Florida Atlantic spent the evening on the West coast as the Owls faced off against the USF Bulls (12-8, 5-2 AAC). FAU wanted to close the road trip off with an upset victory, but South Florida gave Florida Atlantic their largest loss in AAC play with a dominant 26-point victory.
First Half
A fast-paced first six minutes saw USF outfront 12-7 at the media timeout. FAU’s Zahira Arizmendi hit a three, pulling the Owls within two. Afterwards, the Bulls responded with a 9-0 run taking a 21-10 lead with 1:01 left in the first. A Ta’ziah Jenks three closed the scoring in the first as South Florida led 21-13 after one.
The Owls found a rhythm on offense, but so did the Bulls as USF led 32-25 after five minutes into the second quarter. FAU cut the deficit down to three thanks to an Emaya Lewis layup as the Owls trailed 32-29 with 2:25 remaining in the second. South Florida built their lead back up to nine, as the Bulls led 38-29 going into the half.
Before the half, Stefani Ingram went down after hard contact with USF’s Fatou Diakite. Both players were out the remainder of the contest.
Second Half
A Mya Perry three pulled the Owls within six, but a 12-3 run for the Bulls put USF ahead 54-39 with 4:20 left in the third. Florida Atlantic tried fighting back, but South Florida was too strong as they led 64-48 at the end of the third. FAU was in need of a miracle if the Owls wanted to avoid their fourth-straight loss.
Florida Atlantic kept the fight for the remainder of the contest, but had no hope of catching up with the Bulls as FAU fell 85-59 in the in-state AAC showdown.
Final Stats
Only two Owls managed double-digits in points as Perry (pictured above, FAU Athletics) led the way with 14 points while Jenks dropped 12. Florida Atlantic had a 42.3 FG% and shot 52.6% from downtown. FAU gained 29 boards, but struggled to get any second-chance opportunities as the Owls only garnered six offensive boards. Jada Moore led in boards with six. Ingram and Moore both had five assists as FAU gained 18. The biggest problem was turnovers as the Owls gave up the ball 18 times.
Look Ahead
After the loss, FAU (9-10, 1-5 AAC) will host Charlotte (5-12, 0-6 AAC) at the Burrow. Currently, the 49ers are on a seven game losing streak with their last win coming against Winthrop on Dec. 16. The Niners have a one-point loss to USF and two more single-digit losses to Tulsa and East Carolina. FAU is currently on a two-game winning streak against the 49ers. Florida Atlantic will look to get back in the win column on Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 7 pm.
