Women’s Basketball Begins AAC Tournament with Wichita State – Temple

PHILADELPHIA – Temple women’s basketball (11-17, 6-10 AAC) will head to Fort Worth, Texas for the American Athlete Conference Tournament Monday. The Owls will face the Wichita State Shockers (16-13, 6-10 AAC) for the third time this season in the 8/9 game, with the Cherry & White positioned as the nine seed. Should TU be victorious, the Owls will move on to face No. 1 seed South Florida in the second round.

The game will tip off 2 p.m. eastern. It will be broadcasted live on ESPN+.

LAST TIME OUT: SMU 62 @ Temple 68

> Temple claimed victory over the SMU Mustangs on Senior Night.

> The Cherry & White gained the lead in the second quarter and held SMU at bay for nearly the entire contest. The Mustangs tied the contest at 59 with 2:21 remaining in the game. Temple scored nine of the last 12 points to secure the victory

> Wing Tiarra East had her first 20+ point game since Temple’s win at Tulane in late January. She scored 21 points to go with six rebounds. 11 of her points came in the fourth quarter.

TEMPLE AND THE AAC TOURNAMENT

> Temple is 4-9 in the American Athletic Conference tournament all-time.

> Temple and Wichita State have met once in the tournament in 2018. The No. 11 seed Owls upset the Shockers 72-59 at Mohegan Sun Arena, the same score the Cherry & White defeated WSU by earlier this season.

THE OWLS

> Aleah Nelson sits at sixth in the American in scoring (15.2 ppg) and third in assists (4.4 apg). She is averaging 7.5 assists in the last two games.

> Tiarra East ranks second on the team in scoring (11.9 ppg) and leads the Owls in rebounding (5.9 rpg). The wing ranks top 20 in both points and rebounding in the American. She ranks third in the league in free throw shooting (.837). East was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll on Thursday.

> Forward Brittany Garner has had two of her top games this season in the last two outings. She is averaging 12.5 points per game in the last pair including a season-high 15 points on her senior night. Garner grabbed seven rebounds last game against SMU.

> Gary has bounced back in spectacular fashion after a tough stretch of games. She has scored in double-figures in four straight contests, including 15 points in the last two. In her last three games she is averaging 17.6 ppg and 6.5 rpg.

SCOUTING WICHITA STATE

> Wichita State has just one winning record in conference play since joining the AAC for the 2017-18 season. Last season, the Shockers went 14-16, with a 5-11 mark in conference.

> The squad is 16-13 this season and 6-10 in conference. The Shockers are 3-3 in their last four games.

> Wichita State’s strength is in the post. Forward Jane Asinde leads the squad in both points (13.4 ppg) and rebounding (10.4 rpg). Trajata Colbert is second in both categories, with 12.5 ppg and 7.9 rpg.

> Keitha Adams is in her sixth season leading the Shockers after spending 16 years at the helm of UTEP. She is 362-300 in 22 seasons as a head coach and 78-91 in her six years in Wichita.

 SERIES HISTORY

> Temple and WSU have played each other every season since Wichita State joined the AAC in 2017. The Owls are 8-4 all time against the Shockers. The two sides met once prior to sharing a conference in 1983.

> Temple took three straight after Wichita State won the first conference meeting between the two in 2018.

> Wichita State and Temple split this season. The Owls took the first match, while Wichita State took the second, with both claiming victory on their home courts.

> Forward Caranda Perea has had her two highest scoring games this season against the Shockers. Perea put up a career-high 17 against them in Temple win on Feb. 1^st and scored 14 in the game at Wichita on Feb. 25.

UP NEXT

> A Temple victory garners a battle against No. 1 seed South Florida on Tuesday at 1 p.m. The game will stream on ESPN+.