EL PASO, Texas – The Florida Atlantic University women’s basketball team (7-8, 5-6 Conference USA) earned a huge road win at UTEP (14-6, 11-4 C-USA) Sunday afternoon, 67-62. FAU picked up its fourth win in a row, while snapping UTEP’s nine-game winning streak. The Owls also move up in the C-USA standings, tied for fourth with WKU and Marshall.
HOW IT WAS DECIDED
1Q
FAU started the afternoon on an 11-2 run. Following a jumper by Rita Pleskevich, the Miners took a timeout, as UTEP was in a scoring drought for over three minutes. The Owls were quiet from the field for two minutes until Allie Tylka came up with a second-chance bucket, as the Owls’ extended the lead 15-4 with 2:30 remaining. Pleskevich sunk a jumper but UTEP responded on the other end. FAU still had the edge, 17-11, after the first quarter.
2Q
The Owls kept it rolling, as FAU tallied back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers in the opening minutes of the half. Alexa Zaph delivered two of those treys, while Pleskevich hit one of her own, as the Owls extended the lead 26-15 after two minutes into the second quarter. Zaph then drove to the basket for a nice layup and Allen followed with a 3-pointer as the Owls led 30-15 with 7:21 left in the half. UTEP went on a 6-0 run in 34 seconds, but FAU still led 33-21 with five minutes left. The Miners finished the half on a 6-0 run in the final minute of play, while FAU went 0-4 from the field. FAU still had the 40-32 advantage.
3Q
The Owls had a tough time connecting from the field in the opening minutes of the second half until Allen knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers. FAU led 47-37 with a little over three minutes into the third quarter. The Owls then went cold for over two minutes with a scoring drought, as UTEP inched closer, 47-42 with 4:28 left. FAU committed seven turnovers in six minutes, which helped the Miners creep within two points. After three quarters of play, the scoreboard read 50-48.
4Q
The Miners tied up the game at 50 apiece off a layup. FAU then went on a 4-0 run off two free throws by Allen and a layup by Tylka. The Miners tied up the game once again off a UTEP layup, as the score was tied at 55 with 4:59 left in the game. Allen knocked down a clutch 3-pointer, her fourth of the game, while tallying two from the charity strike to elevate the Owls to a 62-57 lead with 2:15 remaining. After two free throws by the Miners, UTEP inched within two points with 38 seconds left, 64-62. Bre Beck was then fouled and made 1-2 shots with FAU leading, 65-62. UTEP took a timeout with 21 seconds remaining to draw up the game-tying basket, but UTEP’s Katia Gallegos couldn’t connect from beyond the arc. With UTEP forced to foul, Allen put the game in the bag with 12 seconds left by tallying two free throws. FAU came out on top with a huge C-USA victory, 67-62.
GAME NOTES
- Allen led the way with a game-high 28 points and 17 rebounds along with five steals and three assists. The guard captured her eighth double-double of the season
- Tylka showcased another great overall game, tallying 13 points, six boards and a block and steal
- Zaph went 3-5 from beyond the arc and recorded 11 points
- Pleskevich tallied 11 points in the first half off 4-5 shooting. She also had three rebounds and two assists
- Four Owls earned double digit numbers in scoring for the seventh time this season
- Amber Gaston drew the start and registered five boards and two blocks
- In her first game back since December, Astou Gaye logged five boards, two steals and a block
- The Owls outrebounded the Miners, 42-35. Prior to this game, the Miners were holding opponents to 33.3 boards per game, which led the conference
- UTEP never led in the game, only able to tie with the Owls twice
- FAU snapped a four-game losing streak against the Miners
FROM COACH JIM
“Today was a big win for our program,” said head coach Jim Jabir. “UTEP was on a nine-game win streak and our coaches put together a great game plan and the players followed it for most of the game. We have to play better but I couldn’t be more proud.”
UP NEXT
FAU will wrap up the series at UTEP tomorrow at 9 p.m. (EST). The Owls will be back home one last time to host Southern Miss on Friday, Feb. 26 at 5 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 27 at 2 p.m. Tickets may be purchased here. All tickets for home games will be delivered digitally on individual mobile devices. Season tickets may be purchased through the ticket office by calling 1-800-FAU-OWLS (866-328-6957) or emailing tickets@fau.edu.
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