DENTON, Texas – Florida Atlantic women’s basketball (10-5, 3-3 C-USA) just couldn’t hold off a second-half rally from the North Texas Mean Green (5-11, 2-4 C-USA) as the Owls fell 75-59 on Saturday in Denton.
HOW IT HAPPENED
North Texas got on the board first, but Aniya Hubbard responded for the Owls, scoring a layup and a pair of free throws to put the Owls on top 4-2 through the 7:27-minute mark. FAU and North Texas traded leads before the Owls’ first 3-pointer, courtesy of Alexa Zaph, gave the Owls’ a 9-7 lead with 5:42 remaining in the first. The Mean Green cut the FAU lead back to one at the 4:19 minute mark to make it 11-10, but a jumper from Aniya and a 3-pointer from Joiya Maddox kicked the Owls lead to six, before a pair of Mean Green free throws closed out the opening period with FAU leading by four, 16-12.
The Owls opened the second on a 10-4 run, capped off by a Hubbard jumper, to give the Owls’ their first double-digit lead of the contest, 26-16, at 6:47 of the second. The Mean Green rallied over the next four minutes of clock to cut the FAU lead down to four with 2:29 to play in the first half, 29-25, however the Owls’ answered back with a 9-4 run to close out the half with the Owls leading by nine at the break, 38-29.
Back-to-back layups from Amber Gaston opened the scoring in the second half for the Owls as FAU held an 11-point advantage at the 8:16-mark of the third, 42-31, however that’s when North Texas began to mount its rally. The Mean Green held the Owls to just one field goal over the following seven minutes of clock to produce a 17-2 run to take a 48-44 lead with under a minute remaining in the third. Maddox connected on a jumper to bring the Owls back within two, but a pair of Mean Green free throws kicked the North Texas lead back to four entering the final 10 minutes of play, 50-46.
Hubbard scored first in the fourth to bring the Owls back within two once again, 50-48, however FAU just couldn’t find an answer to the Mean Green in the final period of play as North Texas outscored the Owls’ 25-11 over the final nine minutes of play to take the 75-59 win.
QUOTABLE
“Disappointing loss today because of our effort on the defensive end,” said head coach Jennifer Sullivan. “No time to feel sorry for ourselves. We have to regroup and prepare for WKU on Monday.”
NOTES AND TEAM STATS
- Aniya Hubbard led the Owls, scoring a team-high 14 points, shooting 67 percent (6-of-9) from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line, in addition to dishing out two assists, and adding a rebound, and a steal.
- Amber Gaston also broke double-figures with 10 points, shooting 71 percent (5-of-7) from the field and added a rebound.
- Sofia Galeron led the team with five rebounds.
- Alexa Zaph and Jada Moore tied for a team-best five assists.
- The Owls outscored the Mean Green 16-12 and 22-17 in the opening two periods
UP NEXT
FAU has a short turnaround as the Owls return to Boca Raton on Monday, Jan. 16 to host the WKU Hilltoppers for a 7 p.m. tipoff inside Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.
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