BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University women’s basketball team (2-0) closed out opening weekend of the 2021-22 season with another dominating performance, as the Owls took down Bethune-Cookman (1-2), 88-65. The Owls’ overall balanced-effort was led by five players in double digits in scoring and 50% shooting from the field. With the win, the Owls open up the season 2-0 for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
HOW IT WAS DECIDED
1Q
Both sides took some time to get rolling offensively with the score tied at 4-4 in the opening four minutes of the contest. FAU was in a drought from the field for over two minutes, but Alexa Zaph came up with a step-back jumper to pull the Owls ahead 9-5 with 4:18 remaining in the quarter. Zaph’s jumper was a part of an FAU 11-2 run, as the Owls led 15-6 while holding B-CU to 12% from the field. B-CU would then catch some fire in the final two minutes of the quarter to score seven unanswered points to come within two of the Owls at the end of the first quarter,15-13.
2Q
The Owls came out strong in the second quarter, as Sofia Galeron delivered a layup and Rita Pleskevich followed with a 3-pointer. B-CU came within a point of FAU off a jumper with three minutes to go in the half, but that was the closest the Wildcats would get to the lead for the remainder of the contest. Janeta Rozentale and Galeron came up with great opportunities for the Owls in scoring and from crashing the boards. With time ticking down in the half, Rozentale made a second-chance layup at the buzzer to clinch a double-double in the first half (11 points and 10 rebounds). FAU went into the locker room with a 34-26 lead.
3Q
The Owls shot the ball well in the third quarter, going 9-for-12 from the field for a 75% field goal percentage. FAU opened up the second half on a 9-0 run. In that run included Amber Gaston taking a great charge to give the Owls the ball back. She then made a layup to help the Owls lead 43-26 in the opening 1:58 of the quarter. Rozentale splashed in a 3-pointer at the 6:15 mark to put the Owls ahead by 19, and just three minutes later, a Galeron trey elevated the Owls ahead by 21 points. B-CU closed out the quarter on a 4-0 run, but the Owls still took a convincing 60-41 advantage going into the final 10 minutes of play.
4Q
Zaph logged nine of her career-high 19 points in the fourth quarter, as she was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. She helped the Owls stretch their lead to 24 points off a layup with 7:07 left in the game. B-CU caught some wind to go on a 9-3 run, but FAU answered with a 7-2 run themselves capped off by a Simona Henshaw 3-pointer, the freshman’s first field goal of her young career. FAU led by 23 points with 3:36 left in the game and went on to finish the game with a 20 point victory, 85-65.
GAME NOTES
- The Owls shot 50% from the field, marking the second game FAU has shot over 50% from the field
- Zaph led the Owls with a career-high 19 points, while shooting 5-for-12 from the field and 7-for-8 from the charity stripe. She also added six rebounds
- Rozentale logged her first double-double of the season off a career-high 18 points with 11 boards. She also tallied three assists
- Rita Pleskevich followed with 14 points, another stellar performance for the redshirt senior who shot 5-for-10 from the field and a perfect 2-for-2 from beyond the arc. She added in five boards as well
- Gaston logged her second consecutive double digit scoring affair, shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from the field for 10 points, along with six boards
- The Owls had five in double digits in scoring with Galeron being the fifth. She was just shy of a double-double again, tallying 10 points and seven boards with two steals
- Kynadi Kuykendoll tallied three assists and two steals
- The Owls have commenced the season 2-0 for the first time since the 2016-17 season
COACH SULLY’S STATEMENTS
Opening Statements:
“This is really exciting. I think it was a great win for us. We really wanted to focus on doing what we do well that game, and I thought we did it better for four quarters. I thought the last game kind of had a bit of a lull in the third,” said head coach Jennifer Sullivan. “I’m really proud of them and we have a really big week coming up, so I think that is a good exclamation point as we head into a big week.”
On Rozentale’s performance:
“I thought [B-CU] was really aggressive defensively and kept sending us to the line, and she did a great job taking advantage of that. She shot 10 free throws, going 9-for-10, so I thought that was great. I think she needed that. She kind of hasn’t been the full Janeta that we know we will see in the first few games, so it was great to see her have a breakthrough performance.”
On Zaph’s Outing:
“She was wonderful. I think she has been so great for us in transition by trying to make plays and being really aggressive by reading what the defense gives her. She provides us with a spark and she never gets tired, which is great. When she is out there taking care of the basketball and knocking down shots, it’s always going to keep the defense on their heels. She’s also another scoring option, so people have to sag off other people to try to cover her, which opens people up, so she did a great job.”
UP NEXT
FAU will play on the road for the first time this season, heading down I-95 to face Miami on Thursday, Nov. 18 at 6 p.m. The Owls will return home for the FAU Thanksgiving Tournament, taking place from Nov. 26-27. Tickets for the game can be purchased here or by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS.
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