CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Florida Atlantic University women’s basketball team (4-17, 1-10 in Conference USA) fought hard at league-leading Charlotte (12-7, 8-1 in C-USA), but fell just short, 57-55 on Monday night. FAU, who held the lead in the game for almost 31 minutes, had a 55-51 advantage with under two minutes to play, but Charlotte ended the contest on a 6-0 run. Amber Gaston and Alexa Zaph paced the Owls with 14 points, apiece.
HOW IT WAS DECIDED
1Q
The Owls logged the first basket of the ball game courtesy of a Zaph jumper. Charlotte then went 0-for-5 from the field with a three-minute scoring drought, as the Owls led 4-3 four minutes into the game. Zaph continued to be aggressive to the basket, converting a three-point play after being fouled on the drive, which was a part of a 9-0 run for FAU. After back-to-back steals by FAU and three turnovers courtesy of Charlotte in under two minutes, the Owls led 15-7 after 10 minutes of play. FAU held Charlotte to 21% shooting in the first quarter.
2Q
Charlotte opened up the quarter on a 5-0 run to trail the Owls 15-12. Kynadi Kuykendoll then came up with a steal and layup and Gaston followed with a turnaround jumper, as the Owls led 19-13 with 4:58 left in the half. Before the media timeout, Charlotte was held silent from the field for nearly five minutes until the 49ers knocked down a 3-pointer. The Owls responded with a driving layup by Rita Pleskevich to extend the Owls’ lead to eight points. Charlotte cut into the Owls’ lead after tallying two free throws prior to the half’s end, but FAU took to the locker room with a 26-20 advantage.
3Q
Gaston pushed past a double team to earn a hard-fought layup to notch double digits in scoring with 10. The 49ers would respond by coming out hot in the third quarter to shoot 4-for-4 to tally a 9-0 run and the lead off a 3-pointer. With 7:22 left in the third, the 49ers overtook the lead, 29-28, for the first time since the first quarter. Galeron buried her second triple of the game for the Owls to retake the lead, but that edge did not last for long, as the game tied three times in the next two minutes. At the media timeout, both teams were squared up at 35. FAU came out of the break, shooting 3-for-3, but Charlotte continued to respond and tied the game up once again, as both teams went into the final quarter squared up at 44.
4Q
The Owls came into the final quarter on fire, opening the quarter on a 5-0 run, which included a Nikola Ozola triple, as the Owls led 49-44. FAU was held in a scoring drought for three minutes, which allowed Charlotte to tie the game for the seventh time with under six to play. The Owls had no field goals for 4:19 until Gaston came up with a layup off a miss and FAU led by one, 52-51, with 3:06 remaining in the contest. Zaph knocked down a huge 3-pointer to help the Owls go up by four with 1:59 left in the game, but Charlotte quickly tied up the game at 55. The 49ers had the ball with 34 seconds remaining and came up with a pair of big offensive boards to eventually set up the 49ers’ Octavia Jett-Wilson for two free throws. Charlotte ended the game on a 6-0 run to defeat the Owls, 57-55.
GAME NOTES
- Gaston tallied 14 points on 7-for-10 shooting along with four rebounds
- Zaph logged 14 points along with three rebounds
- Pleskevich delivered nine points, four boards and three steals
- Galeron registered eight points, eight rebounds, three assists and a career-high four steals. She extended her streak with consecutive games with a 3-pointer to 13, while notching multiple triples in five games
- Kuykendoll recorded seven points and three steals
- The Owls shot 41.8 percent from the field and limited turnovers to 11
- FAU’s defense played one of its best games of the conference slate, logging 10 steals and forcing 13 turnovers, while tallying 14 points off those Charlotte mishaps
UP NEXT
The Owls will return home to face WKU on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. Tickets for the game can be purchased here or by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS.
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