Lady Owls Win Second Straight

Saturday, February 10

Boca Raton, Fla.

3:00 PM ET

Florida Atlantic

6-16, 3-10TAAC

Stetson

17-5, 9-4TAAC

Stetson

Florida Atlantic

2/10/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Feb. 10, 2001

Box Score

BOCA RATON, FL -

Florida Atlantic University outscored Stetson University 16-5 over the final 6:02 to defeat the visiting Hatters 93-89 Saturday afternoon in Boca Raton, FL. It was the Lady Owls' second consecutive victory. Ruta Griniute led FAU (6-16, 3-10 Trans America Athletic Conference) with 19 points while LaTorria Matthews had 18. In addition, FAU's Tamala Vaughn scored all of her 15 points in the second half. Stetson (17-5, 9-4 TAAC) was led by Cher Dyson and Kaisa Tuure, who each scored 21.

The Lady Owls jumped out quickly on the Hatters, employing full court pressure that helped give them a 26-15 lead with 12:50 left in the first half. A jumper by DeeAnna Hanscom with 7:55 left in the half gave the Lady Owls their largest lead of the game at 38-24. The Hatters battled back with a 14-9 run to close the half trailing 47-38.

FAU regained a 10-point advantage in the first minute of the second half before Stetson went on a 25-12 run over the next 7:44 to take a 65-62 lead with 12:34 left in the game. The Hatters led by as many as seven with 6:02 to go before the Lady Owls finished with the run.

FAU erased the deficit entirely with a 7-0 run in a span of 1:37. A Griniute layup with 4:25 remaining tied the game at 84.

A jumper by Vaughn gave FAU a 91-89 lead. A free throw by Kristy Halvorsen and by Chantale Jones gave the Lady Owls a four-point lead and the victory. FAU allowed just one field goal in the final six minutes.

"I was pleased with our poise down the stretch, and I was also pleased with Tammy Vaughn's play," said FAU head coach Chancellor Dugan. "She hit some big shots for us."

"I think we're playing our best basketball right now," added Dugan. "It took a while for our freshmen to catch on, but the key is to be playing at the top of your game at this time of year."

For the game, FAU was outshot 58 percent to 49 percent. However, the Lady Owls outrebounded the Hatters 40-27 and forced 21 turnovers. In addition, FAU's Janka Deckerova scored a career-high 10 points.