3/8/2025 | Women’s Basketball | Box Score
DENTON, Texas – The Florida Atlantic Owls’ season came to a close on Saturday, as the Owls couldn’t overcome third-quarter struggles, falling to No. 12 seed Charlotte 55-51 in the opening round of the AAC Tournament at the Super Pit.
Florida Atlantic closes the season with an overall record of 11-21 overall, while Charlotte moves to 10-20 on the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Owls had a hot start opening the contest on a 9-2 run before closing out the opening period with a five-point advantage, 9-4.
Charlotte scored first in the second to cut the lead to three, 9-6, but back-to-back triples from Mya Perry and Ta’Ziah Jenks quickly pushed the Owls’ lead back out to nine, with 5:51 to go in the half. The Owls’ maintained a seven-point advantage after a layup from Zahira Arizmendi, 17-10, and Perry’s second triple of the day, 20-13, but Charlotte got one back to close out the half as Florida Atlantic took a five-point lead into the halftime break.
The 49ers opened the third on a 6-0 run to take their first lead since the 7:59-minute mark of the first, 21-20. The teams traded threes through a 26-24 Florida Atlantic lead. Charlotte tied things up at 26-26, but Jenks connected on a jumper in the paint to push the Owls back in front by two, 28-26, at the third-quarter media break. Out of the break, Charlotte went on another 6-0 run to take a four-point lead, 32-28, with 2:45 to play in the third. Perry connected on her fourth triple of the day to bring the Owls back within one, 32-31, but the 49ers closed the period on a 4-0 run as the Owls trailed 36-31 entering the final 10 minutes of play.
Charlotte opened the fourth on a 4-0 run after two trips to the free throw line, extending the Owls’ deficit to nine, 40-31. Following the fourth-quarter media break, Charlotte hit a 3-pointer to push its lead to 10, 45-35, the 49ers’ largest of the day, with 4:59 to play. The Owls answered back, producing an 11-3 run to battle back within two, 48-46, with just under a minute to go. With 33 seconds to play Charlotte hit another 3-pointer to stifle the Owls’ momentum, 51-46. Stefanie Ingram hit a jumper to make it a four-point game with 15 seconds to go, and a 3-pointer from Jada Moore brought the Owls within a possession, 54-41, with seven seconds to play, but it was just too little too late as the Owls ultimately fell 55-51.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
“Just kind of still in that numb, walking through a daze feeling. Devastated for our team. I really thought we had a good chance to win this game. So just kind of processing that emotion right now. But first off, hey, just really proud of this group. It was a long and hard season. And I think in a season like this, it’s very easy to go your separate ways and divide as a team, and they never did. They stayed together, they stayed showing up in practice and being coachable. And I want to thank them for that, and I appreciate them and our staff for helping make that happen. As far as the game goes, I mean, I thought we got a really great start the first half. Defensively, held them to 15 points in the first half, but then the second half, they had a great third quarter. We just got those lulls where we were struggling to find ways to score. A disappointing way to go out. Would have liked to see a little bit more offense production in order to give us a better shot, but this is where we are.”
NOTES AND TEAM STATS
- Moore, Perry, and Jenks led the Owls in the contest, all finishing in double figures.
- Moore finished with a team-leading 13 points, shooting 42 percent (5-of-12) from the field, 67 percent (2-of-3) from 3-point range, and going 1-of-2 at the line. She also tallied six rebounds and two assists.
- Perry finished second on the team with 12 points, shooting 33 percent (4-of-12) from the field and 40 percent (4-of-10) from beyond the arc, and adding two assists and a rebound.
- Jenks shot 50 percent (4-of-8) from the field, 40 percent (2-of-5) from 3-point range, and went 1-of-3 at the line, to go along with a team-high three steals, three boards, and an assist.
- Alana Rouser finished with a game-high eight rebounds, and tallied the Owls only block in the contest.
- The Owls outshot the 49ers from 3-point range, going 35.7 percent (10-of-28) from beyond the arc to Charlotte’s 22.2 percent (4-of-18).
- Florida Atlantic outscored Charlotte in the first and fourth quarter
- The Owls also held an advantage in points off turnovers, 18-9, and bench points, 13-11.
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