Women’s basketball preview: FAU will travel to North Texas and Rice in hopes of snapping its 11-game losing streak

The Owls have yet to win a conference or road game this season.

Freshman+Alexis+Shannon+scored+12+points+in+the+Owls+loss+against+Old+Dominion+last+Saturday.+Alexander+Rodriguez+%7C+Contributing+Photographer

Freshman Alexis Shannon scored 12 points in the Owls loss against Old Dominion last Saturday. Alexander Rodriguez | Contributing Photographer

Jordon Edwards, Contributing Writer

When it rains it pours, and it has been pouring on the Florida Atlantic women’s basketball team as the Owls have lost 11 straight games.

FAU (4-17, 0-10 Conference USA) has yet to win a conference game or a game on the road, and is one loss short of tying a program worst of 12-straight losses. The team has a chance to break all of its streaks this weekend when it visits the University of North Texas and Rice University.

As the Owls look to push for the 12th and final conference tournament seed, here are some important factors to know about each opponent.

North Texas Mean Green:

The Mean Green (7-14, 4-6 Conference USA) are currently eighth in the conference standings, but they do have some lethal weapons that the Owls must find answers for.

Sophomore Terriell Bradley leads the Mean Green in scoring with 13.3 points per game and senior Terra Ellison averages 10.7 per game. The Owls only have one player scoring in double digits — junior Sasha Cedeno, who scores 11 points per game.

Although North Texas has a better overall record, its season is going similar to the Owls according to the numbers. Both teams are shooting the ball poorly, as FAU is shooting 38.8 percent from the field, and North Texas is at 38.7 percent.

The same goes for three-point shooting. The Mean Green shoot 30.7 percent from long range and the Owls are slightly behind at 30.5 percent.

Both teams also turn the ball over at a high rate. The Owls average 18.7 giveaways a game and North Texas turns it over 17.9 times per game.

Rice Owls:

Rice (12-9, 3-7 Conference USA) will be coming into this Saturday’s game looking for a win after its 77-69 overtime loss to North Texas seven days prior. This ball club has a solid non-conference record at 9-2, but is struggling within the conference with just three wins.

With three of its starters averaging double digit points, Rice averages 65.2 points per game. Senior Jasmine Goodwine leads Rice with 11.8 points per game and is in a three-way tie for rebounding at 4.6 a game.

The Texas-based Owls are also holding their opponents to just 59 points per game, which will be an issue for the Florida-based Owls who average 63.8 points per game, 12th in the conference.

In order to win this game, FAU will not only have to shut down Goodwine, but it must find a way to slow down a powerful backcourt consisting of junior Shani Rainey and senior Maya Hawkins. The two guards combine to average 21.1 points per game.

Rice has a record of 6-4 at home, which is not good news for FAU. The Owls have struggled tremendously on the road, and have yet to win a game away from Boca Raton.

If the Owls want to get a win against Rice they must play tight defense on Rainey, Hawkins and Goodwin, forcing other Rice players to beat them.

FAU will play the North Texas Thursday, Feb. 9, at 8 p.m. in Denton, Texas. It will then face Rice on Saturday, Feb. 11, at 3 p.m. in Houston, Texas.

Jordon Edwards is a contributing writer with the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him at @koolkidklassic.