JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic women’s basketball team (1-1) gritted out a huge overtime road win against the North Florida Ospreys (1-2) on Monday at UNF Arena.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Aniya Hubbard got things started for Florida Atlantic, jumping out to a 2-0 lead, however, a 12-4 Osprey run pushed North Florida out to a 12-6 lead at the 3:07-minute mark. The Owls answered back with five unanswered, on back-to-back buckets from Mya Perry, to cut the deficit to just one after the first, 12-11.
Mya Perry hit another three to open the second, giving the Owls a 14-12 advantage, but the Ospreys responded on a 9-0 to retake the lead at 21-14. But just like the first, the Owls found a way to close out the half, outscoring the Ospreys, 16-7, to take a two-point advantage into the break, 30-28.
Out of the locker room, Janeta Rozentale scored back-to-back layups for the Owls, extending the Owls lead to four, 34-30, at the 8:30-minute mark of the third. Over the following seven minutes of clock, North Florida produced a 19-8 run to retake the lead and hold a seven-point advantage with just under two minutes to go in the third, 49-42. Hubbard scored back-to-back layups over the final two minutes, while the Ospreys just tacked on one free throw, to cut the deficit to four entering the final 10 minutes of play, 50-46.
The Owls battled back going on a 6-2 run to open the fourth, tying things up at 52 after a jumper from Jada Moore. The Owls tied it up again at 54 after another bucket from Moore, but North Florida retook the lead to hold a 59-58 advantage with 4:19 to play. The Owls locked in over the following three minutes of clock, producing an 8-2 run to lead by five with just over a minute to play. However, North Florida hit a 3-pointer at the 0:44-minute mark and then scored on a layup with just eight seconds to play to tie it up at 66. The Owls looked to win it on a layup, but it just wouldn’t fall as the game went into overtime locked at 66.
North Florida kept the score within two over the first three minutes of overtime, 72-70, but that was as close as the Ospreys would get. The Owls closed the contest on a 12-5 run to seal the win and earn the 84-75 road victory.
HEAD COACH JENNIFER SULLIVAN POSTGAME THOUGHTS
“Any time you can go on the road, it’s big. We had lots of moments we could have hung our head, and we didn’t. I thought a lot of different people stepped up big and made some great defensive plays down the stretch. Just really proud of our effort. We stayed together, didn’t get discouraged, and bounced back in a big way.”
NOTES AND TEAM STATS
- Four Owls registered a double-digit performance in the overtime win.
- The Owls connected on 14 of their last 25 shots, including a perfect 100 percent (1-of-1) from 3-point range and 90 percent (9-of-10) at the line.
- Hubbard and Perry led the way with a pair of 20-point performances.
- Hubbard scored 24, shooting 10-of-19 from the field and going a perfect 4-of-4 at the free throw line. She also pulled down four boards and dished out three assists
- Perry posted her first career 20-point performance, dropping a career-best 20 points, shooting 7-of-12 from the field, 4-of-7 from 3-point range, and a perfect 2-of-2 at the line, while also adding a pair of boards and a steal
- Rozentale also had a big night, scoring a team third-best 16 points, shooting 7-of-13 from the field and 67 percent (2-of-3) from the free throw line, in addition to posting seven boards, two assists, and a steal
- Moore rounds out the Owls’ double-figure scorers, dropping 14 points on 5-of-9 from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from the line. Moore also led the Owls on the glass, narrowly missing a double-double with a team-leading nine boards, in addition to a team-leading four steals, and dishing out a pair of assists
- Florida Atlantic shot 50 percent from the floor, 36 percent from deep, and 72 percent at the line, outshooting North Florida at every level
- The Owls outscored the Ospreys in the second quarter (19-16), fourth quarter (20-16), and in overtime (18-9)
- Florida Atlantic outrebounded North Florida 42-35
- The Owls dominated the paint, outscoring the Ospreys 52-36
- Florida Atlantic also dominated in fastbreak points, outscoring North Florida 15-3 in transition
- The Owls also outscored the Ospreys in points off turnovers, 19-13, and second-chance opportunities, 14-8
- Florida Atlantic’s bench also outscored North Florida’s reserves, 22-21
UP NEXT
The Owls return home this week as they host Chicago State for their home-opener on Friday, Nov. 17. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. inside Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena and on ESPN+.
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