When it comes to Women’s basketball in the American Athletic Conference, there are currently two major win streaks taking place. One of the win streaks is arguably one of the most dominant win streaks in the history of sports currently being held by the #1 ranked UConn Huskies, who are currently sitting on a 93 game win streak. The other streak is currently being held by the Temple Owls who are currently sitting on an 11 game win streak.
The streak started back Dec. 10, in Villanova when the Owls pulled of the largest victory over the Wildcats in the history of the rivalry. Since then, the Owls have defeated all 5 of the conference opponents they have faced, #17 ranked DePaul on live T.V, and has averaged a margin of victory of 17.4 PPG over their opponents.
“It finally now seems we know where can be” says junior forward Tanaya Atkinson, who became the 25th player to reach the 1,000 point mark during this stretch. “It’s like we’re finally putting all the pieces together and becoming what we’re supposed to be.”
The other Owl at the helm of the streak- senior Feyonda Fitzgerald. The guard is having a remarkable year, averaging 18.4 points and 7.5 assists in every contest. In seven of the Owls’ last 11 wins, Fitzgerald has scored 19 or more points. Four times she has had more than 10 assists.
The Owls have had some even more impressive numbers over the course of the win streak including: averaging 73.1 PPG which is the highest that stat has been since head coach Tonya Cardoza arrived at Temple, 42.9 rebounds per game, a 40 % shooting percentage, and a nice 17.6 PPG off of turnovers.
Temple also has an overall record of 15-3, and a conference record of 6-0.
What sparked the win streak is still a topic for debate. Some could say it would was the Owls’ last loss when Temple suffered a devastating six point loss back on Dec. 7, at Hampton.
“It definitely had something to do with it,” said Atkinson who missed the game due to an injury. “That loss hurt a lot, and I just think it gave us the spark we needed.”
The win streak has provided Temple with the opportunity to compete for the Philadelphia Big 5 outright championship. With a win on Wednesday against Penn, not only will the win streak extend to 12 games, but Temple could also win their first outright Big 5 Championship since 2011.
The Penn game is not the only big game that the Owls have coming up. The Owls also will travel to USF to take on the #23 ranked Bulls on Saturday, then will have to host the #1 team in the nation UConn next Wednesday, Feb. 1, at the Liacouras Center.
Though Temple has a difficult schedule coming up, the Owls still have confidence that they’re one of the best teams in the conference.
“I definitely do feel like we are one of the best teams in the conference” said Atkinson. “Anybody can beat anybody on any given night in this league so it’s crazy that we’re in this position, but I definitely do feel that we are in the talk of being the best team in the conference.”
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