women's Basketball

Temple Nipped by Oregon in NCAA Tournament



It was a heartbreaking end to a record-setting season for Temple, as the seventh-seeded Owls fell 71-70 to 10th-seeded Oregon in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Temple, making its first appearance in the Big Dance since 2011, saw its year come to a close at 24-8, while Oregon (21-13) advances to play the winner of No. 2 Duke and No. 15 Hampton.

A fast-paced game saw nine ties and 13 lead changes, but in the end, it was Oregon who got the final bucket, as ESPN's National Freshman of the Year, Sabrina Ionescu, scored with 5.5 ticks on the clock. Temple senior Feyonda Fitzgerald drove the length of the court on the final play, but Oregon's Ruthy Hebard appeared at seemingly the last second, to put a body on Fitzgerald and blocked what would have been the game-winner for the Owls.

For the Owls, junior Alliya Butts scored a season-best 28 points, going 12-of-19 from the field, including 4-of-8 from long-range. Fitzgerald ended her night with 16 points and six assists, while junior Tanaya Atkinson had eight points and a game-best 14 rebounds. Senior Ruth Sherrill notched 10 points, five rebounds, and three steals, while Safiya Martin (six rebounds) and Shantay Taylor (four points) rounded out the box score. 

Oregon and Temple finished with nearly identical stat lines as the Ducks shot 44-percent to the Owls' 41-percent. Temple had a slight edge in rebounds, 41-40. Both teams committed 10 turnovers and grabbed three steals in the contest.