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Temple Women's Hoops Hosts #17 DePaul Tonight

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Temple University women's basketball team will face a big challenge tonight as the Owls host #17 DePaul at McGonigle Hall.

Temple is 5-3 on the season and coming off a blowout 83-48 win over Big 5 rival Villanova on Saturday.

Head coach Tonya Cardoza talks about the progress of her team through eight games.

"It's been a little back and forth," she tells KYW Newsradio. "I'm hoping that that Villanova win is the start of something good for us. We've been struggling to stop people and then the way teams are playing us, they are trying to collapse inside the paint and forcing us to take a lot of jump shots."

Listen to the entire interview with Temple's Tonya Cardoza:

Temple is shooting 38% from the field for the season, but they hit 47% of their shots in that Villanova win. That win over the Wildcats, by the way, gave the Owls at least a share of the Big 5 title.

The Owls are being led by senior guard Feyonda Fitzgerald who is averaging 18.9 ppg. Junior guard Alliya Butts is second on the team in scoring at 17.4 ppg.

Tonight, the Owls face a DePaul squad that is 6-3.

"Their three losses came to top five teams (Baylor, UConn, Notre Dame)," Cardoza says.

Defending the perimeter will be key for the Owls in this one.

"Everybody on their team shoots the three," Cardoza says. "They play four guards, pretty much. Their post player is not a typical back-to-the-basket post player, she wants to shoot."

The Blue Demons average nearly 82 points more than 11 made three-pointers a game.

Tonight's game at McGonigle Hall will tip-off at 9:00 p.m.

You can follow Matt on Twitter @Mattleonkyw.

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