Florida Atlantic hosted East Carolina (15-13, 7-9 AAC) in hopes of securing a season sweep over the Pirates. After gaining their largest win in AAC play under Coach Sullivan against ECU earlier this season, it seemed possible to do it again. On FAU’s pink night though, the Pirates took a commanding lead in the first and never let go, avoiding the season sweep in Boca Raton.
First Half
It was a first quarter to forget for the Owls. Early, Florida Atlantic trailed 7-2 at the media timeout. A Ta’ziah Jenks (pictured above, FAU Athletics) jumper pulled FAU within three 7-4 with 4:45 left in the first. The remainder of the quarter was all ECU as the Pirates went on a 16-0 run taking a dominant 23-4 lead into the second.
The domination from East Carolina continued as ECU’s run stretched to 20, 27-4. A Maria Myklebust three is what ended the run as the Owls then trailed by 20, 27-7 with 7:20 left in the half. For the remainder of the quarter, FAU reached a 17-point deficit twice, but the Pirates had a commanding 46-21 lead at halftime.
In the first, ECU managed to secure 12 turnovers scoring 14 points off those FAU mistakes.
Second Half
The Owls opened the second half with back-to-back buckets, trailing by 20; 46-26. ECU maintained their lead thought as with 4:24 left in the third, the Pirates led 57-32. Coming out of the timeout, FAU went on a 9-0 run thanks to their three-point shooting. Florida Atlantic then trailed 57-41. At the end of the third, FAU had pulled within 15, 59-44.
Opening the fourth, the Owls kept chipping away as they trailed by 13 with 7:46 remaining, 62-49. At the 4:42 mark the Owls still trailed by 13, 67-54. After falling behind 67-49 at one point in the fourth, FAU clawed all the way back to a single-digit deficit. A 10-0 run from the Owls made the score 67-59 as ECU called a timeout with three minutes remaining. Florida Atlantic pulled within five, two times over the final two minutes, but could not make it a one possession game as the Owls fell 80-70.
FAU outscored ECU 66-57 in the final three quarters. The problem that has been chasing the Owls all season caught them again. Not being able to put together a full 40 minutes.
Owls Stat Leaders
It was a great night from deep for the Florida Atlantic as the Owls went 13 of 22 from deep. Jenks led the way in scoring with a 22-point evening and a 66% clip from three. Behind her was Stefani Ingram (pictured above, FAU Athletics) who put up 18 points. FAU came down with 28 boards with Jada Moore earning eight. In the assists column, Florida Atlantic closed the game with 15 assists with Ingram earning eight of those.
Look Ahead
Florida Atlantic (10-19, 2-13 AAC) will hit the road again as the Owls will take on the UTSA Roadrunners (24-3, 15-1 AAC). UTSA has been a surprise team this season as the Roadrunners were predicted to finish fifth in the conference, but now lead the way in the American. FAU is currently on a four-game losing streak against UTSA, and it most likely will continue. It will be a great contest for the Owls to see where they stack up against the top of the league before tournament play. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 pm, on Saturday, March 1st.
