BOCA RATON, Fla. – (Jan. 1, 2020) – The Florida Atlantic University women’s basketball team (6-5) will commence Conference USA play at UTSA Thursday night. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. Eastern at the Convocation Center.
About the Owls:
Thursday’s conference opener marks the first time the Owls have played on the road since Nov. 24. The Owls are looking to bounce back from two straight losses and kick off C-USA play with a win. Crystal Primm has led the Owls in scoring since the first game of the season, averaging 14.3 points per game along with 7.2 boards per game. Lotta Vehka-Aho follows with 11.3 points per game, while leading the team in assists (37) and steals (20). Juliette Gauthier leads the team in rebounds (7.5 per game), while averaging 10.8 points per game
Last Time Out:
FAU closed out 2019 by hosting the FAU Holiday Classic. The Owls dropped the opening game of the tournament against Furman, 69-63. FAU was down by just two points with 18 seconds left in the game, but were unable to pull off another comeback victory. Freshman Alexa Zaph, who made the All-Tournament Team, led the team with 14 points, which marked a new career high. She was also 3-6 from beyond the arc with her three treys also becoming a career milestone. Also against the Paladins, Amber Gaston captured 11 points and Gauthier scored 10 points and pulled down seven boards.
The Owls fell to Harvard in the consolation game, 65-51. The game consisted of nine different lead changes and the score was tied five times, but the Owls were outscored 20-13 in the fourth quarter. Three different Owls scored 10 points in the game against the Crimson. Primm had her ninth double-digit scoring game with 10 points, while adding six boards and three steals. Vehka-Aho put up 10 points and four assists, while Gauthier scored 10 points and captured six boards.
Scouting UTSA:
The Roadrunners were projected to finish 13th in the 2019-20 C-USA Preseason Poll after finishing last season with a 7-21 record. The Roadrunners have endured a tough non-conference slate, facing three Power 5 teams with the likes of Texas, Texas Tech and Utah. UTSA is young with six true freshmen, but also displays veteran leadership with five seniors. Freshman Adryana Quezada is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 13.7 points per game, while averaging 6.0 rebounds per game. Mikayla Woods follows by averaging 13.1 points per game and is tied with Karrington Donald for a team’s most assists with 2.8 per game and Timea Toth pulls down a team’s most 6.8 rebounds per game.
History Against the Roadrunners:
The conference opener signifies the 10th meeting between these two teams. The Owls have won two out of the last three meetings. Last season the Owls defeated the Roadrunners in Boca Raton, 86-70. Gauthier scored a career-high 24 points in the game along with five rebounds. Gauthier was one of four Owls to reach double digit scoring numbers in the contest and Glenisha Harkless recorded a team-high four assists. For UTSA, the Roadrunners were led by Tija Hawkins who recorded 18 points and seven rebounds. Evelyn Omemmah also pulled down 11 boards.
Upcoming:
FAU will finish off their first conference roadstand with a visit to UTEP with tipoff set for 3 p.m. Eastern. The Owls will be back at Abessinio Court at RoofClaim.com arena on January 9 to face Rice at 7 p.m. 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).
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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.
