WBB | No. 12-Seed Owls fall to No. 13-Seed Shockers in AAC First Round

3/9/2024 | Women’s Basketball | Box Score

FORT WORTH – The Florida Atlantic Owls (11-19, 6-12 AAC) couldn’t overcome second-half struggles as their 2023-24 season came to a close on Saturday, falling 64-50 against the Wichita State Shockers (10-21, 5-13 AAC) during the first round of the American Athletic Conference tournament at Dickies Arena.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Allie Tylka struck first for the Owls, knocking down a triple for the first points of the AAC Tournament. The Owls traded baskets with the Shockers through a 10-10 stalemate with 2:52 to play in the first. The Shockers scored on a layup and a free throw to close out the period as the Owls trailed by three, 13-10, after the first.

The Shockers scored four unanswered to open the second, taking a 17-10 lead. The Owls answered back with a 10-1 run, taking a 20-18 lead with 4:36 to play in the half. Wichita State tied things up at 20, but a triple from Aniya Hubbard put the Owls back up 23-20 at the second quarter media. The Shockers scored four unanswered to retake the lead 24-23 with 2:58 to play, but Mya Perry knocked down a pair of free throws to close out the half, sending the Owls into the locker room with a 25-24 lead.

Wichita State struck first in the third, but the Owls’ answered back on a 9-5 run, capped off by a Maria Myklebust three, to take a 34-31 lead at the media timeout. Wichita State retook the lead at 37-36, but a layup from Hubbard and triple from Mya Perry pushed the Owls lead to four, 41-37, with two minutes to play in the third. Wichita State closed the third on an 8-0 run as the Owls’ stared down a four-point deficit, 45-41, entering the final 10 minutes of play.

Janeta Rozentale opened the scoring in the fourth, bringing the Owls back within two, 45-43. Wichita State then went on a 7-2 run to extend its lead back to seven, 52-45. The Owls answered back with five unanswered points on an and-1 from Tylka and Rozentale layup, to close the gap back to two, 52-50, with 3:43 to play, however the Owls’ just couldn’t get another shot to fall as the Shockers closed the contest on a 12-0 run to close out the 64-50 contest.

HEAD COACH JENNIFER SULLIVAN POSTGAME THOUGHTS

“Very disappointed. You know I had a lot of words for the girls in the locker room, I think we’re all still in shock. We felt really excited going into this game. We split with Wichita State going into this tournament. One thing we tried to focus on is capitalizing in the paint. Credit to them, I thought they did a great job outscoring us in the paint, 34-20. Then turnovers, that was a big key for us. In game one against them, we kept it to 12, keeping it under 15, which is our goal. In game two, we had one too many turnovers, and coming off a Temple game with too many turnovers. That just hurts us a lot. I thought we battled, just really proud of our kids. They never gave up. We gave ourselves a chance throughout the game, until late down the stretch in the fourth. But just couldn’t come away with it, but just so proud of this group and what they’ve overcome, and thankful for all the work they’ve put into this program and the steps we’ve been able to take moving forward.”

NOTES AND TEAM STATS