| 1/8/2025 | Women’s Basketball | Box Score BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic Owls competed in one of their most physical battles of the season on Wednesday against the Temple Owls, but fell just short in overtime, falling 75-69 inside Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.The Owls fall to 9-7 on the season and 1-2 in AAC play, while Temple moves to 9-6 overall and 3-1 in league play. HOW IT HAPPENED Jada Moore and Ta’Ziah Jenks opened the contest on a 5-0 run for the Owls. Temple got a free throw, but a free throw from Stefanie Ingram and a transition layup for Mya Perry extended the Owls game-opening run to 8-1. The Owls maintained a six-point advantage through the 4:08 mark following a free throw from Perry, however, Temple scored 13 unanswered to close out the opening period, taking a 16-9 lead.The Owls went on a 9-0 run to open the second, capped off by a triple from Ingram, to retake the lead, 18-16. Temple answered back with a three to retake the lead, 19-18. The Owls kept things within a possession, 24-22, through the 5:09-minute mark, but a 9-0 run from Temple pushed the lead back out to nine, 31-22. A pair of layups from Moore and Zahira Arizmendi closed the Owls back within five, 31-26, but the Owls closed the half with a 3-pointer from Moore to cut the deficit to four at the break, 33-29. Temple opened the second half on a 9-2 run to push the lead to 42-31 through the 7:12-minute mark. The Owls trailed by 13 at the 4:58-minute mark, 47-34, but they battled back over the final five minutes, outscoring Temple 7-2 over the final five minutes of the period to close the deficit to eight, 49-41, entering the final 10 minutes of play. Florida Atlantic scored six unanswered to open the fourth, closing the gap to just two, 49-47, after a second-chance layup from Lovisa Asbrink Hose. Temple scored back-to-back field goals to push the deficit back to six, 53-47. However, a tip-in layup from Jenks sparked a 7-2 run for Florida Atlantic that was capped off by an and-1 from Moore to bring the Owls within one, 55-54. Temple hit a three to lead by four, 58-54, but a triple from Perry and a layup from Moore gave the Owls a one-point advantage with just 1:34 to play. Temple retook the lead off a three, 61-59, but Jenks scored on a layup with 22 seconds to go to tie things up at 21 and send the game to overtime. Perry knocked down a 3-pointer to open overtime and put the Owls in the lead, 64-61. Jenks knocked down a free throw to keep the Owls leading by three, 65-62, however, Temple scored seven unanswered to take the lead 69-65 with 1:51 to play. Jenks scored in transition to cut the deficit back down to two, 69-67, but the Owls just couldn’t find an answer to Temple down the stretch as the Temple Owls closed the match on a 6-2 run to eventually take the 75-69 win. HEAD COACH JENNIFER SULLIVAN POSTGAME THOUGHTS “This hurts, obviously, but I told the team I was so proud of their effort. That is a really, really good basketball team. Temple, they’re physical. It took us a while to settle into the physicality, but they did. We had opportunity after opportunity to win the game, but that’s a big step for this team and our program to be in a situation like that against a team that will finish in the top four of this league. So really, really proud of their fight and where we will go from here, but obviously, this hurts right now and we’re going to sit in the hurt a little bit.” NOTES AND TEAM STATS The Owls’ 64 rebounds tie for third all-time in program history and is the team’s most since Dec. 18, 2020. Jada Moore had a phenomenal outing, scoring a career-high 24 points, shooting 50 percent (10-of-20) from the field and 50 percent (1-of-2) from 3-point range. She also added three assists, two boards, and a steal. Ta’Ziah Jenks also had a tremendous night, posting her second double-double of the season with a career-high 18 rebounds and 15 points, to go along with four steals and an assist. Mya Perry and Stefanie Ingram rounded out the Owls double-figure scorers, recording 15 points and 10 points, respectively. Ingram also dished out a team-leading six assists. Lovisa Asbrink Hose also notched a new career-high, recording 13 rebounds in the contest. Florida Atlantic outscored Temple 20-17 in the second and 20-12 in the fourth. Besides the Owls’ incredible rebounding performance, Florida Atlantic also held advantages off points in the paint, 38-22, and second-chance points, 16-9. UP NEXT Florida Atlantic will close out its two-game homestand on Saturday, Jan. 11, hosting the UAB Blazers for a 2 p.m. tip inside Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena. FOLLOW THE OWLS For updates, follow @FAUWBB_Hoops on X and @FAUWBB on Instagram, or like Florida Atlantic Women’s Basketball on Facebook. |
