BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University women’s basketball team (3-5) is coming off a six day road trip and will turnaround things quickly, as the Owls host Florida Memorial (7-4 in NAIA) on Tuesday night. After Tuesday’s game, FAU will enjoy 12 days without games before hosting the FAU Pre-Christmas Tournament. Tuesday’s game has a tipoff time of 6 p.m. at Abessinio Court at FAU Arena.
ABOUT THE OWLS
- FAU women’s basketball is under a new direction with first-year head coach Jennifer Sullivan, who is a 16-year coaching veteran and the sixth head coach in program history
- The Owls are coming back from their first out-of-state trip of the season, going 1-1 after a 63-45 win over Kennesaw State and a 76-64 loss at Boise State
- FAU has a very quick turnaround after traveling back 2,782 miles from Boise, Idaho on Monday
- The team brings back nine student-athletes from the 2020-21 squad, all of whom have seen time on a collegiate court
- Amber Gaston leads the Owls in scoring with 14.1 points per game along with 6.6 boards per game. She boasts a team’s best .586 field goal percentage (41-for-70), which is No. 25 in the NCAA
- Janeta Rozentale pulls down a team’s most 8.4 rebounds per game
- Kynadi Kuykendoll logs 3.5 assists per game with her 28 total dimes leading the team
- FAU has four Owls averaging double digits in scoring after eight games (Gaston, Alexa Zaph, Rita Pleskevich and Rozentale)
- The Owls lead Conference USA in free throw makes (133)
LAST TIME OUT
- FAU fell short of pulling off a huge comeback win over Boise State, falling 76-64
- Rozentale led FAU by matching a career-high 18 points with two steals
- Gaston followed with a solid statline of 14 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks
- After spending her first two collegiate seasons at Boise State, Sofia Galeron put on a fantastic performance off the bench with 12 points and seven boards
- Kuykendoll matched a career-high six assists while adding seven points
- The Broncos turned the ball over 15 times compared to FAU’s 12
SCOUTING FLORIDA MEMORIAL
- FMU was projected to finish fourth in The Sun Conference with 41 points, as voted on by the league’s head coaches
- The Lions are 7-4 with a perfect 5-0 conference record
- FMU has played multiple DI opponents this season with all of these games marked as exhibitions
- Last season, Chantel Barnett was named to the TSC Freshman of the Year as well as a Second Team selection. She averaged 12.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game last year
- Keaynna Tolbert was an All-TSC First Team selection last season after leading the team with 22.7 points per game and 55 steals
- This season, Barnett leads the team with 15.4 PPG. Monique Esbrand has a team’s most 5.8 rebounds per game and Aliyah-Dean Ahmad leads the team with 27 assists
SERIES HISTORY
- This matchup marks the 21st of the series and second of the past two years
- FAU and FMU played one another yearly, oftentimes twice, from the program’s first season in 1985 to 1993
- The Owls’ only loss vs. the Lions came in 1988, which resulted in a 77-66 defeat
- FAU’s 120-43 win in 2013 marked the Owls’ largest margin of victory over an opponent since
- Last season marked the first game between these two teams since 2016. The Owls won, 104-73. Six Owls scored in double digits behind 40-for-92 shooting from the field
- Last year, Allie Tylka logged 13 points and seven rebounds, Zaph registered 12 points and Rozentale recorded 13 points and six boards
UPCOMING
FAU will enjoy a 12 day break until the squad hosts the FAU Pre-Christmas Tournament from Sunday, Dec. 19 to Monday, Dec. 20. The Owls will open up the tournament by playing Richmond on Dec. 19 at noon. Tickets for the game can be purchased here or by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS.
OWLS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
For complete coverage of FAU women’s basketball, follow us on Twitter (@FAUWBB), Instagram (@FAUWBB) and Facebook (FAU Women’s Basketball).
