MACON, Ga. – The Florida Atlantic Owls (0-1) fell in a hard-fought 70-62 battle against the Mercer Bears (1-1) to open up their 2023-24 season on Thursday at Hawkins Arena.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It didn’t take long for Aniya Hubbard to get back to what she does best, scoring the Owls opening bucket off the tip just three seconds into the contest, 2-0. The Owls and Bears battled through an even 7-7 run over the first five minutes of play as the Owls held a 9-7 advantage at the opening media timeout. Florida Atlantic produced a 7-5 run to extend the Owls’ lead to four after an and-1 from Jada Moore to make it 16-12 Florida Atlantic with just 2:49 remaining in the first, however, the Bears rallied over the final two minutes of play to take a 20-18 lead after the first.
Much like the first, Hubbard opened the scoring for the Owls, bringing the contest even at 20 on the layup. The Owls then went on a 13-6 run, capped off by a Devyn Scott 3-pointer, to hold a seven-point advantage with just over one minute remaining in the half, 33-26. Evie Van Der Woude scored her first bucket as an Owl at the 24-second mark to keep the Owls lead at six, 35-29, but the Bears scored on a 3-pointer with just a second remaining to cut the Owls’ lead to just three at the break, 35-32.
The Owls and Bears battled back-and-forth to open the second half, leading to a 40-40 stalemate at the 5:20-minute mark of the third. Aniya Hubbard hit her second three of the contest and tallied a pair of free throws to put the Owls up by five, 45-40, with just under five remaining in the third. However, the Bears locked in over the final five minutes of the third, holding the Owls to just a pair of free throws as they produced a 17-2 run to take a 57-47 lead into the final 10 minutes of play.
The Owls attempted to rally in the fourth, going on a 13-2 run to cut the Bears lead down to just two after a free throw from Scott, 64-62, with 1:36 to play. But that was as close as it got as the Owls fell in the 70-62 battle.
POSTGAME THOUGHTS FROM COACH SULLY
“Playing in a tough environment on the road, and with lots of new pieces, we still had a chance to win. The third quarter really hurt us. In the third quarter, we just couldn’t get stops, which it difficult for us and put pressure on our offense to make plays. But you want every other quarter other than that. The free throw line was killer tonight. I thought we could have been in a really good spot if we could have hit our free throws, but I think it’s great for this team, great opportunity on the road in a tough environment, to see where we are.”
NOTES AND TEAM STATS
- Aniya Hubbard and Jada Moore led the way for the Owls in the contest.
- Hubbard tallied her eighth career 20-point game, tying for a career-best 28 points, shooting 56 percent (9-of-16) from the field and 60 percent (3-of-5) from 3-point range, while also narrowly missing a double-double with nine rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
- Hubbard scored 18 points of her 28 points in the opening half.
- Moore also reached double-figures, scoring 13 points off an impressive 67 percent (4-of-6) from the field and going 83 percent (5-of-6) at the free throw line, and pulling down five boards.
- Florida Atlantic outscored Mercer in the second, 17-12, and third quarters, 15-13, while also outshooting the Bears from beyond the arc, 30.4 percent to 29.4 percent.
UP NEXT
The Owls will continue their season-opening road trip on Monday as they visit the UNF Ospreys for a 7 p.m. tip at UNF Arena.
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