Florida Atlantic women’s basketball (12-13, 6-7 AC) returned to the Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena after a game on the road to verse the University of Tulsa (16-9, 8-5 AC), adding another win to their record, 61-55. This was FAU’s “Play4Kay” game, donning bright pink jerseys to represent the fight against all cancers affecting women.
Prior to tipoff, Tulsa held a 4-1 overall record against FAU in the programs’ histories with its most recent win over the Owls on Jan. 27, 58-77; the only time the Owls defeated the Golden Hurricanes was during the 2013-14 season, where the Owls won 91-86.
“We were focusing just on ourselves and our defensive principles,” head coach LeAnn Freeland expressed about coming into the game with the team’s history.
Sophomore guard Erin Rodgers came back from a knee injury, still wearing a brace, but managed to score 11 points for the team and play 28 minutes in today’s game against Tulsa.
Both teams started slow, Jess Moors scored the first points almost four minutes into the game. The next five points were from guard Mady Cartwright on a fast break, and guard Shamaryah Duncan, which set the tone for the remainder of the first quarter where the Golden Hurricanes led the Owls 11-8.
The Owls started the second quarter without scoring any points until two minutes in, but a quick momentum shift was led by Rodgers, who scored four points in a row. Rodgers assisted three consecutive 3-pointers from guards Grace Carstensen, Destyne Jackson, and Madi Gewirtz.
Jackson shared, “I felt our momentum switch when our defense was picking up, we had some steals, working stops, and just a lot of ball pressure.”
The Owls went into halftime leading the Golden Hurricanes 26-22.
Freeland shared, “Our players did a great job blocking in together and applying ball pressure…overall great defensive effort.”
FAU picked up where they left off, scoring the first four points. The Owls created their biggest lead of the game up to that point, leading 32-25. The Owls’ top scorer of the game was Jackson with 16 points.
As a team, FAU shot 56% from the field, 25% from three and 20% from the free-throw line.
The Owls held their lead into the final quarter, 45-41. They extended the gap to eight points, but the Golden Hurricanes managed to go on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 1.
Moors drove to the rim with a game-sealing layup, and Gewitz with additional free throws. The Owls were able to claim their third victory extending their winning streak after a close game against the current fourth ranked team in the American Conference.
Coach Freeland notes, “This is a tough stretch in the season, because a lot of teams are tired, and worn down, but one thing I see in our players is they’re so hungry and they’re so excited to be there every day, and most importantly, they’re excited to be there together.”
The Owls head to Greenville, North Carolina to take on the East Carolina Pirates, Tuesday, Feb. 17, tipoff is set for 6 p.m. in Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.
Aldana Jure is a staff writer for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, please email her at [email protected] or contact her on Instagram @jezabeljure.
