BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic women’s basketball (4-5) just couldn’t get the ball to fall in the final moments as the Owls fell 46-45 against the Howard Bison (2-10) on Saturday at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Owls opened the contest on a 10-6 run, capped off by a Mya Perry 3-pointer, to lead by four at the 2:29-minute mark. Rose Caverly scored five of the Owls’ 10 points in the opening eight minutes. Howard scored six unanswered to close out the opening period as the Bison took their first lead of the contest as the Owls trailed by three after one, 13-10.
Caverly drained her second from beyond the arc to bring things even at 13 to open the second. Howard retook the lead but a layup from Perry and a jumper from Jada brought the Owls even once again at 17 with 7:08 to play in the opening half. The Bison then went on a 5-0 run to take a 22-17 lead through the 2:24-minute mark, but the Owls closed the half outscoring the Bison 5-2 to close back within two heading into the break, 24-22.
Howard opened the third with an 8-2 run to hold a 32-24 lead at the 5:18-minute mark. Perry hit another from beyond the arc and a pair of free throws from Jada Moore brought the Owls back within three to make it 32-29, however the Bison had another answer extending their lead to the largest of the contest at 39-29 with 2:40 to play in the third. The Owls mounted a 6-2 run to close out the third, cutting the deficit to just six, 41-35, entering the final 10 minutes of play.
The Bison extended their lead by one, 44-37, through the first five minutes of the final period, but the Owls locked in to produce an 8-1 run off a pair of threes from Devyn Scott and Perry, as well as a pair of Scott free throws to even things up at 45 with just 1:42 to play. The Bison tallied a free throw to lead 46-45, but the Owls just couldn’t get the final basket to fall in the final minute of play as the Owls fell 46-45.
HEAD COACH JENNIFER SULLIVAN POSTGAME THOUGHTS
“Obviously a really tough loss. I’m hurting for our team. I think these experiences, we told them in there, are good for us because I think when we get these opportunities again, we will capitalize. But it doesn’t make the pain they feel right now any better or worse. Lots to grow from offensively, I thought we had some shots that we could make. But defensively I was proud, we tried to hold them to 47 for the game, and we were able to do that. Just the goal is to try and stop putting so much pressure on our defense to get stops by capitalizing on the offensive end.”
NOTES AND TEAM STATS
- Mya Perry and Jada Moore led the Owls in the contest.
- Perry turned in her fifth double-figure performance of the season, scoring a game-high 19 points, shooting 46 percent (6-of-13) from the field, 63 percent (5-of-8) from 3-point range, and a perfect 100 percent (2-of-2) from the line, while also adding a career-best eight rebounds.
- Moore scored 10 points, shooting 33 percent (4-of-12) from the field, and adding seven rebounds.
- Janeta Rozentale led the Owls on the glass, tying for a game-high 11 rebounds, in addition to adding a pair of blocks and two assists.
- The Owls outscored the Bison 12-11 in the second and 10-5 in the fourth periods.
- Florida Atlantic also held a huge advantage in points off turnovers, outscoring Howard 16-7, which also led to the Owls’ holding a 6-0 advantage in fast break points.
- The Owls also dominated from beyond the arc, outscoring the Bison 38 percent to 23 percent from deep.
UP NEXT
The Owls will hit the road on Monday as they head to Orlando, Florida to face off against Big 12 foe UCF for a 2 p.m. tip inside Addition Financial Arena and on ESPN+.
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