BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic women’s basketball team (5-10, 0-4 AAC) dropped a 73-60 midweek decision against the UTSA Roadrunners (8-7, 2-2 AAC) on Wednesday night at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Owls opened the contest on an 11-4 run, capped off by an and-1 from Jada Moore, just over three minutes into the game. However, the Roadrunners held the Owls in check defensively through the rest of the frame as UTSA scored 16 unanswered to take a 20-11 lead after one.
UTSA extended their lead to 11 to open the second, 22-11. The Owls battled back over the following six minutes of clock, mounting an 11-6 run to cut the deficit down to just six with 2:49 to play in the half. The Owls and Roadrunners traded 3-pointers to close out the opening 20 minutes of play as triples courtesy of Maria Myklebust and Mya Perry kept the Owls within eight at the halftime break, 36-28.
Moore drained her second from beyond the arc to open the third quarter, 36-31, cutting the Owls deficit down to just five. The Roadrunners kicked their lead back out to double-digits following a 15-6 run to lead 51-37 at the 4:20-minute mark. UTSA continued to hold a 14-point lead, 56-42, with 1:26 to go in the third, but the Owls scored five unanswered, including a Moore layup and a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Mya Perry, to cut the game to just nine with 10 minutes to play, 56-47.
The Roadrunners outscored the Owls 11-2 over the first five minutes of the final stanza, pushing their lead to 18, 67-49. Florida Atlantic attempted to rally, scoring nine-straight off back-to-back 3-pointers from Perry and a third triple from Janeta Rozentale, bringing the Owls back within a single-digit deficit, 67-58, but it just wasn’t enough as the Roadrunners closed the contest on a 6-2 run to take the 73-60 win.
HEAD COACH JENNIFER SULLIVAN POSTGAME THOUGHTS
“Again disappointing. I thought this was a game that we could have gotten our first win in the American. But I’m proud of their effort, I really am. We had too many mental mistakes at times, but statistically, we shot the ball well from three, but we gotta capitalize more at the free throw line. All we can do is keep working. That’s all we can do is show up and get ready to compete for the next one.”
NOTES AND TEAM STATS
- Three Owls turned in double-figure performances against UTSA, led by Mya Perry’s third 20-point performance of the season.
- Perry netted a team-leading 21 points, shooting 44 percent (7-of-16) from the field, including a career-best seven made 3-pointers, shooting 58 percent (7-of-12) from deep. The sophomore also added five rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block.
- Jada Moore finished with a team second-best 16 points, shooting 45 percent (5-of-11) from the field, 50 percent (2-of-4) from 3-point range, and 80 percent (4-of-5) at the line. She also collected seven rebounds and tied her season-high with six assists, in addition to collecting a pair of steals.
- Maria Myklebust had the best game of her season so far, scoring a season-high 12 points, shooting 63 percent (5-of-8) from the field and 40 percent (2-of-5) from beyond the arc, while also adding a board, an assist, and a steal against the Roadrunners.
- Dyllan Hanna and Janeta Rozentale tied for a team-leading nine rebounds each.
- Florida Atlantic outscored UTSA 17-16 in the second quarter, in addition to nearly doubling up the Roadrunners in second-chance points, 15-8.
UP NEXT
Florida Atlantic will close out its two-game homestand on Saturday, Jan. 13 as the Owls prepare to take on the Tulsa Golden Hurricane for a 2 p.m. tip at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.
FOLLOW THE OWLS
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