A trip up the east coast pitted Florida Atlantic against in-state foe Stetson (3-2). The all-time series favors the Hatters, but FAU won the match-up last season. This time around, Stetson earned a victory thanks to a dominant fourth quarter to end the Owls three-game win streak, and to gain another win in the series.
First Half
It was a slow start for both squads in the first. FAU earned a 9-4 lead with 5:17 in the first, but the Hatters closed the deficit within two to end the first quarter thanks to a pair of free throw trips for the Hatters to close the quarter, 14-12 Owls.
After an early Jada Moore layup to begin the second, a Stetson three-pointer cut the lead to one for FAU, 16-15. The offenses heated up, especially beyond the arc as Stetson’s Mary McMillan’s back-to-back threes evened the quarter with the Hatters taking the lead, 28-26 with 4:26 left in the half. Coming out of the media timeout, Erin Rodgers evened the contest at 28. The Hatters and FAU evened the set at 30, but Stetson took the lead into the half, 33-30 Hatters.
Stetson’s lead at the half came from their three-point percentage. The Hatters were 6-18 from deep compared to Florida Atlantic’s 3-14 from behind the arc. FAU dominated in the turnover department as they took the ball away from the Hatters 12 times compared to committing five turnovers, and the Owls had 15 points off the bench against Stetson’s zero.
Second Half
The Owls regained the lead in the third thanks to a Alana Rouser three-point play which gave FAU a 38-35 advantage with 7:20 left in the third. The lead traded hands, but Florida Atlantic had a 40-39 advantage at the media break, 4:56 left in the third. An exciting quarter came to a close after eight lead changes with the Owls owning the close lead, 45-44.
The Hatters took the lead early in the fourth, with 8:57 left the Hatters led 48-45. Stetson held on to their lead at 53-49 with 5:44 left in the game. Shortly after, the Hatters lead had grown to six, 57-51 Hatters at the media break, 4:42 remaining. Florida Atlantic cut the deficit to four, but Stetson’s offense kept pouring it on. The Hatters had a 65-56 lead with only 2:51 left in the fourth as FAU looked for an answer to catch back up. Sadly for the away team, the Owls had no answer. Stetson pulled away to gain a dominant 75-63 victory.
The leading scorer for Florida Atlantic was Jada Moore with her 17 points. Ta’Ziah Jenks (pictured above, FAU WBB) paved the way with eight rebounds while Stefani Ingram earned five assists. The issue for the second half for FAU was three-point scoring. The Owls went 0-10 in the second beyond the arc. At the charity stripe Florida Atlantic went 16-26. Ten missed points and a couple of threes going through the basket was the difference in today’s contest.
Florida Atlantic (3-2) will travel South to face-off against FIU (1-3). The Panthers are coming off a road loss against Miami (FL) and searching for a win since their victory over Florida National University to begin the season. In the previous ten match-ups, between the Owls and FIU, the record is even at 5-5. Florida International has dominated the in-state rivalry all-time. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23.