BOCA RATON, Fla. – (Dec. 20, 2019) – The Florida Atlantic University women’s basketball team (6-4) dropped their opening game at the FAU Holiday Classic against Furman (7-4) at Abessinio Court at RoofClaim.com Arena, 69-63. The Owls were down by two points with 18 seconds left to go in the contest, but were unable to pull off another comeback victory.
How It Was Decided:
The Owls jumped out in the game with a 5-0 lead thanks to Juliette Gauthier scoring off a layup and 3-pointer. Nikola Ozola would then come alive in the quarter, cashing in on a 3-pointer to put the Owls within four. Free throws made by Amber Gaston and Crystal Primm pulled the Owls ahead, 20-18 at the end of the first quarter. Ozola would score all seven of her points in the first.
Alexa Zaph only needed one quarter to match a career-high in scoring, totaling 10 points in the second frame. The freshman opened up the quarter with a 3-pointer to put the Owls ahead by six points. FAU would then fall in a scoring drought for nearly five minutes, but after draining a shot from downtown and two free throws by Amber Gaston, the Owls trailed by just two going into the locker room, 36-34.
In the third quarter, Astou Gaye captured seven of her nine points in the frame, scoring five straight points to put the Owls ahead 39-36. The Paladins would then go on a 19-6 run to lead by as many as 12. FAU trailed 59-49 going into the fourth quarter.
As the Owls were looking to capture their fourth comeback victory of the season, FAU opened up the quarter on a 6-0 run to cut the Paladins’ lead to four. With 1:41 left in the contest, Primm knocked down a free throw and the Owls trailed by just three. In the final minute of the game, the Owls inched their way within two points, but ultimately fell, 69-63.
Game Notes:
- Zaph captured a career-high 14 points, along with a career-high three 3-pointers. The freshman was 3-6 from beyond the arc
- Amber Gaston captured 11 points along with a rebound, assist and block
- Gauthier produced a solid stat line of 10 points, seven boards and a steal
- Gaye tallied nine points, six boards and a block
- Crystal Primm came up with seven points and seven boards along with three assists
- Lotta Vehka-Aho totaled five points and six assists
- Ozola recorded seven points all in the first quarter
Up Next:
The Owls take on the loser of Saint Joseph’s and Furman tomorrow at 2 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.
