Florida Atlantic headed to Greenville, N.C. in search of an AAC victory over ECU (8-7, 0-3 AAC). In the preseason FAU was predicted to finish last while East Carolina was predicted to finish sixth in the AAC. All-time the Pirates had FAU’s number as the Owls were 0-4 against East Carolina, but in the Emerald City the Owls changed that; notching a double-digit win over the Pirates.
First Half
Florida Atlantic’s Stefani Ingram opened the contest with a three. While FAU only had eight shots in the first five minutes compared to ECU’s 11, the Owls led 10-5 at the media timeout. Florida Atlantic managed to only find three points for the remainder of the quarter while East Carolina went nearly six minutes without a FG make. At the end of the first it was 13-12 FAU.
The game clearly became a defensive battle in the second as each team faced up to a three-minute drought each in points scored. ECU took their first lead of the day, 15-14, but at the media timeout the Owls held on to a 18-16 advantage. During the final 2:31 of the first half, ECU went 4-4 from the field as FAU responded to each bucket. East Carolina got the last word in the half as they led 26-25.
The Pirates dominated the glass leading 31-15 in rebounds and 13-7 in Offensive boards. Florida Atlantic shot 9-of-31 while East Carolina was 11-of-31.
Second Half
Shortly into the third, ECU added four points to their lead. The Owls took a timeout in hopes of regrouping after trailing now by five, 30-25 Pirates. FAU responded nicely coming out of the timeout by cutting the lead down to two with 4:40 remaining in the third, 32-30 ECU. During the stretch between timeouts Florida Atlantic forced five turnovers. During the back-half of the quarter FAU went on a 16-2 run taking a 41-32 lead. At the end of the three FAU led 43-36.
The Owls kicked it into high gear entering the fourth going on a 9-0 run taking a 52-39 lead as ECU once again was on a scoreless streak of 3:39. The Pirates called a timeout with 6:01 remaining. FAU took their largest lead of the game thanks to a Mya Perry three, 55-39 Owls. East Carolina responded though by eating into the deficit with the Pirates trailing 57-48 with 2:57 remaining in the contest. Florida Atlantic extended their lead again as the Owls won 64-48.
Stat Leaders
Mya Perry set another career high in points with her total of 29 thanks in part to a 4-of-8 three-point shooting performance. Jada Moore (top picture, Photos: FAU) was also a double-digit scorer with her total of 12. As a team the Owls shot 35.6% from the field, but had a 38.9% three-point FG shot. Ta’ziah Jenks led the way with 13 rebounds. After struggling as a squad in the first half, FAU outrebounded the Pirates 19-14. Ingram earned five assists as Florida Atlantic earned 12 total. Defensively, the Owls forced 25 turnovers, nearly eight more than the FAU season average.
Look Ahead
Florida Atlantic (9-6, 1-1 AAC) will host another group of Owls as Temple (8-5, 2-0 AAC) will come to Paradise. So far on the year, Temple sits 91st in the NET rankings and has a 63-58 win over East Carolina. Before coming to Boca Raton, Temple will face off against USF. FAU, who currently owns a 206 NET ranking, can use the double-digit win over ECU as momentum over a very good Temple team. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at the Elly.
