Owls dominate Conquistadors to post program's best start in its DI history

Freshman duo Dyllan Hanna and Ajalon Gillard tied for a career-best 18 points apiece in the win

Next Game:

FIU

12/13/2022 | 7 p.m.

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Owls (6-1) picked up their fifth straight victory on Tuesday, earning a huge 94-33 win over Florida National (3-4), marking the program’s best start for any Owl team in FAU’s DI era.

The historic 6-1 start is the Owls’ best opening to a season since the 1990-91 campaign. The Owls’ 61-point win also marked FAU’s largest margin of victory since head coach Jennifer Sullivan began leading the program.

“We had some game goals going into a game like this, and excited that we met the mark,” expressed head coach Jennifer Sullivan. “One of them was turnovers, we wanted to really lock in and get better in that area, and we did that today. Another area was shooting the ball well, and we did from the 3-point line. So again, with things like that, it doesn’t really matter as much who you play. We shot great from the free throw line and shot a decent amount of free throws. Very encouraged and excited that we were able to get better tonight and continue to get ready for our next opponent.”

Freshman duo Dyllan Hanna and Ajalon Gillard had the best night of their young careers as they led the Owls with a pair of career-best 18-point performances in the win. Dyllan shot an incredible 89 percent (8-of-9) from the field and went a perfect 2-of-2 from the free throw line, while Gillard knocked down 42 percent (5-of-12) from 3-point range. Jada Moore and Sofia Galeron tied for a team-high eight rebound, tying a career-best for Jada. Devyn Scott also tied a career-best with a team-leading seven assists, in addition to tying Aniya Hubbard for a team-best and career-best four steals. Carlie Vick led the team in blocks, posting a career-best two in the win.

From beginning to end, the Owls never let off the gas against Florida National. After a game-opening layup from Aniya Hubbard to put the Owls on the board first, FAU went on an 11-2 run to take a 13-2 lead after just four minutes of play. The Conquistadors cut the Owls lead back down to eight off their second field goal of the contest to make it 13-5, but the Owls scored 21 unanswered points over the remaining five and a half minutes of clock to post the Owls best quarter of play this season and a 34-5 lead after one.

The Owls continued their run to open the second, scoring six unanswered to extend FAU’s lead to 35, 40-5, at the 8:36-minute mark of the second. A 3-pointer from Ajalon Gillard capped off a 10-4 FAU run to kick the Owls’ lead out to 41 with 3:46 to play in the opening half, a lead that the Owls would eventually carry into the break at 57-16.

FAU’s offense remained red hot to open the third period as the Owls outscored Florida National 12-2 over the first five minutes of the third to extend the Owls’ lead to 51, 69-18. FAU added seven more to their lead to close out the third as Devyn Scott knocked down a pair of free throws to send the Owls into the final 10 minutes of play up 83-25.

Over the final 10 minutes of play, the Owls outscored the Conquistadors once more, 11-8, to eventually bring the game to its 94-33 final, and give FAU its largest margin of victory in the Coach Sullivan era.

NOTES AND TEAM STATS

The Owls improved to 6-1, marking the best program start for the Owls in FAU’s DI era.
The 94-33 win also marked the Owls largest margin of victory of the Coach Sullivan era
Four Owls scored in double-figures in the win, led by Dyllan Hanna and Ajalon Gillard’s career-best with 18 points each, while Sofia Galeron and Alexa Zaph joined them in double-digits with 12 points apiece
Carlie Vick scored a career-best seven points and tallied a career-best two blocks
FAU dominated FNU in ever statistical category, including an incredible 50-2 edge in points off the bench
The Owls shot 46.5 percent from the field, 36.4 percent from 3-point range, and 88.9 percent from the free throw line
The Owls also dished out a season-best 23 assists and posted a season-best 16 steals as a team