FRISCO, Texas – The Florida Atlantic University women’s basketball team (11-10, 8-8 in Conference USA) made history Wednesday afternoon by knocking off UAB (10-13, 3-11 C-USA) in the opening round of the 2021 Air Force Reserve C-USA Women’s Basketball Championship. FAU’s 72-66 victory over UAB marked the Owls’ first C-USA Tournament game win and head coach Jim Jabir‘s 500th career Division I victory. Iggy Allen led the way with her 11th double-double of the year with 30 points and 16 rebounds.
HOW IT WAS DECIDED
1Q
Astou Gaye knocked down a 3-pointer to put the Owls up early, 7-3, but then UAB went on a 6-0 run to take the lead. That lead did not last for long, as FAU charged on an 8-0 run, taking a 13-9 edge with 4:43 remaining in the first quarter. The Owls closed out the quarter with six unanswered points, and while the Blazers had a chance to get a shot up on the last possession of the quarter, Janeta Rozentale came up with a huge swat. The Owls led 21-11 after the first frame.
2Q
The Owls took some time to get grooving in the second quarter, being quiet from the field for over three minutes. Sofia Galeron broke the scoring drought with a second-chance layup, as the Owls led 25-21 with 5:52 left in the frame. UAB came within two points of the Owls, 25-23, with under five minutes remaining, but the Owls closed out the quarter on an 11-3 run. UAB once again had a chance to cut into the Owls’ lead, but Galeron came up with a monster block, one of her four on the day, on a 3-point basket. FAU led by 10 at the halfway point, 36-26.
3Q
FAU took three minutes and 20 seconds to score in the third quarter off two Allen free throws, while the Owls still led by 10. UAB jabbed into FAU’s lead a few times late in the frame, but Alexa Zaph made back-to-back baskets, including a driving layup at the buzzer. FAU went into the final quarter of play with a 47-43 advantage.
4Q
Gaye knocked down her third trey of the day in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, as FAU led by six. Allen, who had 14 of her 30 points in the fourth quarter, then went into the lane for a driving layup to extend the Owls’ lead to eight, but UAB started to catch fire from beyond the arc with back-to-back 3-pointers. UAB was within three points of the Owls with under four to play, but Allen sunk a very clutch 3-pointer soon after. In the final minute of play, UAB would not let up, but the Owls stepped up big from the free throw line. Allen tallied two from the charity strike with 37 seconds left and Bre Beck split from the line twice inside the 30-second mark. With UAB getting the ball with 25 seconds left, UAB got called for a held ball, as Allen came up big with the steal. Rita Pleskevich put the game in wraps with two free throws with 11 seconds left. In a contest where the Owls led for almost all 40 minutes, FAU captured the 72-66 win over UAB to advance to the quarterfinals.
GAME NOTES
- Allen was the C-USA Player of the Game after notching 30 points, 16 rebounds, three assists and two steals. She tallied her 11th double-double and fourth 30-point game of the year
- Gaye tallied a season-high 17 points along with four rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. She knocked down three of FAU’s four 3-pointers on the afternoon
- Sofia Galeron produced six points, four boards and a career-high four blocks
- Beck added five points and three assists, while Amber Gaston delivered six points and a block
- FAU captured its first C-USA Tournament game win and first postseason win since 2012
- The Owls tallied 21 of their points from second-chance opportunities, while delivering 30 of their points in the paint
- Pleskevich matched a career-high eight boards off the bench
- FAU outrebounded UAB by a +9.0 margin
- Coach Jabir achieved his 500th Division I victory with the win, 514th total. The fourth-year head coach earned his 500th overall win last season
- The Owls broke a five-game losing skid against the Blazers
FROM COACH JIM
“I’m pound of the win,” said Jabir. “I think we can play better, but I was proud of Astou [Gaye] and Iggy [Allen]. I think it was also a contribution by a lot of people. We are going to have to play better tomorrow against a good UTEP team.”
On Gaye and Allen:
“If you would have asked Iggy [Allen] how she played, she would have said awful. Statistically she was great, but I would have to agree with her assessment in some ways today. She is a great competitor and her shot wasn’t going in, but she found ways to help us win. Astou [Gaye] was critical tonight. She made shots, and either way, we wouldn’t have won this game without [her].”
UP NEXT
The Owls will take the No. 2-seed out of the West Division in UTEP (16-7, 13-5 C-USA) tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. (EST). FAU split with the Miners in late February, and will look to take down the team for the second time this season with a chance to advance to the semifinals.
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