Women’s Basketball Drops Heartbreaker to Southern Miss

BOCA RATON, Fla. – (Feb. 13, 2020) – The Florida Atlantic University women’s basketball team (10-13, 4-8 C-USA) fell to Southern Miss (12-11, 4-7 C-USA) Thursday night, 71-67. The game was tied at 67 a piece with 49 seconds left in the game, but Southern Miss capitalized on a second chance opportunity for the go-ahead bucket. FAU pulled down a season-low 23 rebounds compared to Southern Miss’s 44, which showed to be a critical factor in the game’s decision.

How It Was Decided:

The Owls began the game in dominating fashion, opening up the contest on a 7-0 run. FAU would then fall into a scoring drought for nearly four minutes, but Astou Gaye broke it with a layup. Southern Miss would then dig back into the game, going on a 6-0 run to creep up on the Owls. Despite FAU’s hot start, Southern Miss made a three-pointer before the end of the first quarter and the Owls trailed 19-16 after one frame of play.

Southern Miss led by as many as seven twice in the second quarter. The Owls closed in on the Golden Eagles, going on a 6-2 run courtesy of Crystal Primm knocking down a three-pointer and two free throws and Juliette Gauthier going 2-2 from the charity strike. The Owls outscored the Golden Eagles 17-16 in the quarter, but headed to the locker room trailing 35-33

The Owls trailed by as many as eight points with 1:05 left in the third quarter, but the Owls rolled on a 7-1 run, which began with a Gaye three-pointer to put the Owls back within striking distance, 59-57. It was a high scoring third quarter, as both teams put up 24 points with Southern Miss taking a two-point advantage going into the fourth quarter.

Primm headed to the free throw line once again just 23 seconds into the fourth quarter and made down both shots to tie the game at 59. The Owls would take a three-point lead with 3:39 left in the game thanks to two more free throws and a layup by Primm. The lead went back-and-forth and then tied for the sixth time in the game thanks to a foul shot by Southern Miss’s Kelsey Jones, who would have the go-ahead basket 50 seconds later. The Owls fell short of a comeback victory, falling 71-67. 

Game Notes:

  • Primm tallied her seventh 20+ point game of the season, leading all scorers with 23 points and seven rebounds. The Conference USA leader in free throws made was 10-12 from the charity strike
  • Gaye was the second Owl in double digits, scoring 12 points along with her four rebounds, three blocks and two steals
  • Gauthier was 7-8 from the free throw line, ending the night with nine points, while adding four assists for the fifth time this season
  • Nikola Ozola ended the night with six points, while matching a season-high three steals
  • The Owls went 80.8 percent from the free throw line, going 21-26

Up Next:

The Owls continue their homestand with a matchup against Louisiana Tech on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. with the game being broadcast on CUSA.TV. For tickets, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS or visit fausports.com.
 

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).

– FAUSports.com –

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 4-0 in bowl games, the most recent being a 52-28 victory over SMU in the 2019 Cheribundi 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, visitwww.fau.edu.