CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Owls (9-4, 2-2 C-USA) fell just short as the Charlotte 49ers (7-7, 3-2 C-USA) mounted a second-half comeback to defeat FAU, 77-67, on Saturday afternoon inside Halton Arena.
“For us, the game came down to defense and we could not string together stops the second half,” said head coach Jennifer Sullivan. “I was proud of our second quarter push on both sides of the ball, but we have to put two halves together.”
Aniya Hubbard continued to do Aniya Hubbard things, producing her fifth team-leading performance of the season with a new career-best 26 points, shooting 60 percent (12-of-20) from the field, in addition to adding five rebounds, and a team-high three assists and two steals. Amber Gaston also had a huge performance for the Owls, scoring a season-high 18 points, on 50 percent (5-of-10) from the field and 8-of-11 from the free throw line, in addition to five rebounds. Sofia Galeron posted her first double-digit rebounding performance of the season, leading the Owls with 10 boards and adding five points against the 49ers.
Charlotte scored the opening baskets of the contest to take a 4-0 lead early, but a Hubbard layup cut the deficit in half to put the Owls on the board at the 8:21-minute mark, 4-2. The 49ers responded with a 10-2 run to push their lead out to 10 with 4:38 to play, but the Owls outscored the 49ers 5-3 over the final four minutes of the first to bring the deficit down to eight after one, 17-9.
The 49ers scored first in the second, however, staring down a 19-9 deficit, the Owls locked in, offensive and on the glass, to answer back over the final nine minutes of the half. Hubbard sparked the Owls’ offense with six points before a Gaston layup capped off the Owls 13-3 run to bring things even at 22. Galeron laid it up for her first score of the day to even things once more at 24 all, before a 9-2 run with another six points from Hubbard and a Gillard 3-pointer closed out the half, capping off a 24-9 scoring and 16-3 rebounding second-quarter performance, to send the Owls into the locker room ahead by seven, 33-26.
The Owls extended their lead to eight off a Galeron 3-pointer and a layup from Janeta Rozentale to hold a 38-30 advantage at the seven-minute mark of the third. However, the 49ers responded over the next three minutes of clock, producing an 11-3 run to bring the game even for the third time at 41-41. The Owls and 49ers remained locked at 44-44 with 1:27 to play in the third, however Charlotte closed the quarter on a 9-5 run to lead by four heading into the final four minutes of play, 53-49.
Alexa Zaph opened the fourth with her first 3-pointer of the contest to bring the Owls back within one at 53-52 at the 9:51-minute mark, however, Charlotte answered back on an 11-2 run over the following five minutes of clock to kick the 49ers lead back out to nine, 63-54, with 4:40 to play. The Owls attempted to rally but just couldn’t string together stops over the final four minutes of play as the 49ers held on to capture the 77-67 win.
NOTES AND TEAM STATS
- Hubbard produced her fifth team-leading performance of the season, scoring a new career-high 26 points, shooting 60 percent (12-of-20) from the field, and added five rebounds, and a team-high three assists and two steals.
- Amber Gaston also had her best performance of the season, scoring a season-high 18 points, on 50 percent (5-of-10) from the field and 8-of-11 from the free throw line, while adding five rebounds.
- Sofia Galeron posted her first double-digit rebounding performance of the season, leading the Owls with 10 boards and adding five points.
- In the second quarter, the Owls erased a 10-point second-quarter deficit, outscoring the 49ers 24-7 and outrebounding Charlotte 16-2 over the final nine minutes of the opening half.
- FAU outrebounded Charlotte 40-28 in the contest, including an impressive 16-5 advantage in offensive boards.
- The Owls also won in second-chance opportunities 19-4 and 24-10 in points off the bench.
UP NEXT
The Owls remain on the road next weekend as they return to the Sunshine State to take on rival FIU on Wednesday, January 11 for a 5 p.m. tip on ESPN+ inside Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
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