Florida Atlantic headed out to Texas as the Owls and Charlotte 49ers (10-20, 5-14 AAC) faced off in the opening round of the AAC Tournament. In their third matchup of the season, Florida Atlantic looked to finally earn a victory. FAU owned the first half, but a strong showing from the 49ers eliminated Florida Atlantic from the tournament.
First Half
The first five minutes of the contest were dominated by FAU. The only problem for the Owls was getting the ball through the hoop. Florida Atlantic shot 1-of-10 from the field in the early going as they led 4-2 at the media timeout. FAU’s defense kept Charlotte at bay for the remainder of the quarter as the Owls slowly pulled away taking a 9-4 lead into the second quarter.
Scoring was slightly easier to come by in the second as Florida Atlantic led 15-6 at the media timeout. The 49ers awoke during the final five minutes as Charlotte outscored the Owls 9-5. In a very low-scoring first half, FAU led 20-15 at halftime.
The Owls had points from turnovers to thank for their lead at the half. 13 of FAU’s 20 points came off turnovers in the first half.
Second Half
Charlotte came out of the break on fire, using a 6-0 run early to take a 21-20 lead, and forcing a FAU timeout with 7:18 left in the third. The action picked up in the third as the squads kept trading punches. With 4:38 remaining FAU led 28-26. After that point, Charlotte put together a 10-3 run as the 49ers led 36-31 at the end of three.
FAU trailed 40-31 early in the fourth as Charlotte had momentum on their side. The Owls responded, cutting the deficit down to five, but trailed 42-35 with five minutes left in the contest. With the season on the line, Florida Atlantic brought on the press defense and found opportunities. With momentum shifting, FAU trailed 47-43 with less than two minutes. After falling behind by five, the Owls’ Ta’Ziah Jenks hit a clutch three bringing FAU within two. That was the closest Florida Atlantic would get as FAU fell 55-51.
One can easily look at the stat sheet and see where the defining characteristic of the result came from: free throws. Charlotte had 20 attempts at the charity stripe and took advantage, shooting 15-of-20 from there. FAU had only nine opportunities and made three. During the regular season, the Owls allowed the second fewest free throw attempts in the American.
Owls Stats
Senior Jada Moore (Top picture: The American/Cos Lymperopoulos) led FAU in scoring with Mya Perry and Jenks right behind her. The trio accounted for 36 of Florida Atlantic’s 51 points. Alana Rouser led the Owls in rebounds with her eight, while as a group FAU collected 30. Stefani Ingram (pictured above, FAU Athletics) dished out nine assists as the Owls earned 14.
Season Recap
Florida Atlantic ends the season with a record of 11-21 and 3-15 in AAC play. The overall wins compared to last season remained the same while the Owls conference wins were cut in half from six to three. Since being named head coach in 2021, Jennifer Sullivan’s record is 39-83.
