| 11/4/2025 | Women’s Basketball | Box Score BOCA RATON, Fla. – Head Coach LeAnn Freeland secured her first win in Paradise on Tuesday night when the Florida Atlantic Owls earned a season-opening 89-46 win over the Florida Memorial Lions inside Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena. HOW IT HAPPENED The Owls started slow, trailing Florida Memorial 14-8 through the game’s 3:59-minute mark. However, Grace Carstensen’s first 3-pointer of the day sparked a 13-4 FAU run, giving the Owls the 21-18 first-quarter lead. Florida Atlantic carried the momentum into the second, opening the period on a 12-2 run, capped off by back-to-back triples from Michiyah Simmons to extend the Owls’ lead to double digits at 33-20, at the second-quarter media break. The Owls matched the Lions over the remainder of the half, holding onto their 13-point advantage through the halftime break, 41-28. FAU opened the third quarter with a 9-4 run to extend the lead to 18 at 50-32, following Carstensen’s third 3-pointer of the day. Florida Memorial tried to chip away at the Owls’ lead, cutting the deficit back to 13, 54-31, at the third quarter three-minute mark, but the Owls answered with 13 unanswered points, highlighted by eight from Carstensen, to close out the third quarter and take a 26-point lead into the fourth at 67-41. Florida Atlantic sealed the game in the fourth, outscoring the Lions 22-5 over the final 10 minutes of play for the 89-46 season-opening win. HEAR FROM HEAD COACH LEANN FREELAND “I’m really proud of our players. I thought they did a really great job playing together on both ends of the court and making the adjustments we needed to pull off the win against a really talented Florida Memorial team. They are a scrappy team. They know how to win, and they were not going away. I thought we had to play a good game to beat them tonight.” NOTES AND TEAM STATS The victory marked the first Freeland win as Florida Atlantic’s Head Coach.Vivian Onugha and Carstensen led the way for the Owls. Onugha tallied her first NCAA double-double, with a game-leading career-best 24 points and finishing second on the team with 11 boards. She shot 80 percent (8-of-10) from the field and added eight free throws.Carstensen also produced a new career-high, scoring 21 points, shooting 64 percent (7-of-11) from the floor, 67 percent (4-of-6) from beyond the arc, and was perfect at the line (3-of-3).Haley Walker led the Owls on the glass, collecting a team-leading 14 boards. Zahira Arizmendi and Ineivi Plata tied for a team-leading five assists on the night. As a team, the Owls dominated in nearly every statistical category. FAU shot 55.4 percent from the field, 50 percent from beyond the arc, and 69.6 percent at the line. FAU also dominated the Lions on the boards, outrebounding FMU 45-17, doubling up the Lions on the defensive glass, 31-15.The Owls also outpaced the Lions in points in the paint, 40 to 28, points off turnovers, 24 to 14, second chance points, 14 to 0, fast break points, 29 to 4, and points off the bench, 48 to 13. UP NEXT The Owls now kick off a three-game road trip, beginning with Kennesaw State on Saturday, Nov. 8, at 7 p.m. inside the KSU Convocation Center and on ESPN+. FOLLOW THE OWLS For updates, follow @FAUWBB_Hoops on X and @FAUWBB on Instagram, or like Florida Atlantic Women’s Basketball on Facebook. |
