SAN ANTONIO, Texas – (Jan. 2, 2020) – The Florida Atlantic University women’s basketball team (7-5, 1-0 C-USA) took down UTSA (4-8, 0-1 C-USA) Thursday night, 80-53. FAU produced a balanced effort all around with four players in double digits to record their first conference win of the season with a season-high 47.8 field goal percentage.
How It Was Decided:
The Owls got off to a 4-0 start and limited UTSA to a field goal until four minutes into the frame. FAU would fall into a scoring drought for 2:40 until Glenisha Harkless hit a jumper to get a 12-4 run started for the Owls. FAU ended the quarter with a 17-7 lead.
FAU kept the hot shooting going into the second quarter. Lotta Vehka-Aho scored the Owls’ first seven points in the quarter and the team started to roll. The Owls outscored the Roadrunners 27-19 in the second frame, marking the most points scored by FAU in a quarter since Siena (11/19/19). FAU went into the locker room with a 54-26 lead.
The Owls opened up the third quarter on an 8-4 run. The Roadrunners would then go on a 7-0 run midway through the quarter, but Vehka-Aho got the Owls out of the drought with a second-chance layup. FAU went on to outscore UTSA 12-9 in the third quarter.
Looking to close out the game with a 56-35 lead, Crystal Primm got the Owls started in the fourth with one of many second-chance layups scored by FAU on the night. Juliette Gauthier came alive in the second half, scoring eight points and capturing seven rebounds coming out of the locker room. FAU shot 60 percent from the field in the fourth to solidify an 80-53 victory.
Game Notes:
- Four Owls reached double figures in the contest, which marks the third time this season the team has had four or more players in double digits
- Astou Gaye led the Owls with 14 points, while adding eight rebounds, as well as an assist, steal and block
- Gauthier recorded her fourth career double-double, third of the season, by totaling 12 points, 12 rebounds (seven of those offensive) and matching a season-high four assists
- Primm reached double digits for the 10th time this season. The guard was 5-6 from the field with 13 points along with a season-high four assists and three steals
- Vehka-Aho racked up 11 points and four rebounds
- FAU scored 30 points off the bench. Alexa Zaph tallied eight points, while Harkless recorded seven points and two assists. Amber Gaston posted five boards
- Seven of eight Owls who saw more than 10 minutes on the court recorded a bucket
- The Owls shot 47.8 percent from the field and racked up 20 assists, which both marked new season highs
- FAU had 17 offensive rebounds, their second most this season
With Coach Jabir:
“We got better today,” said head coach Jim Jabir. “When our team plays well, we have a lot of players contributing. We get a lot of contribution tonight because the offense was flowing and we were unselfish, so I was happy with that. We still need to improve as the season goes on. We are really young team and they are playing really hard so it’s exciting to see them win with that effort.”
Up Next:
The Owls stay in the Lone Star State to face UTEP on Saturday at 3 p.m. Eastern. FAU will be back at Abessinio Court at RoofClaim.com Arena to face Rice on Thursday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. For tickets, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS or visit the main FAU Women’s Basketball ticket page.
Owls on Social Media:
For complete coverage of FAU women’s basketball, follow us on Twitter (@FAU_WBB), Instagram (@FAU_WBB) and Facebook (Florida Atlantic Women’s Basketball).
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Florida Atlantic University Athletics:
FAU Athletics is comprised of 21 intercollegiate teams involving 450 student-athletes that compete in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track, volleyball, beach volleyball, cheer and dance. The Owls are a NCAA Division I-A (FBS) institution and compete in Conference USA and the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) (beach volleyball, men’s swimming). The Owls have been playing football since 2001 and are a perfect 3-0 in bowl games, the most recent being a 50-3 victory over Akron in the 2017 Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl. The dance team finished its 2014 season No. 8, nationally. FAU cheer won a national championship in 2016.
About Florida Atlantic University:
Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU’s existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.
