BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University women’s basketball team (4-11, 0-4 in Conference USA) will continue its quest of five games in 10 days with a road match at WKU (12-4, 5-0 in C-USA). FAU is looking for its first C-USA win of the season, while handing the Lady Toppers its first league loss of the season. Tipoff is scheduled for noon Eastern at E.A. Diddle Arena.
ABOUT THE OWLS
- Jennifer Sullivan is in her first season at the helm of the FAU women’s basketball program. She is a 16-year coaching veteran and the sixth head coach in program history
- The Owls are searching for their first win since Dec. 7, as the team is on a six-game losing streak
- FAU brings back eight student-athletes from the 2020-21 team, all of whom have seen time on a college court
- Amber Gaston leads the Owls with 13.1 points per game and a .525 field goal percentage
- Janeta Rozentale has a team’s most 8.2 rebounds per game
- Kynadi Kuykendoll leads the way with 3.0 assists per game (46 total)
- FAU has four Owls averaging double digits in scoring (Gaston, Alexa Zaph, Rozentale and Rita Pleskevich)
- The Owls stand third in C-USA in 3-point field goal percentage (.315), third in free throw percentage (.756) and fourth in defensive rebounds/gm (27.1)
LAST TIME OUT
- FAU dropped its road outing at Old Dominion, 61-48, on Monday night
- The Owls went into the fourth quarter with a 39-38 lead, but was outscored 23-9 by the Monarchs in the final quarter. FAU had big troubles taking care of the ball, turning over the ball 31 times
- Zaph registered a team-leading 14 points along with two assists and two steals
- Galeron logged her fourth double-double in five games, tallying 13 points and 11 rebounds
- Rozentale notched double digits with 12 points and seven boards, as well as three blocks and three steals
- FAU held ODU to 1-19 shooting from beyond the arc for 5%
SCOUTING WKU
- The Lady Toppers were projected to finish 12th in the C-USA Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league’s head coaches
- Merel Abdelgawad is having a great final year for the Lady Toppers, leading the way in almost every statistical category. She has logged 20.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, along with 41 assists and 44 steals. Abdelgawad is also the league’s leading scorer
- Freshman Myah Meredith is the reigning three-time C-USA Freshman of the Week and averages 13.4 points per game and 4.9 boards per game
- Alexis Meed has tallied 10.3 points per game and leads the way with 57 assists to average out to 3.6 per game
- WKU is on a seven-game winning streak and is coming into Thursday’s game undefeated in C-USA play with a 5-0 start
SERIES HISTORY
- The WKU and FAU series has been heavily swayed in WKU’s favor, as the Lady Toppers hold a 21-3 edge
- The series dates back to 2006, the Owls’ first year in the Sun Belt. Ever since, both teams have faced each other every year except the 2014-15 season
- FAU broke a 12-game losing streak to the Lady Toppers last year by pulling out a huge 75-70 road win
- The Owls’ win last season marked the first away victory against WKU in school history
- Last season, FAU played WKU on back-to-back days as a part of the C-USA schedule. In the first of two games, the Owls fell short in a 71-64 decision. Rozentale logged eight points and seven boards in the game
- In the second game, which marked a 75-70 historical win, Galeron registered 16 points and six boards, Pleskevich recorded 12 points and five boards and Rozentale had 12 rebounds
AN OWL WIN MEANS
- The Owls will snap a five-game losing streak
- FAU will beat ODU for the first time in school history
- The Owls will snap a 12-game losing streak to the Monarchs
- Sullivan will earn her first C-USA win as a head coach
UPCOMING
The Owls will remain on the road to face WKU on Thursday, Jan. 20 at noon Eastern. FAU will be back home to face UTEP on Jan. 27 at 6 p.m. Tickets for the game can be purchased here or by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS.
