2/3/2024 | Women’s Basketball | Box Score
BOCA RATON, Fla. – A dominant fourth-quarter performance lifted the Florida Atlantic Owls (7-14, 2-8 AAC) to a 68-63 comeback win over the Rice Owls (12-9, 6-4 AAC) on Saturday at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.
Saturday’s win marked the program’s 500th all-time win during its 40-year history.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Rice opened the contest on an 8-3 run, however the Owls answered back off a layup from Janeta Rozentale and a 3-pointer from Alexa Zaph to even things at eight through the five-minute mark of the first. Rice closed the opening quarter on a 6-2 run to hold a 14-10 lead after the first.
The Rice Owls scored five unanswered to open the second, extending their lead to nine, 19-10. The Owls battled back through the 1:31-minute mark, producing a 15-6 run to bring the contest even at 25-25 after a Jada Moore layup. The Owls took a two-point advantage at 29-27 after a pair of free throws from Dyllan Hanna, however Rice netted an and-1 to close out the opening half to take a slight 30-29 lead into the break.
The second half was a tale of two quarters. Rozentale scored the first field goal of the third to bring things even at 31-31 at the 8:51-minute mark, however Rice outmuscled the Owls in the third, outscoring the Owls 18-7 over the remainder of the quarter to lead 49-38 heading into the fourth.
Staring down an 11-point deficit with 10 minutes to play, the Owls had one mission, continue fighting until the final buzzer. The Owls started quick in the fourth, scoring eight unanswered points over the first two minutes of the period to close the gap to just three at 49-46. Rice got two back off a pair of free throws to extend its lead back to five, 51-46, however the Owls scored on back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers from Maria Myklebust, Rozentale, and Alexa Zaph to take a 55-53 lead with 4:11 to play. Florida Atlantic battled through four ties through a 61-61 stalemate with 49 seconds to play. Aniya Hubbard hit a clutch jumper from just barely inside the 3-point arc, pushing the Owls back in front 63-31. Moore knocked down a pair of free throws and Hubbard tallied one as well to push the Owls lead to five, 66-61, with 19 seconds to play. Rice got two more free throws, but it wasn’t enough as Jada Moore tacked on two more for the Owls to seal the 68-63 win.
HEAD COACH JENNIFER SULLIVAN POSTGAME THOUGHTS
“We all felt pretty confident that a win like this was coming. I think a lot of good things that this team has been doing over the last couple months are starting to come together, and so to have it happen in this fashion against a really good Rice team was big. But I think our team expected to play that way and just excited to get the win for them.”
NOTES AND TEAM STATS
- Janeta Rozentale, Aniya Hubbard, and Maria Myklebust led the Owls in the win over Rice.
- Rozentale tied a career-best 21 points, shooting 64 percent (7-of-11) from the field, 67 percent (2-of-3) from 3-point range, and 71 percent (5-of-7) at the line. She also collected a team-leading seven rebounds, in addition to an assist and a steal.
- Hubbard also had a phenomenal game, scoring 17 points on 33 percent (5-of-15) from the floor and 78 percent (7-of-9) from the charity stripe. She also pulled down a team second-best six boards, in addition to grabbing a team-leading three steals and tying for a team-leading three assists.
- Myklebust rounded out the Owls double-figure scorers, turning in her second double-digit performance of the season. She scored 10 points, shooting a perfect 100 percent from the floor (4-of-4) and from 3-point range (2-of-2). She also added two steals, an assist, and a board on the day.
- The Owls absolutely dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring Rice an astounding 30-14. Florida Atlantic also outscored Rice in the second quarter, 19-16.
- Florida Atlantic outshot Rice from beyond the arc, 37.5 percent to 28.6 percent, and at the line, 76.9 percent to 61.9 percent.
- The Owls also took huge advantage of turnovers, outscoring Rice 13-3 off TOs, while also holding advantages in points off the bench, 35-19, and points in the paint, 28-26.
GALLERY
Gallery: (2-3-2024) Florida Atlantic vs Rice
UP NEXT
Florida Atlantic heads back out on the road this upcoming week as they visit the Charlotte 49ers on Wednesday, Feb. 7. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. inside Halton Arena.
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