Temple junior Aaliyah Butts had herself a day, as her 27 points would help the Owls defeat Villanova on the road by thirty-five points.
The win is Temple’s largest ever over the Wildcats in the history of the rivalry, and the largest margin of victory this season for the Owls. It is also the third time this season that Temple has scored over 80 points, and the first time the Owls has scored over 80 points while holding the opposing team to under 60 points in the same game this season.
The game would see four players for the Owls score double digits, and would also see two Owls notch double-doubles. The Owls were spearheaded by Aaliyah Butts 27 points and 5 assist; 21 of Butts’s points came in the second half. Other great individual performances for the Owls included senior Feyonda Fitzgerald’s 20 points, 14 of which came in the first half. Fitzgerald also added 8 assist. Donnaizha Fountain had another double double as she would score 17 points and would grab 12 rebounds.
The surprise performance of the day came from senior Ruth Sherill who notched her career high in points and rebounds with 13 each. It would also be the first time Sherill notched a double-double in her career at Temple.
“This is Temple Basketball, and this is what we normally do” said Fitzgerald. “I.m not impressed by my team, but I’m proud because of what we’ve done today while coming off the loss to Hampton during the week.”
“I’m really excited about what they did today” said coach Tonya Cardoza. “To be able to beat Villanova on the road after struggling throughout the season on the road is just really exciting for me.”
The Owls stopped a 3 game skid on the road Saturday after defeating Villanova at the Pavillion. The win puts Temple at (5-3), and also are now (3-0) in the Big 5. With a Penn Big 5 loss, the Owls will own the Big 5 title.
The next game for the Owls is Thursday, Dec. 15 against #16 ranked DePaul at McGonigle Hall. The game will be nationally television on ESPNU.
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