A battle of the birds had major AAC implications as UTSA (25-3, 16-1 AAC) and FAU met in San Antonio. The Owls were looking to avoid being the bottom seed in the conference tournament, while the Roadrunners had an opportunity to clinch the conference’s regular season title. A strong second half by UTSA proved to be the turning point as the Owls fell and the Roadrunners claimed the top seed.
First Half
UTSA opened the contest on a 9-0 run, as FAU only had two shots taken in the first two minutes. UTSA led 9-0 with 5:51 remaining in the first quarter. Afterwards, Florida Atlantic’s first points came from Stefani Ingram (pictured below, FAU Athletics) hitting a pull up jumper. It was nearly seven minutes into the game before the Owls scored. At the end of one the Roadrunners led 14-6. Ingram was FAU’s only scorer in the first.
The Owls made up for their slow first quarter by outscoring UTSA 10-4 in the first seven minutes of the second. At the media timeout FAU trailed 18-16. Over the final three minutes of the half, the Roadrunners outpaced Florida Atlantic 11-2. UTSA took the 29-18 lead into the locker room.
While neither team’s offense was consistent, but UTSA outshot the Owls 29-20 in the first half as the Roadrunners took advantage of FAU’s 12 turnovers.
Second Half
Opening the second half, the scoring was close to even. Florida Atlantic kept their deficit within reach as the Owls trailed at the media break, 35-25. The Roadrunners slowly pulled away for the remainder of the third, leading 47-33 with only the fourth left.
Any hopes of a comeback were dashed early as FAU only managed two points in the first five minutes of the fourth. All UTSA 51-35 with 4:55 left in the contest. The Roadrunners ran away with the game as the Owls fell 60-42.
UTSA clinched their first outright AAC title.
Owls Stat Leaders
Stefani Ingram led the way offensively as she was the only Owls to score in the double-digits. The transfer from Georgia dropped 17. FAU’s offensive struggles were evident as they shot just 34.9% from the field and 27.3% from beyond the arc. Alana Rouser earned 7 rebounds with the Owls garnering 28. Jada Moore picked up four assists while Florida Atlantic had only nine.
Look Ahead
The Owls return home as FAU (10-20, 2-15 AAC) will host Memphis (7-20, 5-11 AAC) for the final regular season game of the season. In their previous meeting, the Tigers got the better of Florida Atlantic, winning 73-60. Florida Atlantic will be a 13th seed in the conference tournament while Memphis is still jostling for a better position. Tipoff is scheduled for Tuesday, March 4th at 7 PM.
