No. 11 Owls set for C-USA first round battle against No. 6 UTSA

FRISCO, Texas – The No. 11-seeded Florida Atlantic Owls (12-17, 5-15 C-USA) are set to open play in the 2023 C-USA Women’s Basketball Championship this week as they face off against the No. 6-seeded UTSA Roadrunners in their first-round matchup on Wednesday, March 8 at 3 p.m. ET inside the Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas.

Florida Atlantic Women’s Basketball (12-17, 5-15 C-USA) vs. UTSA (11-18, 9-11 C-USA)
 Matchup Details Wednesday, March 8 at 3 p.m. ET | Frisoc, Texas | Ford Center at the Star
 Game Coverage Streaming: ESPN+
 Twitter: @FAUWBB
 FAU Links Roster | Schedule | Stats
 UTSA Links  Roster | Schedule | Stats

SCOUTING FAU

FAU completed its regular season campaign with a 12-17 overall record and 5-15 mark in Conference USA play. The Owls will look to break an eight-game skid to open postseason play on Wednesday. This season marks the second for the Owls under head coach Jennifer Sullivan, who has led the Owls to a 17-42 record over her two seasons in Boca Raton.

The Owls are led by Conference USA Freshman of the Year Aniya Hubbard, the league’s leading freshman and eighth best scorer in the conference, tallying with 14.4 points per game. Hubbard is also the league’s steals leader, collecting 74 this season, averaging 2.6 per game. She also leads the Owls in assists, dishing out 2.5 per contest this season. Junior Joiya Maddox and redshirt senior Janeta Rozentale are the Owls’ other top scorers, averaging 9.1 and 8.5 points per contest, respectively. Rozentale is also the Owls leader on the glass, posting 5.9 rebounds per game and registering 18 blocks this season.

As a team, the Owls rank second in C-USA in rebounding margin (4.0), third in rebounds per game (38.7), free throw attempts per game (20.5) and steals per game (8.6), fourth in offensive rebounds per game (12.6) and defensive rebounds per game (26.2), and fifth in fouls per game (17.7), scoring defense (66.9), 3-point percentage defense (.302), and free throws made per game (14.1).

SCOUTING UTSA

UTSA enters postseason play at 11-18 overall and 9-11 in C-USA play after having won four-straight contests to close out the regular season. UTSA is in its second season under head coach Karen Aston who has led the Roadrunners to an 18-41 record during her two seasons in San Antonio.

The Roadrunners are led by Jordyn Jenkins, who leads the conference in scoring, averaging 21.1 points per game this season. Jenkins also leads UTSA on the boards, collecting 7.5 rebounds per game, as well as pacing the team in steals with 39 this season. Kyra White is UTSA’s assists leader, tallying 4.6 assists per game, while Elyssa Coleman has recorded a team-leading 49 blocks this season.

In C-USA, the Roadrunners lead the conference in rebounding margin (6.4), rebounds per game (40.0), and blocks per game (4.3), rank second in offensive rebounds per game (13.6) and defensive rebounds per game (26.4), third in field goal percentage defense (.391) and assists per game (13.3), and fourth in free throw percentage (.730).

SERIES HISTORY

FAU holds an 8-7 all-time lead against UTSA, but the Roadrunners are 1-0 all-time in neutral site games. UTSA’s sole neutral site win came the last time the two seasons played each other in postseason play on March 7, 2018, which saw the Roadrunners earn an 83-71 win in the first round of the 2018 C-USA Tournament.

FOLLOW THE OWLS

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