BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic Owls (12-16, 5-14 C-USA) had another slow start out of the gate, falling behind after the opening quarter, and struggled to match the Rice Owls (21-7, 12-7 C-USA) eventually falling 76-61 on Thursday evening at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Rice struck first but FAU immediately responded as Amber Gaston scored on a layup to even things at two just 30 seconds into play. Devyn Scott responded to another Rice score on a jumper at the 8:24-minute mark to keep things locked at 4-4. Following the 4-4 tie, Rice began to break away, outscoring FAU 10-3 over the final eight minutes of the opening period to take a 14-7 lead after one.
Rice scored a 3-pointer to extend its lead to 10 at 17-7, however FAU scored back-to-back trips to the free throw line for Aniya Hubbard and Scott to score four unanswered and bring the Owls back within six, 17-11, at the 8:22-mark of the third. FAU kept the score within six through the 6:21-minute mark following an Alexa Zaph 3-pointer,21-15, however Rice outscored FAU over the final six minutes of the half as Rice took a nine-point advantage into the halftime break, 33-24.
The Owls continued to battle in the second half. Rice opened the third quarter on a 9-4 run to extend its lead to 14 at 42-28 at the 5:53-minute mark of the third. However, back-to-back and-1s for the Owls from Hubbard and Jada Moore scored six unanswered for the Owls to cut the lead down to eight with 5:33 to play in the third. FAU eventually cut the lead to just seven at 47-40, however Rice closed the quarter on a 7-2 run to hold a 12-point lead entering the final 10 minutes of play, 54-42.
Rice continued their momentum into the fourth as FAU eventually stared down a 21-point disadvantage, 67-46, with 5:34 to play in the contest. FAU attempted to make a run to close the gap as the Owls held Rice to just one point over the following three minutes of clock during a 12-1 run to cut the deficit to just 10, 68-58, with 2:03 to play, but that’s as close as FAU got as Rice held on through an 8-3 run to take the 76-61 win.
NOTES AND TEAM STATS
- The Owls featured three double-digit scorers again against Rice
- Aniya Hubbard led the way for FAU with a team-high 19 points, shooting 41 percent (7-of-17) from the field and going a perfect 5-of-5 from the line.
- Aniya also registered her first career double-double collecting 10 rebounds, in addition to grabbing five steals, and tallying an assist and a block shot.
- Amber Gaston and Jada Moore rounded out the Owls double-figure scorers with 10 points apiece.
- Moore led the Owls in assists with three.
- The Owls outscored Rice 38-32 on points in the paint, as well as holding a 7-2 on second-chance points.
UP NEXT
The Owls will close out the regular season on Saturday, hosting the LA Tech Lady Techsters for senior day. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. inside Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.
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