BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic women’s basketball (4-4) came up just short on Thursday, falling in a hard-fought 65-62 battle with rival FIU (6-4) on Education Day in front of record-breaking crowd of 2,067 inside Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIU scored the first two buckets of the day before the Owls answered back off a Mya Perry 3-pointer to cut the lead to two, 5-3. A layup from Janeta Rozentale and a Perry Jumper kept the Owls within three, 10-7, at 6:38, but the Panthers closed the opening period on a 10-4 run to take a 20-11 advantage after one.
The Owls scored eight unanswered over the opening three minutes of the second period to cut the deficit down to just one, 20-19, after a free throw from Perry. FIU answered back with a 11-3 run to extend its lead back out to nine, 31-22, with 2:19 to play in the half, however the Owls scored on a layup from Rozentale and a jumper from Jada Moore, bringing the Owls back within five to close out the first half, 31-26.
Florida Atlantic continued to battle into the third, closing the gap to just three at 38-35 with 6:23 to play in the third. The Panthers kicked their lead back out to seven at 45-38, but another Owl 6-2 run, cut the deficit back down to just three, 47-44, entering the final 10 minutes of play.
The Panthers went on a 14-6 run to open the fourth, extending their lead to 11, 61-50, with 4:22 to play. The Owls rallied to score nine unanswered points, cutting the deficit to just two points, 61-59, at the 1:30-minute mark. Free throws from Perry and Jada Moore kept the Owls within three, but the Owls just couldn’t get the final shot to fall as the Panthers forced an FAU turnover to close out the 65-62 battle.
NOTES AND TEAM STATS
- Mya Perry, Janeta Rozentale, and Jada Moore led the Owls against the Panthers.
- Perry scored a career-high and team-leading 24 points, shooting 41 percent (7-of-17) from the field and 40 percent (4-of-10) from 3-point range, while also knocking down six free throws.
- Rozentale secured her second double-double of the season, pulling down 13 boards and scoring 12 points, in addition to posting a team-leading two blocks.
- Moore turned in a team second-best 14 points, shooting 30 percent from the field (4-of-12) and tallying six free throws. She also dished out a season-high six assists and pulled down seven rebounds in the contest.
- The Owls outscored the Panthers in the second, 15-11, and the third periods, 18-16.
- Florida Atlantic also dominated in the paint, outscoring FIU 34-24, in addition to holding an advantage in points off turnovers, 13-12.
UP NEXT
The Owls will close out their three-game home stretch on Saturday, Dec. 16 as they host the Howard Bison for a 2 p.m. tip at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.
FOLLOW THE OWLS
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