For 40 minutes the Owls played solid basketball against a tough veteran team. The next five minutes reminded fans of a tough lesson in a tough season: experience often triumphs over youth.
This game proved to be another example of that lesson as Middle Tennessee State beat the Lady Owls 89-84 in overtime, denying FAU a second win in a row.
Shooting 48.3 percent and maintaining the lead mostly throughout the game, the Owls offense had finally arrived, but key miscues late in the game helped ruin a would-be win.
“I thought we played as hard as we could,” said FAU head coach Chancellor Dugan. “I thought we outplayed them. Middle Tennessee is a great team, but I thought we outplayed them tonight.”
The nation’s leading scorer, MTSU’s Amber Holt scored 34 points and had 15 rebounds for her 10th double-double. Holt’s big night was bolstered by her shooting from the free throw line, where she went 16-of-22. Holt came in averaging 26.8 points per game and has nine 30-point games this season. Key plays by Holt late in the second half helped shift the momentum to MTSU (18-10, 13-4 Sun Belt).
“They got the best player in the league and in the last four minutes she took over,” said Dugan.
Also key was Middle Tennessee’s bench scoring, as they outscored the Owls’ bench 30-16 led by Latoya Barclay. Barclay added 22 points for Middle Tennessee. It was her 3-pointer with seconds remaining that forced overtime tied at 78.
In overtime Middle Tennessee State outscored the Owls 11-6, eventually winning the game on mistakes made by FAU. Heading into overtime Dugan was nervous and worried more for her team rather than Middle Tennessee.
“I saw in our kids’ eyes going into that overtime there was just a little bit of doubt,” said Dugan. “Our youth was there and we can’t have that.”
For FAU (6-19, 2-14 Sun Belt) Brittany Bowe had 20 points and Carla Stubbs added 14. Despite a slow start in the first half Jaimie Givens had 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting and 11 rebounds. Most notably was her defensive presence with three blocked shots.
“She really played probably her best half in a long time,” said Dugan. “She’s going to be a player.”
Bowe also had 10 assists, and Stubbs’ production, along with Givens’ performance, gave Dugan hope for the future. “Both of them played unbelievably,” said Dugan. “You’re talking about sophomores and freshmen who leads us.”
The Owls will try to bounce back this Wednesday night when they travel to Alabama to face Troy at 6:15 p.m.
