The Florida Atlantic University womens basketball team faced their first road test of the season on Wednesday night and fell to Jacksonville 78-66 at Swisher Gymnasium. Even though we didnt get the win I think we improved as a team tonight, said head coach Chancellor Dugan. We are a very young team and its not easy to go on the road and win against a quality opponent. The Owls (1-2) were led on offense by Teri Stamps who led all scorers with 22 points, setting a new career high. The junior also tied a career-high with five assists. In the first half both teams battled back and forth with FAU holding its largest lead at 25-16 with 8:51 remaining. However, a 24-9 run to finish the half gave Jacksonville a 40-34 lead at the break. Kimberly Smith cut the lead in half with a three-pointer on FAUs first possession of the second half but that is as close as FAU would come. Smith started her first career game and the freshman scored seven points with two assists. Jacksonville continued to build their lead throughout the second half and took their first double-digit edge at 58-48 with 10:24 remaining off a jump shot from Ashanti Williams. Williams led the Dolphins and tied for a game-high with 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting including a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. Trailing 70-59 with four minutes to go, FAU made their final run and cut the lead 72-66 with just under two minutes remaining. Latavia Dempsey had an open look at a three-point shot that would have cut the lead to three but the freshman misfired and the Dolphins iced the game at the free-throw line. Dempsey notched a career-high with 10 points and DaLita Scott continued her strong early season play with 10 points and four rebounds. The Owls struggled from the free-throw line making just 16-of-33 from the charity stripe. Jacksonville forced FAU to turn the ball over 22 times and out-rebounded the Owls 52-40. FAU will be back in action on Friday when they stay in the Jacksonville area and take on North Florida. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. from the UNF Arena.
