RUSTON, La. – The Florida Atlantic University women’s basketball team (5-15, 1-8 in C-USA) was unable to elevate past Louisiana Tech (12-8, 4-5 in C-USA) on Thursday night, as the Owls dropped the game, 64-49. FAU trailed for just over 37 minutes of the contest, as LA Tech shot 51% from the field compared to FAU’s 32%. The Owls outscored the Lady Techsters 17-9 in the fourth quarter, but it was too little too late, as FAU dropped its second straight game.
HOW IT WAS DECIDED
1Q
To start the game off, the Lady Techsters lost control of the ball, leading to Alexa Zaph scooping it up at half court and taking it all the way to the hoop for a layup. The Owls then went 0-for-9 in their next shot attempts, as FAU trailed 8-3 at the media timeout. FAU’s struggles shooting the ball continued, allowing LA Tech to journey on a 14-2 run. Sofia Galeron’s putback basket on her own miss helped the Owls crawl out of a six-minute drought and then Galeron buried a triple right before the buzzer, as FAU trailed 18-8 after one quarter of play.
2Q
Kynadi Kuykendoll showcased relentless defense to come up with a steal. She took it all the way to the basket and made her defender miss with a layup. LA Tech commenced the first half of the second quarter on a 13-6 run, falling behind 30-14 with 4:32 remaining in the first half. Out of the media timeout, FAU was outscored 9-2, but FAU scored four straight points, including a second-chance layup by Amber Gaston at the buzzer. FAU was down 39-20 going into the locker room.
3Q
LA Tech stretched out its lead to 22 points out of the intermission, but Galeron knocked down her second triple of the game to capture her ninth double digit scoring game of the season. When FAU started to heat up, LA Tech would respond, as the Owls trailed 50-30 at the media timeout following a Zaph trey. The Lady Techsters fell in a scoring drought for over three minutes, but FAU was unable to capitalize, falling in a five-minute scoring freeze of their own. After 30 minutes of play, LA Tech led by 23 with a 55-32 advantage over FAU.
4Q
LA Tech tallied its largest lead of the ballgame with 26 points following a 3-point play converted by the Lady Techsters. FAU then scored five straight points off a Ritta Pleskevich jumper and Zaph triple, as the Owls lingered behind the Lady Techers 58-37 with 6:39 left in the game. The Owls started to find a spark, initiating a 6-0 run courtesy of 3-pointers by Kuykendoll and Galeron in a minute. The scoring run stretched to a 10-0 one following two Gaston free throws and a Pleskevich jumper. FAU went on to outscore LA Tech 17-9 in the fourth, but the Owls dropped fifth consecutive contest on the road, 64-49.
GAME NOTES
- Galeron registered her 11th consecutive game with a 3-pointer along with her 11th contest with multiple triples. She ended the night just shy of a double-double with a team-high 13 points with three 3-pointers and nine rebounds
- Zaph recorded her 10th double digit scoring game of the season, tallying 12 points along with five boards
- Pleskevich recorded 10 points, her 12th double digit scoring contest and third consecutive game with 10+ points
- Gaston logged nine points, seven boards and a career-high four assists
- All eight dressed players saw action on the court
UP NEXT
FAU continues its road stint at Southern Miss with a Saturday matchup at 3 p.m. Eastern. The Owls will be back at home to face WKU on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. Tickets for the game can be purchased here or by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS.
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