12/29/2024 | Women’s Basketball
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Second-quarter struggles plagued the Owls on Sunday as they fell 91-71 in their AAC opener against the Tulane Green Wave.
The Owls fall to 8-6 overall and 0-1 in AAC play and Tulane moves to 8-4 overall and 1-0 in league play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Tulane struck first, but Ta’Ziah Jenks brought the Owls even at 2-2 and 5-5 after a pair of free throws and her first 3-pointer of the day. However, the Green Wave responded with 10 unanswered to lead 15-5 at the 5:47-minute mark of the first. The Green Wave maintained a 10-point advantage through the 2:43-minute mark, 21-11, but the Owls battled back over the final two minutes of the opening period, going on a 10-2 run to cut the deficit down to a possession, 23-21, after the first 10 minutes of play.
Emaya Lewis tied things up at 23 to open the second. Jada Moore tied the Owls up at 25 and 27 before Lewis would tie things up again at the 7:35-minute mark, 30-30, off a jumper in the paint, however, the Owls couldn’t find an answer to the Green Wave through the remainder of the half. Tulane went on a 27-6 run over the last seven minutes of the second to lead 57-36 at the halftime break.
The Owls started battling back to open the second half. Mya Perry scored back-to-back-to-back buckets to open the third, sparking a 12-0 run for the Owls to battle back within nine, 57-48, however, the Green Wave responded on a 15-3 of their own to push the deficit back to 21, 72-51, but Jenks connected on a layup to close the third, cutting the deficit to 19, 72-53, entering the final 10 minutes of play.
Florida Atlantic just couldn’t get another run going in the fourth as Tulane eventually took the 91-71 contest.
HEAD COACH JENNIFER SULLIVAN POSTGAME THOUGHTS
“Yeah, obviously disappointing loss, first [conference] game of the season at home. We talked about just defense, we couldn’t guard. Offensively, we were able to come away with 71 points, you know, trying to figure out different offensive rotations with different lineups out there, so I was satisfied overall. Offensively, we were able to score points. It was just defensively, we couldn’t get stops. It started mainly with that second quarter. So, gotta get regrouped. Defense is what we’ve done well leading up to this game and something that we want to continue to do moving forward.
NOTES AND TEAM STATS
- Ta’Ziah Jenks had a career day against the Green Wave, leading the Owls with a career-high 23 points, shooting 7-of-11 from the field, 50 percent (2-of-4) from 3-point range, and going 7-of-8 from the line, in addition to adding a team-high four steals and three boards.
- Mya Perry and Jada Moore joined Jenks in double figures, finishing with 17 and 14 points, respectively.
- Emaya Lewis led the Owls on the glass, tying a career-best eight rebounds on the day.
- The Owls made a season-high 23 free throws, finishing with 79.3 percent (23-of-29) at the line.
- Florida Atlantic also finished with advantages in points off turnovers, 19-15, second change points, 19-13, and fastbreak points, 16-8.
UP NEXT
The Owls will open the new year on the road as they head to Greenville, N.C. to take on the ECU Pirates for their AAC road opener. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. ET inside Minges Coliseum.
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