FAU played their third and final game of the GCU Christmas Classic against a struggling Wright State (2-11) squad. The Raiders, from the Horizon conference, were looking for a boost, but the Owls shut any hopes down early, dominating WSU on their way to a double-digit victory.
First Half
Alana Rouser got the scoring started with a layup. Wright State responded taking the lead early, but Florida Atlantic held a three-point lead at the media timeout, 12-9 Owls. FAU gained a seven-point lead by the end of the quarter, 20-13 Florida Atlantic.
The Owls took over thanks to a 12-0 lead giving FAU a 28-13 advantage with 7:53 remaining in the second. Florida Atlantic’s domination continued to the run reaching 19-0 as the Raiders called a timeout looking for an answer with 5:33 remaining, 35-13. WSU responded with an 8-0 run but the Owls lead stayed in the double-digits; 35-21 FAU with 2:52 remaining in the half. At halftime Florida Atlantic led 39-23.
At the half the Owls only had one three-pointer more than Wright State, but FAU had seven more buckets scored than the Raiders. If WSU wanted to have a fighting chance they needed buckets to fall.
Second Half
It was a slow start to the third, but Wright State cut the deficit to 14 at the media timeout. The Raiders kept chipping away at the Owls lead as it was only a 49-38 lead at the end of the third for the Owls.
Florida Atlantic’s Mya Perry and Jada Moore (Top picture, FAU) extended the lead to 15 for FAU to open the fourth. The Raiders were able to cut the deficit down to 11 once more, 53-42 Owls. Florida Atlantic pulled away again thanks to a 6-0 run as the Owls took a 61-44 lead with 4:58 remaining. FAU reached a 19-point lead once more with 4:11 remaining; 63-44. Florida Atlantic got over the 20 point threshold with 2:23 left in the contest thanks to a Jada Moore layup, 68-48 Owls. Wright State cut the deficit down to 16, but the dominant day ended with a win for the Owls, 68-52.
Stat Leaders
Jada Moore dropped 20 points with Mya Perry (Pictured above, FAU) following suit with 19. No other Owl finished with more than nine points. Ta’ziah Jenks earned eight rebounds with FAU earning 45. Stefani Ingram earned herself six assists leading the Owls to their total of 19. Defensively, Florida Atlantic held the Raiders to just a 31.7 FG%.
Look Ahead
Florida Atlantic (8-5) awaits their first AAC contest this season as they will face off against Tulane (6-4). The Green Wave have been an odd team to scale as they have a respectable win against Florida, and an 11 point loss to No. 7 LSU, but have losses to Northern Arizona University, and Nicholls. This will be the fourth meeting between the Owls and Tulane. In the last contest FAU earned a 13-point victory. Tipoff is set for Dec. 29 at 2 p.m in Boca Raton.
