BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University women’s basketball team (2-0) will hit the road for the first time of the 2021-22 season, as the Owls play at Miami (3-0) on Thursday night. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. at the Watsco Center, as FAU looks to defeat UM for the first time in school history and knock off a Power Five program for the first time since 1997.
ABOUT THE OWLS
- FAU opened up the Jennifer Sullivan era on a memorable note, as the first-year head coach earned her first two wins as a collegiate head coach to start the season 2-0. Prior to FAU, Sullivan served on multiple staffs around the country as an assistant, bringing 16 years of coaching experience
- The Owls are coming off dominating performances over Palm Beach Atlantic (88-41) and Bethune-Cookman (85-65)
- The team brings back 10 student-athletes from the 2020-21 squad, all of whom have seen time on a collegiate court
- Rita Pleskevich and Alexa Zaph lead the team in scoring after two games, logging 14.5 points per game
- Amber Gaston and Janeta Rozentale pull down a team-high 9.5 rebounds per game
- Bre Beck has logged a team’s most nine assists across two contests
- FAU has five Owls averaging double digits in scoring after two games (Zaph, Pleskevich, Gaston, Rozentale and Sofia Galeron)
- The Owls lead Conference USA in field goal percentage defense (.275), 3-point field-goal percentage (.500) & defensive rebounds per game (35.0)
- FAU was picked to finish 10th in C-USA, as voted on by the league’s head coaches. The team is coming off the 2020-21 season having achieved an 11-11 (8-8 C-USA) record with eight conference wins being the most the Owls have achieved in C-USA
LAST TIME OUT
- The Owls defeated Bethune-Cookman, 85-65, behind 50% shooting from the field and beyond the arc to begin the season 2-0 for the first time since 2016
- Five Owls notched double digits in scoring
- Zaph led the Owls with a career-high 19 points and six boards
- Rozentale logged her first double-double of the season off a career-high 18 points and 11 boards with three assists
- Pleksevich had another solid performance with 14 points and five boards
- Galeron tallied 10 points and seven boards off the bench, while Gaston registered 10 points and six rebounds
SCOUTING UM
- Miami has opened up the season 3-0 following wins over Jackson State, Bethune-Cookman and Stetson, all at home
- The Canes were picked to finish ninth in the ACC Preseason Poll with 92 points, as voted on by the league’s head coaches
- Kelsey Marshall leads the Canes by averaging 12.5 points per game. She also averages 5.7 rebounds per game and is tied with Mykea Gray for a team’s most 4.0 assists per game
- Lola Pendande pulls down a team’s most 6.3 boards per game
- With 306 wins at UM, Kate Meier is the winningest coach in UM WBB history
HISTORY AGAINST THE CANES
- The FAU vs. UM series has gone the Canes’ way all 18 times, as UM leads the series, 18-0
- FAU and UM played one another last year for the first time since 2012
- The Owls gave the Canes a game last season, dropping the contest 73-61 in Coral Gables. With 2:27 left in the third quarter, the Owls were up by one, but were unable to pull off the upset
- In last season’s game, Zaph tallied 13 points, five rebounds and three assists, while Rozentale logged nine points, five rebounds and two blocks
UPCOMING
FAU will play another road contest this Sunday, as the Owls head to North Florida for a 9:30 a.m. game. The Owls will return home for the FAU Thanksgiving Tournament, taking place from Nov. 26-27. Tickets for those games can be purchased here or by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS.
OWLS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
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