The Lady Owls of Florida Atlantic (11-4) triumphed over Rice (8-7) in a blowout game that was decided very early by an unbelievable shooting night from the home team.
An early 8-1 run shaved the FAU lead to two. With the score 12-10, coach Kellie Lewis-Jay called a timeout hoping to quell the Rice momentum and refocus her squad.
Whatever Lewis-Jay said to her ladies worked. A 15-2 run put the score at 27-12, then a 25-7 run left no doubt that the Lady Owls would take the win.
An onslaught of three pointers spearheaded the Lady Owls’ lead in the first half — hitting 9 of their first 11 from behind the arc, they blew the game open. Fourteen 3PT baskets would go for the FAU Owls before all was said and done.
Guard Latavia Dempsey was the biggest beneficiary from the Lady Owls’ hot shooting early. Dempsey scored 24 of her career high 28 points in the first half, and also converted a record seven three pointers. For much of the first twenty minutes of gametime, the St. Petersburg native was outscoring the entire Rice team.
At halftime, the score was 66-28 in favor of the Lady Owls and Rice only managed to get as close as 21 in the second half. The game mercifully ended at 97-67 in favor of the home team. FAU Women’s Basketball now awaits a Jan. 15 matchup versus Florida International University.
Note: Chenise Miller was nowhere to be found. The senior, who at one point started at center, was not on the bench nor the printed roster.
Wesley Wright is the Sports Editor for the University Press. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @NotEvenWes.
