DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Florida Atlantic University women’s basketball (1-0) earned a hard-fought 17-point win, 79-62, against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats to open the 2022-23 season on Monday in Daytona Beach.
“For both teams it was tough, our game was postponed, so we had to wait a little longer to play our first game,” said head coach Jennifer Sullivan. “Was really proud of our players performance tonight. I don’t think the final score reflected how close the game was. Bethune-Cookman put on a hard-fought game in a really tough environment to win. I was really proud of our kids’ toughness, especially down the stretch, to handle some tough calls and really finish the game strong. Lots to work on, but really encouraged by our toughness throughout the game.”
Five Owls scored double figures in the Owls’ season-opener, led by Joiya Maddox and Dyllan Hanna with a team-best 13 points apiece. Devyn Scott and Aniya Hubbard tallied 12 points each, while Janeta Rozentale rounded out the Owls’ double-digit scorers with the team’s first double-double of the season, tallying 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, in addition to dishing out a game-high six assists. Hubbard finished with a team second-best nine boards, narrowly missing a double-double of her own in her first collegiate game.
After the Wildcats hit the first basket of the contest, the Owls went on an 11-2 run, capped off by an Aniya Hubbard layup, to take a seven-point lead at the first media timeout, 11-4. Bethune-Cookman responded after the timeout with a run of their own, outscoring the Owls 11-4 over the remainder of the first to cut the Owls’ lead to one possession after one, 15-13.
Maddox opened the second with a layup to spark a 14-4 FAU run, giving the Owls their first double-digit lead of the contest, 29-17. Over the following four minutes of clock, the Wildcats clawed back to cut the FAU lead down to just four, 30-26, at the 2:58-minute mark, however the Owls locked in to hold Bethune-Cookman to just three free throws over the remainder of the period to take an 11-point advantage into the break, 40-29.
In the third, Bethune-Cookman outscored FAU 16-13 to cut the Owls’ lead to eight, 53-45, however that was as close as the Wildcats would get. The Owls locked in and dominated the final 10 minutes of play. Maddox connected on her first 3-pointer of the game to open the fourth, pushing the Owls’ lead back to double-digits at 56-45. After a pair of Wildcat free throws, Maddox knocked down another three to spark an 8-0 FAU run, extending the Owls’ lead to 17, 64-47, with 6:27 to play. FAU matched Bethune-Cookman point-for-point over the final six minutes of play to give the Owls the 79-62 win.
NOTES AND TEAM STATS
- Joiya Maddox and Dyllan Hanna tied for a team-high 13 points
- Janeta Rozentale recorded the Owls’ first double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 boards, in addition to leading the team with six assists
- The Owls dominated in the second and fourth quarter, shooting 47 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range in the second, while shooting 64 percent from the field and 60 percent from beyond the arc in the fourth, and outscored the Wildcats 51-33 in the two quarters combined.
- The Owls dominated in the paint, outscoring the Wildcats 40-22
- FAU also outscored Bethune-Cookman 16-6 off turnovers, despite losing the turnover battle
UP NEXT
FAU has a short turnaround as the Owls travel to Coral Gables on Wednesday to face the Miami Hurricanes. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. inside the Watsco Center.
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