Brown honored in honor rolls

This week, junior guard Rateska Brown has been named to the Philadelphia Big 5 and American Athletic Conference honor rolls.

Brown has been an essential offensive weapon in the Owls’ recent two game winning streak — the team’s first winning streak since starting the season 3-0. Coming off of the bench, Brown has averaged 16 points in the last two conference games, including 15 points against Southern Methodist, and a season-high 17 points against Cincinnati.

In the last two games, Brown has been Temple’s most effective long range scorer, shooting a combined 7 of 15 from behind the three point line. Brown has averaged 36 percent from the floor this season, but in both of Temple’s last two meetings, Brown has shot over 50 percent.

Thames earns weekly conference honors

For the first time this season, senior forward Natasha Thames has been named to the American Athletic Conference’s weekly honor roll.

In her last two conference games, Thames has scored in double figures, including a 24 point effort in a loss to No. 5 Louisville. Against the Cardinals, Thames also recorded game-highs with nine rebounds and two blocked shots. In a win against Central Florida, Thames recorded 14 points, three rebounds, and two steals.

Thames is now the fourth Owl to be honored by The American this season, joining fellow starters Tyonna Williams, Feyonda Fitzgerald, and Shi-Heria Shipp.

Sophomore forward dismissed

According to athletic communications, sophomore forward Jacquilyn Jackson has been dismissed from the team due to repeated violation of team rules.

Athletic communications and coach Tonya Cardoza would not disclose the nature of Jackson’s violation, but earlier in the season, Jackson had also served a suspension for another undisclosed violation of team rules. Athletic communications did not confirm if the incidents were related.

Jackson returned from suspension and played ten minutes against St. Joseph’s for her only playing time of the 2013-14 season. Since the game against St. Joe’s, Jackson did not see playing time against the next four opponents. Jackson did not travel to the Owls’ American Athletic Conference opener against Memphis and was not present for home games against Louisville and Central Florida.

Last season, Jackson saw action in 23 games as a contributor from the bench.

Owls, Knights look to rebound from losses

Temple (7-5, 1-1) will host its second straight American Athletic Conference game, as the Owls face the Central Florida Knights (8-5, 1-1) on Saturday in McGonigle Hall at 2 p.m.

Both Temple and UCF will look to redeem itselves in Saturday’s matchup after being overmatched against conference powerhouses #7 Louisville and #1 Connecticut respectively. Though Temple’s 77-68 loss to Louisville was by single digits, the Cardinals held comfortable double digit leads throughout regulation and forced freshman guard Feyonda Fitzgerald into her first scoreless outing as an Owl.

Temple’s most productive player in recent weeks has been sophomore guard Erica Covile, who has scored in double figures in five consecutive games. During that five game span, Covile has averaged 13.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks.

For UCF, sophomore guard Briahanna Jackson has posted more than 20 points in two conference matchups this year, scoring 28 points in a loss to UConn. Jackson’s 28 points are the most points scored against the Huskies by a single player this season.

The game between the Owls and Knights will be the second time the teams have faced each other in program history since 1995. In the 1995 meeting, UCF defeated Temple 84-66 at home.

Shipp earns honors for second time

Senior guard Shi-Heria Shipp was named to the American Athletic Conference and Big 5 honor rolls Monday for the second time this season.

The George Washington transfer posted game-highs of 17 points and 16 rebounds in Temple’s 61-52 road win at Montana on Saturday en route to the honors.

Through her team’s seven games to date, Shipp has averaged 11.6 points-per-game for Temple (5-2) in her debut season.

-Andrew Parent

Dayan leaving Temple

Sophomore May Dayan will leave the team and return to her hometown of Ashdod Israel, athletic communications announced Friday. The sophomore said personal reasons ultimately led to her departure.

The 5-foot-7 guard hasn’t played in Temple’s four games this season after seeing action in 30 contests a season ago with six starts and 1.7 points-per-game as a freshman.

“After a year-and-a-half at Temple University and due to personal issues, I have to return to Israel,” Dayan said to Owlsports.com. “I would like to thank all the people that helped me along the way, my coaches, my academic advisor, compliance, and especially my teammates. I would also like to thank Temple University for giving me this great opportunity. Temple was my home for the last year-and-a-half and will always have a special place in my heart. I wish the Owls good luck and know they will have a great season.”

Dayan joins a growing list of absentees for the Owls this season, as would-be sophomore Sally Kabengano didn’t return this season after a productive freshman year. Junior guard Rateska Brown and sophomore forward Jacquilyn Jackson also were key contributors to the team a year ago, and have both been sidelined due to indefinite suspensions.

Owls sign four players

The Owls came away with four signees on signing day, the team announced Thursday.

Tanaya Atkinson, Khadijah Berger, Wendion Bibbins and Alliya Butts all signed their National Letters of Intent with the team on the first signing day, and will likely round out Temple’s 2014 recruiting class.

Atkinson is a 5-foot-9 guard from Hill Regional Career High School in New Haven, Conn. who averaged 20.4 points and 8.1 rebounds in her junior year last year en route to All-Southern Connecticut Conference and All-Connecticut High School Coaches Association honors.

Berger, a 5-foot-10 guard, posted 17.1 PPG as a junior for Hampton High School in Virginia last year and earned a 2013 USA Today honorable mention. Per Owlsports, she played AAU ball with Temple freshman guard Feyonda Fitzgerald.

Bibbins is a 6-foot-1 power forward who could help supplement the loss of redshirt-senior forward Natasha Thames next year. The Helgen Cox High School senior was a 2012 LSWA Class 4A Honorable Mention All-State selection.

Butts, a local kid from Holy Cross High School in Edgewater Park, N.J., stands at a mere 5-foot-4 at the point guard position.

The height disadvantage clearly is no problem, as the current high school senior led all of Burlington County with 25.2 PPG last season for Holy Cross and was named to the Elite 100 Watch List. She has Philadelphia ties, as she played her AAU ball with the Philadelphia Freedom.

Shipp named to honor rolls

Senior guard Shi-Heria Shipp graced the floor during her Temple debut with a jump in her step Friday at La Salle, and it earned her a spot on the American Athletic Conference and Big 5 honor rolls for week one, it was announced Monday.

The George Washington transfer dropped a career-high 18 points in her Temple debut against the Explorers, and scored nine amid an Owls’ 19-0 run in the second half. Shipp also led Temple with an 8-for-8 performance from the free throw line, and swiped five steals en route to a 60-47 Owls win in the season opener.

Women’s basketball to take on Delaware

Heading into their matchup against a very different Delaware team from a year ago, the Owls at least know who they don’t have to worry about.

Temple (1-0) will take on Delaware at the Blue Hens’ Bob Carpenter Center Tuesday night at 7 p.m., and will at least know who they don’t have to worry about.

The Blue Hens (1-0) return three starters from last year, and will be missing the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year in Elena Delle Donne. Delle Donne was the No. 2 selection in the WNBA draft in 2013 after a four-year career at Delaware in which she averaged 26.4 points per game and led Delaware to back-to-back Colonial Athletic Association championships in her final two years.

Still, Blue Hens seniors Courtni Green and Kelsey Buchanan each put up 15 points on Rhode Island Friday in a 63-47 win. Buchanan, a 6’3” center, could be the Owls first challenge up front this season as the 6’0” redshirt-senior forward Natasha Thames is expected to start at center for the second consecutive game.

Temple senior guard Shi-Heria Shipp scored a game-high 18 points in the Owls’ 60-47 opening win against La Salle Friday night and is again expected to start, as coach Tonya Cardoza will likely go with the same relatively small four-guard lineup of Thames, Shipp, junior Tyonna Williams, sophomore Erica Covile and freshman Feyonda Fitzgerald.

Tuesday marks the first matchup between the two teams since Temple downed Delaware, 72-54, at McGonigle Hall in 1997.

Women’s basketball to open season at La Salle

The Owls will begin the regular season with a road contest against cross-town rival La Salle on Friday at 7 p.m. Friday’s game will be both team’s first Philadelphia Big-5 game of the season.

Last year, the Owls earned a 14-18 overall record which included a 5-9 Atlantic-10 conference record. Among Temple’s nine conference losses was a 71-57 loss to former A-10 foe La Salle in McGonigle Hall. The loss to La Salle was coach Tonya Cardoza’s first loss to the Explorers in her five seasons as coach of the Owls.

Junior guard Tyonna Williams, redshirt senior forward Natasha Thames, and sophomore Erica Coville are the Owls’ top returning players and will be part of the starting roster against the Explorers. Coville joins the starting lineup after a season-ending knee injury last season.

In the offseason, the Owls brought two new players who will likely start against the Explorers: freshman guard Feyonda Fitzgerald and former George Washington fifth-year senior forward Shi-Heria Shipp. In the Owls’ exhibition game against West Chester, Fitzgerald scored a game-high 23 points and Shipp tied a game-high with 12 rebounds.

Top returning scorer junior guard Rateska Brown has been suspended indefinitely so Temple will also depend on sophomore guards Meghan Roxas and May Dayan to provide support off the bench at the guard position. Roxas scored 11 points in last year’s game against La Salle.

Depending on Cardoza’s decision on the size of Temple’s lineup, freshmen centers Safiya Martin and Taylor Robinson may also play significant minutes.

For La Salle, its starting lineup will feature a brand new combination of players, as they return four letterwinners and no starters from last season. The Explorers were selected to finish in tenth place in the A-10’s preseason poll.

With Temple moving to the American Athletic Conference, the Owls and La Salle no longer conference foes, but the 37 year Philadelphia rivalry continues in the Big-5. Last year’s victory gave La Salle a 21-20 all-time advantage against Temple.