| 12/13/2024 | Women’s Basketball | Box Score BOCA RATON, Fla. – A huge second-half effort powered the Owls to a 71-56 win over Kennesaw State to close out their non-conference home slate on Friday at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena. The Owls improve to 6-4, while Kennesaw State falls to 3-5 on the season. HOW IT HAPPENED The Owls started out slow in the opening period, falling behind 18-8 after the first 10 minutes of play. After trading scores to open the second, the Owls scored seven unanswered, capped off by back-to-back buckets from Ta’Ziah Jenks to close back within three, 20-17, with 6:58 to play in the half. Kennesaw State extended its lead back to six, 28-22, with just over three minutes remaining in the second, but the Owls closed the half on a 4-0 run after a pair of layups from Evie Van Der Woude and Jada Moore to make it a one-possession game at the break, 28-26. The Owls really kicked it into gear in the third quarter. Kennesaw State struck first in the third, 30-26, but the Owls locked in, going on a 6-2 run, capped off by a layup in transition from Moore to tie things up at 32. Florida Atlantic continued the run, outscoring Kennesaw State 12-2 to take a 44-34 lead at the 2:56-minute mark of the third. Kennesaw State scored five unanswered to cut the Owls lead to five, 44-39, with 2:02 to play, but the Owls answered back with five of their own to push the lead back to 10, 49-39, entering the final 10 minutes of play. Mya Perry hit her first triple of the day to open up the fourth, pushing the Owls’ lead to 13. However, Kennesaw State rallied to cut the lead to just nine, 55-46, after a 7-3 run. After trading baskets, Erin Rodgers knocked down her first 3-pointer of the day to spark a 14-8 Owl run to close out the contest as Florida Atlantic eventually took the 15-point win, 71-56. HEAD COACH JENNIFER SULLIVAN POSTGAME THOUGHTS “Super excited. I mean, we got off to a really rocky start in the first half, and I think kind of halfway through the second, kind of started to piece it together. I was a little nervous going into the game because we’ve been off for eight days, and sometimes that can be a little scary, and they’re a team that gets after it defensively. So just making sure our kids were as prepared as possible, and I was just super, super proud of how they responded. I really think our team took a big step in growing today, and I think was great.” NOTES AND TEAM STATS Four Owls scored double figures in the win, led by Jada Moore with a season-high 20 points, shooting 67 percent (10-of-15) from the floor, in addition to adding six boards, two steals, and an assist in the win. Mya Perry, Stefanie Ingram, and Ta’Ziah Jenks joined Moore in double figures, tallying 13, 12, and 10 points, respectively. Ingram led the Owls in assists, dishing out a game-high five. Emaya Lewis led the Owls on the glass with a team-high seven rebounds, and Alana Rouser posted a game-high three blocks. UP NEXT The Owls will now head to Phoenix, Arizona to compete in the GCU Christmas Classic on Dec. 18-21 to close out non-conference play. Florida Atlantic will first take on Georgia Southern on Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 2 p.m. ET inside Global Credit Union Arena. FOLLOW THE OWLS For updates, follow @FAUWBB_Hoops on X and @FAUWBB on Instagram, or like Florida Atlantic Women’s Basketball on Facebook. |
