BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University women’s basketball team (5-18, 1-11 in Conference USA) is en route to Denton, Texas to face North Texas (12-10, 6-6 in C-USA) in a Thursday night matchup. Tipoff is set at 7:30 p.m. Eastern at the Super Pit with the game being broadcast on ESPN+.
ABOUT THE OWLS
- FAU is back on the road for a two-game stint, starting with a visit to North Texas on Thursday. The Owls and Mean Green will face off for the first time since Jan. 2020
- Amber Gaston leads the Owls with 11.6 points per game and a .509 field goal percentage
- Janeta Rozentale has a team’s most 8.6 rebounds per game
- Kynadi Kuykendoll leads the way with 2.9 assists per game (67 total)
- FAU has four Owls averaging double digits in scoring (Gaston, Rita Pleskevich, Rozentale and Alexa Zaph)
- In C-USA standings, the Owls are third in defensive rebounds per game (26.52), as well as fourth in free throw percentage (.730) and total assists (285)
- Jennifer Sullivan is in her first season at the helm of the FAU women’s basketball program. She is a 16-year coaching veteran and the sixth head coach in program history
- Zaph earned a huge milestone of capturing 10 assists at Southern Miss (2/5/22), becoming the first player since 2017 to tally 10+ dimes in a game. She was also the first player since 2004 to shoot at least 10 free throws and be 100% from the line after going 11-for-11 from the charity stripe vs. WKU (2/10/22)
LAST TIME OUT
- FAU dropped another heartbreaker to another league leader in WKU, falling short, 72-69 in overtime
- The Owls saw two players with 20+ points, marking the second time that has happened this season
- Zaph logged 21 points along with seven rebounds and going 11-for-11 from the charity stripe. This marked the first time since 2004 a player has shot 10+ free throws in a game and went 100%
- Pleskevich also registered 21 points with 19 of her points coming in the first half. She also logged nine boards
- The Owls held the Lady Toppers to 20% (6-for-30) from beyond the arc in the game
- FAU held WKU to just five points in the second quarter, which is the least the team has given up in a quarter this season
SCOUTING WKU
- North Texas was projected to tie for third, in a three-way knot with Middle Tennessee and UTEP, in the C-USA Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league’s head coaches
- The Mean Green stand at No. 4 in the West with a 6-6 league mark, while tallying a 12-10 overall record
- Quincy Noble was tabbed the C-USA Co-Preseason Player of the Year after tallying 17.8 points per game and 4.3 rebounds per game during the 2020-21 season. She also earned a nod to the eight-person C-USA Preseason Team
- Noble leads UNT with 14.8 PPG, while shooting 37.9 percent from the field
- Madison Townley leads the team in rebounding with 7.0 boards per game
- Jazion Jackson has a team’s most 61 assists, which averages out to 2.8 APG
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE MEAN GREEN
- FAU has the 10-7 edge over the Mean Green
- In the last five matchups, the Mean Green have a 4-1 advantage
- Both programs are familiar with one another, as they were Sun Belt foes and joined C-USA at the same time. The two teams have faced off every season since the 2006-07 slate a part from last season’s COVID year
- The Owls came off a thrilling 84-78 double overtime feat over the Mean Green on Jan. 11, 2020 in Boca Raton. In the first overtime period, the Owls were down by four with 18 seconds left, but were able to tie the game once again and send it into a second overtime period, which eventually resulted in a win. Nikola Ozola tallied seven points and three assists and Gaston had four points and two blocks
AN OWL WIN MEANS
- The team will snap a five-game overall losing streak
- FAU will win its first road game since Dec. 2, 2021, which will end a seven-game road skid
- The Owls will beat the Mean Green away from home for the first time since 2013
UPCOMING
The Owls will finish out its road trip at Middle Tennessee on Saturday, Feb. 19 for a 3 p.m. tipoff. FAU will be 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.
OWLS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
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