The Florida Atlantic University womens basketball team dropped the consolation game of the UM Thanksgiving Tournament with a 72-57 loss to Eastern Illinois on Saturday at the BankUnited Center. The Owls (2-5) trailed at the half 33-30 but started the second period on an 8-0 run to retake the lead. Both teams battled back-and-forth for most of the second half with no team having a lead larger than nine points until late in the game. With the score tied at 51-51 and 7:54 remaining, Eastern Illinois went on a 21-6 run to close out the game and salvage the split for the weekend. The Panthers (2-4) were led on offense by Mariah King, who led all scorers with 21 points. TaKenya Nixon and Chantelle Pressley each added 10 points for EIU. Lyrell Barfield led the way for FAU with 13 points and five steals. Breana Turner added 10 points for the Owls. FAU will take a day of rest on Sunday before hitting the road again on Monday en route to Tampa. The Owls will take on USF on Tuesday night from the Sun Dome.
