A battered Owls group went to NOLA as FAU faced off against Tulane (13-7, 6-3 AAC). Florida Atlantic missed their leading scorer in Mya Perry and it showed as multiple scoring droughts were the downfall of the Owls as the Green Wave earned another double-digit victory over FAU.
First Half
Florida Atlantic had their tenth different starting five of the season to begin the contest.
After a 6-0 lead for the Owls, Tulane went on a 7-0 run taking an early 7-6 lead. The squads went back and forth trading buckets up until the media timeout as Florida Atlantic led 12-11 with 4:10 left in the first. After a near four minute scoring drought a Maria Myklebust (pictured above) three kept the Owls within one. Through one, Tulane led 16-15.
Opening the second, FAU gained an early 22-18 lead, but Tulane responded with an 11-2 run as the Green Wave led 29-24. Trying to slow down Tulane, Coach Jennifer Sullivan called a timeout with 5:32 left in the first half. The Green Wave’s run continued as Tulane took a 37-24 lead. During that same time the Owls went scoreless for over five minutes. At the end of the first half Tulane led 37-27.
Second Half
FAU had outscored their previous two opponents by 25 points in the third quarter. Tulane made sure to not let that happen to themselves as they increased their lead, 47-35 with 4:23 remaining in the third. As the quarter continued, FAU pulled within seven, 51-44, but the Green Wave led 53-44 at the end of the third.
It would take a comeback for the Owls to end their six game losing streak.
FAU pulled within seven early in the fourth, but once again Tulane responded nicely as the Green Wave led 57-46 with 7:50 left in the fourth. Tulane found their groove once more in the fourth as they went on a 11-2 run taking a 17-point lead with only 4:31 remaining. The losing streak extended to seven for the Owls as they fell 68-52.
FAU ended the game on a 3:07 scoring drought. The Owls had scoring droughts of at least three minutes in each quarter except the second. It was not an offensive problem either as FAU shot the ball 72 times and took 31 shots from beyond the arc. Florida Atlantic only managed a 31% shot make percentage, and had only six threes fall.
Owls Stat Leaders
Stefani Ingram led in scoring with 15 points. Myklebust scored nine, all shots from three. Jada Moore earned nine rebounds as Florida Atlantic earned 34 boards. Moore also led the way in assists with five as FAU earned 15.
Look Ahead
The Owls (9-13, 1-8 AAC) will come back to Paradise as they will host Rice (11-9, 4-4 AAC). The Owls from Texas beat Tulsa on Wednesday 64-45 after a close first three quarters. This will be the first of two matchups between the Owls. All time, Rice leads the series 7-3 but fell to Florida Atlantic 68-63 last February. This February FAU hopes to add another W to the series as tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1st.
