Women’s basketball to take on Delaware

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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.

Owls host Kent State

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Coming off of a victory against Penn last weekend, Temple (1-0) will host Kent State (1-0) in the home opener at the Liacouras Center on Monday at 7 p.m.

In the Penn game, senior Dalton Pepper and junior Will Cummings posted career scoring highs, while junior Anthony Lee posted the sixth double-double of his career.

The Owls are 11-5 in home openers at the Liacouras Center, having won their last four.

Kent State began its season on Nov. 8 with an 84-48 victory over Ohio Northern.

Doyle, Youtz named to Big East All-Tournament team

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Senior defender Molly Doyle and junior forward Amber Youtz have been named to the 2013 Big East All-Tournament Team.

The roster was announced Sunday following the end of the conference tournament.

Youtz tallied 16 goals and 7 assists for 39 points to lead the team in scoring for the regular season, despite missing three games with an arm injury along the way. Youtz also led the NCAA with an averaged 2.60 goals per game and finished second in the nation in goals per game with an average of 1.07.

Doyle, one of the team’s co-captains, finished second on the team in scoring with eight goals and three assists for 19 points. She also led a defense that held opponents to 1.60 goals per game.

Both Youtz and Doyle recorded hat tricks in 2013. Doyle earned the first of her career in a 3-1 win over Bucknell back on Oct. 6 and Youtz recorded the fourth of her career in another 3-1 win, this time over Providence on Oct. 11. It was her first game back from her injury.

Temple was eliminated from the Big East Tournament by top-seed and No. 7 ranked Connecticut in a 3-0 loss. UConn moved on to beat No. 5 Old Dominion 1-0 in overtime, clinching the Big East Championship.

Youtz was also named to the Big East First Team, while Doyle and redshirt junior goalkeeper Lizzy Millen were named to the Big East Second Team on Thursday night at the conference’s awards banquet.

Men’s basketball to open season at Penn

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The men’s basketball team will kick off the 2013-14 season with a game against Penn at the Palestra on Saturday at 5 p.m.

The Owls have won the past six match-ups against coach Fran Dunphy’s former team, but are without their leading scorer from last year in Khalif Wyatt. Juniors Will Cummings and Anthony Lee will be looked upon to replace the lost offensive production.

This will be the 68th meeting between the two teams, as Temple holds an overall record of 45-22 against Penn.

Youtz, Doyle and Millen named to Big East Team

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Junior forward Amber Youtz has been named to the Big East Conference First Team and senior midfielder/defender Molly Doyle and redshirt-junior goalkeeper Lizzy Millen have been named to the second team.

The three received honors Thursday night at the conference’s awards banquet, just a day prior to the start of the Big East Tournament.

Youtz led Temple in scoring this season with 16 goals and seven assists for 39 points. She leads the NCAA in points per game with a 2.60 average and is third in goals per game with an average of 1.07. Youtz was selected to the Preseason All-Big East Team before the start of the season and was named the conference’s offensive player of the week twice during the year.

Doyle was right behind Youtz with eight goals and three assists for 19 points, which is second on the team in scoring. Doyle was also named Big East Offensive Player of the Week, after scoring two goals in the 3-0 shutout of Penn State back on Sept. 6 and has played a big role in a defense that has held opponents to 1.53 goals per game.

Millen has started all 19 of Temple’s games this season in the cage, recording five shutouts and posting a .775 save percentage that is 13th in the nation. She made a 100 saves in 2013 to total 299 for her career, which is seventh all-time on the team.

The No. 19 Owls begin postseason play Friday at 5 pm, with a rematch against No. 7 Connecticut in the conference semifinals. Temple is the fourth seed in the tournament, while UConn has the No. 1 spot. Temple lost to UConn 7-0 when both teams met last weekend.

Women’s basketball to open season at La Salle

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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.

Snipes named assistant director of equipment and event management

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Temple Athletics appointed Cecilia Snipes as the assistant director of equipment and event management, it was announced Thursday.

Snipes will handle the equipment managing duties for the men’s and women’s basketball teams among other various duties.

Prior to joining Temple as part of a slew of Athletics Dept. hires this fall, Snipes worked as the equipment operations coordinator at Arizona State since 2007.

A two-year women’s basketball letter-winner at Alabama A&M, she graduated cum laude at the University in 2000 and earned her master’s degree in sports administration at Northern Colorado in 2004.

 

Baseball team to play games at Campbell’s Field

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Athletic communications announced today that the baseball team will play the majority of conference home games at Campbell’s Field, the home field of the Camden Riversharks, an independent league team.

“We are truly excited to be able to provide a first class venue for our team to perform in this historic season,” Director of Athletics Kevin Clark said in a statement.  “We are also grateful to Camden Riversharks President and General Manager Adam Lorber and his staff for their help in bringing this partnership to fruition.”

The Owls are scheduled to play 11 games in Camden. They will play one other home conference game and all nonconference home games at Skip Wilson Field at the Ambler campus.

The games to be played at Campbell’s Field are listed below. The rest of the schedule will be released next week, according to the press release.

Friday, April 4 vs. Cincinnati at 3 p.m.
Saturday, April 5 vs. Cincinnati at 7 p.m.
Sunday, April 6 vs. Cincinnati at noon.
Friday, April 11 vs. South Florida at 7 p.m.
Saturday, April 12 vs. South Florida at 3 p.m.
Sunday, April 13 vs. South Florida noon.
Friday, May 9 vs. Louisville at 11 a.m.
Saturday, May 10 vs. Louisville at 12 p.m.
Thursday, May 15 vs. Houston at 3 p.m.
Friday, May 16 vs. Houston at 3 p.m.
Saturday, May 17 vs. Houston at 11 a.m.

Brown, Jackson suspended

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According to athletic communications, junior guard Rateska Brown and sophomore forward Jacquilyn Jackson have been suspended indefinitely due to violation of team rules.

Brown was Temple’s top returning scorer, recording 10.8 points per game in the 2012-13 season and was slated to be a part of the Owls’ guard rotation this year.

Jackson played in 23 games last season, contributing off of the bench.

Neither player suited up for the Owls’ 116-59 exhibition victory and the team is not commenting further on the players’ future availability.

Men’s soccer to wrap up season at home

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The Owls wrap up their regular season game at home against Cincinnati on Saturday.

Temple is undefeated at home having played eight total games while winning six and drawing two in the process. If they are to pull off a victory on Saturday, they would go on to have an undefeated home record for the first time since 1985 when they went 14–1-2, and their lone loss was the NCAA tournament. The Owls would finish their home record with 7–0-2.

The  Owls currently have 10 points in the conference standings, good for fourth, and if they get their third conference win of the season, they could potentially move all the way to second place in the table if Connecticut and Central Florida lose as well.

The Owls have put up good records in the conference recently, not having lost since their first conference game against Louisville.

Meanwhile, Cincinnati is at the bottom of the table with only three points. They have only won one game and lost their other six games. Their last loss came against UConn, but the team was able to win against Louisville in its previous game. The Bearcats had an up and down season so far and will be looking for their second conference win in three games.

Temple will be looking to clinch a Top 4 seed in the American Athletic Conference tournament and a win against Cincinnati on Saturday at 1 p.m. will solidify that.