BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic women’s basketball (5-7, 0-1 AAC) dropped a hard-fought 65-53 battle against the UAB Blazers (10-3, 1-0 AAC) in the Owls first-ever American Athletic Conference contest on Saturday at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Owls opened the contest with jumpers from Rose Caverly and Jada Moore to lead 4-3 early. UAB retook the lead at 6-4 before Janeta Rozentale connected on back-to-back layups to give the Owls a two-point advantage, 8-6, at the five-minute mark of the opening period. Dyllan Hanna scored on a layup kept the Owls within one with three minutes to go in the first, 11-10, however the Blazers closed the period on a 10-2 run to take a 21-12 lead after one.
UAB opened the second on a 6-3 run to extend the Blazers’ lead to 27-15. Devyn Scott and Moore knocked down back-to-back jumpers for the Owls to cut the UAB lead back down to eight with six minutes to go in the half, 27-19, however, the Blazers outscored the Owls 12-5 to close out the half, holding a 15-point lead at the break, 39-24.
Florida Atlantic looked to battle back in the second half. The Owls opened the third on a 12-4 run, cutting the deficit down to just seven at the 2:50-minute mark of the third, 43-36. Despite the Owls’ momentum, UAB responded over the final three minutes of the period, kicking its lead back out to 12, 52-40, heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
The Owls continued to battle but just couldn’t make a run in the fourth as the Blazers would eventually take the 65-53 contest.
HEAD COACH JENNIFER SULLIVAN POSTGAME THOUGHTS
“We won in the second half, which is really encouraging, but we told the girls after the game that you just can’t spot a team from three like that in the first half. That was the big point of emphasis for us at halftime. They made seven threes in the first half, which was disappointing, but in the second half we only gave up one made three. Was proud of their fight and hopeful going into the next one as we continue to move forward and get better.”
NOTES AND TEAM STATS
- Jada Moore and Dyllan Hanna led the Owls against the Blazers.
- Moore tied a career-best 17 points, shooting 35 percent from the field (8-of-23), while also tallying five rebounds, collecting a team-leading two steals, and dishing out an assist.
- Hanna recorded her first career double-double, scoring 11 points, shooting a perfect 100 percent (5-of-5) from the field, and pulling down 11 boards, in addition to blocking a shot.
- The Owls outscored the Blazers 16-13 in the third.
- Florida Atlantic also outscored UAB 36-30 off points in the paint, in addition to taking advantage of second-chance opportunities with an 8-2 advantage in second-chance points.
UP NEXT
Following the new year, the Owls will head out on their first AAC road trip of the year, heading to Dallas to take on the SMU Mustangs on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, for an 8 p.m. ET tip.
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