BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University women’s basketball team (5-17, 1-10 in Conference USA) is set to host WKU (15-7, 8-3 in C-USA) on Thursday night. FAU is playing the Lady Toppers at home for the first time since 2020, with tipoff set at 6 p.m. at Abessinio Court at FAU Arena.
ABOUT THE OWLS
- FAU is back home to host WKU and play the Lady Toppers for the second time this season
- Amber Gaston leads the Owls with 11.9 points per game and a .513 field goal percentage
- Janeta Rozentale has a team’s most 8.6 rebounds per game
- Kynadi Kuykendoll leads the way with 3.0 assists per game (65 total)
- FAU has four Owls averaging double digits in scoring (Gaston, Rozentale, Rita Pleskevich and Alexa Zaph)
- In C-USA standings, the Owls are fourth in total assists (273) and fewest fouls (334), as well as fifth in defensive rebounds per game (26.36)
- 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
LAST TIME OUT
- FAU almost pulled out an impressive upset at league-leading Charlotte, but fell to the 49ers, 57-55
- Despite the loss, the Owls limited turnovers to under their average (11), while shooting over 40% from the field
- Zaph tallied 14 points
- Gaston logged 14 points off 7-for-10 shooting
- Sofia Galeron finished just shy of a double-double with eight points and eight boards along with a career-high four steals
SCOUTING WKU
- WKU was projected to finish 12th in the conference in the C-USA Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league’s head coaches
- The Lady Toppers are one of the top teams in the C-USA East, sitting in third place with an 8-3 mark in conference play, 15-7 overall
- Meral Abdelgawad has been playing the lights out in her final season, leading the league with 19.8 points per game along with 7.0 rebounds per game, 2.7 assists per game and 2.5 steals per game
- Freshman Mya Meredith has put on a great freshman season, tallying 12.7 points per game, 5.1 rebounds per game, as well as 42 total steals
- The Lady Toppers lead C-USA in scoring offense (72.41), 3-point field goal percentage (.335) and steals (11.41)
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE LADY TOPPERS
- WKU holds the 22-3 edge over the Owls in the all-time series
- The first game of the series dates back to 2006 when both teams were members of the Sun Belt Conference. FAU commenced the series 0-9 against the Lady Toppers until earning back-to-back wins in 2011 and 2012 at home
- Last season, the Owls earned a huge 75-70 win at WKU to mark the Owls’ first victory at E.A. Diddle Arena in school history, while breaking a 12-game losing skid to the Lady Toppers
- FAU is looking for a different outcome than 21 days ago when the Owls fell to the Lady Toppers 73-49 in Bowling Green, Kentucky
- In the last game played against the Lady Toppers, the Owls were led by Galeron, who delivered nine points, seven rebounds and two steals. Freshman Simona Henshaw followed with eight points off the bench
AN OWL WIN MEANS
- The team will be back to winning ways
- FAU will win two of the past three games against the Lady Toppers
- The Owls will beat the Lady Toppers in Boca Raton for the first time since 2012
UPCOMING
The Owls will hit the road to face North Texas on Thursday, Feb. 17 at 8 p.m. Eastern. FAU will be back at home against Charlotte on Thursday, Feb. 24 at 6 p.m. Tickets for the game can be purchased here or by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS.
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