MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Florida Atlantic University women’s basketball team (5-20, 1-13 in Conference USA) was quieted by Middle Tennessee’s (19-5, 11-3 in C-USA) hot 3-point shooting on Saturday afternoon to drop the game 72-49. In the first half, FAU was outscored by the Lady Raiders 48-20 while knocking down 11 of their 13 3-pointers. The Owls outscored the Lady Raiders 29-24 in the second half, but ultimately dropped the contest.
HOW IT WAS DECIDED
1Q
Alexa Zaph got FAU started with the Owls’ first three baskets of the ball game. The Lady Raiders, who are the best 3-point shooting team in the conference, caught fire from deep early, knocking down three triples in the first five minutes of the contest. With 4:23 remaining in the first quarter, MT had the slight 12-8 edge. Out of the media timeout, MT went on an 8-1 run, leading FAU to take a timeout with 2:16 left in the first quarter. Freshman Simona Henshaw hit the Owls’ first triple of the game, but the team could not match MT’s seven 3-pointers in the first quarter. After 10 minutes of play, FAU trailed, 28-14.
2Q
MT opened up the second quarter on a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 20. FAU’s first basket of the second frame was courtesy of Bre Beck’s drive to the hoop at the 6 minute mark, but at the media timeout, FAU was down by 19 points, 37-18. FAU held the Lady Raiders to no points for over two minutes, but the Owls were unable to full capitalize. The Owls were outscored 20-6 in the second quarter to trail 48-20 at halftime.
3Q
Thanks to Zaph’s back-to-back-to-back baskets to open up the second half, FAU opened up the quarter 3-for-3 from the field. Rita Pleskevich then knocked down a deep 3-pointers as the shot clock expired, and the Owls came within 19 points with five minutes left in the third. Pleskevich continued to heat up, tallying nine third quarter points. FAU outscored MT 17-8 in the third quarter, while holding the Lady Raiders to 23.5% shooting and 0-for-6 from beyond the arc. FAU went into the fourth quarter down, 37-56.
4Q
The start of the fourth quarter was the Beck show, as the senior made a jumper and followed it up with a 3-pointer, while MT was held off the scoreboard for over four minutes. The Owls outscored the Lady Raiders 7-4 in the first five minutes of the final quarter to trail 60-44 at the media timeout. The Owls were able to cut the MT lead to 14 halfway through the fourth quarter, showing the Owls’ fight and effort to claw back after a slow first half. MT slightly edged out the Owls in the fourth quarter, 16-12, to defeat the Owls, 72-49.
GAME NOTES
- Zaph led the Owls with 16 points. The junior also added five rebounds and two assists
- Out of the past nine games, Pleskevich has registered double digit scoring performances in eight. She ended the afternoon with 13 points off 5-11 shooting
- Beck matched a season-high seven points after going a perfect 3-for-3 from the field
- Galeron pulled down seven boards
- FAU held MT to 2-for-9 from beyond the arc in the second half
- The Owls shot 8-for-10 from the charity stripe
UP NEXT
FAU’s next game is back at home against Old Dominion on Thursday, Feb. 24 at 6 p.m. Tickets for the game can be purchased here or by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS.
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