1/15/2025 | Women’s Basketball | Box Score
TULSA, Okla. – The Florida Atlantic Owls battled tough but fell 79-64 on the road at Tulsa on Wednesday at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
The Owls drop to 9-9 on the season and 1-4 in AAC play, while Tulsa moves to 9-9 overall and 3-3 in league play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Golden Hurricane struck first, but Mya Perry got things started for the Owls to make it 3-2 at the 7:52-minute mark of the first. Tulsa retook the lead 5-3, going on an 18-7 run over the remainder of the opening period to hold a 22-10 advantage after one.
The Owls battled back in the second. Following a pair of Tulsa baskets that made it 27-10, the Owls scored eight unanswered, capped off by a pair of triples from Maria Myklebust and Ta’Ziah Jenks to cut the Tulsa lead to nine, 27-18, at the 7:38-minute mark. The Golden Hurricane got four back, but another 9-0 run from the Owls cut the lead down to four, 31-27, with 4:19 to go in the half. Florida Atlantic kept the deficit at four following a pair of Perry free throws with 1:45 to play in the half, but Tulsa tacked on two free throws of their own to make it a 39-33 ballgame entering the halftime break.
Stefanie Ingram nailed a three to open the second half, bringing the Owls within three, 39-36, but a 6-0 run for the Golden Hurricane quickly pushed Tulsa back out to a seven-point lead, 43-36, with eight minutes to play in the third. Kristina Godfrey hit her first 3-pointer of the day to bring the Owls back within five, 53-48, through the 2:44-minute mark, but the Golden Hurricane closed the quarter on a 10-0 run to push the lead back to 15, 63-48, entering the final 10 minutes of play.
Tulsa opened the fourth on an 11-6 run to push its lead to 74-54. The Owls responded on a 6-0 run to battle back within 14, making it 74-60 with 3:07 to play, but the Owls just couldn’t get any closer as Tulsa maintained its advantage, eventually taking the 79-64 win.
HEAD COACH JENNIFER SULLIVAN POSTGAME THOUGHTS
“I thought we had a great game plan, and I thought the girls executed the game plan great. I think it really came down to paint points. We had a lot of opportunities to finish at the rim that we couldn’t convert. The positive of that is, if you make your layups, I think a lot of them are uncontested, then you have an opportunity to win the game. So that’s something we can fix and correct. But on the flip side, just disappointing at this point in the year. That’s something we want to see consistently is being able to finish at the rim. So, we’ll regroup and try to correct that going into the next one.”
NOTES AND TEAM STATS
- Mya Perry led the way for the Owls with 20 points, shooting 5-of-17 from the field, 3-of-10 from 3-point range, and going a perfect 7-of-7 from the line, in addition to collecting three boards and two steals.
- Maria Myklebust also scored double-figures for the Owls, finishing with a season-high 14 points, shooting 45 percent (5-of-11) from the floor, 43 percent (3-of-7) from beyond the arc, and knocking down a free throw, in addition to adding eight rebounds.
- Jada Moore rounded out the Owls double-figure scorers, scoring 12 points, going 3-of-13 from the floor and a perfect 6-of-6 at the line, in addition to adding four boards and a steal.
- Ta’Ziah Jenks finished with a team-high 11 boards, marking her third game with 10 or more rebounds this season. Jenks also led the team in assists, dishing out a team-high five.
- Florida Atlantic outscored Tulsa 23-17 in the second.
- The Owls held an advantage in points off turnovers, 13-7, in addition to outshooting the Golden Hurricane at the line, 73.7 percent to 60 percent.
UP NEXT
The Owls close out their two-game road trip on Saturday in Tampa, taking on the South Florida Bulls for a 6 p.m. tip inside the Yuengling Center.
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