Florida Atlantic University Athletics
FAU Hosts Troy On Thursday Night
12/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 12, 2006
Boca Raton, FL - After playing three of the last four games on the road, the Florida Atlantic University women's basketball team will be returning to Boca Raton to do battle with Troy University on Thursday. The squad is looking to snap a five-game losing streak.
""I'm looking forward to the match-up; it's always been a good rivalry for us," said Head Coach Chancellor Dugan. " Thursday night you're going to see a team that is playing very well together and very hard"
On Saturday, FAU (1-8, 0-1) fell to Big East opponent Georgetown (8-3, 0-1), 69-40. Senior Cristal Randolph led the Owls with 13 points, including three three-pointers. The Owls kept the score to within four points until the 8:15 mark of the first-half, but the Hoyas' domination from the field (53.7 percent shooting) and on the glass (41-31 rebounding edge) were too much for Florida Atlantic to overcome.
Randolph is just three triples away from being the sole possessor of 2nd place all-time in three-point field goals made at FAU. Sanja Culina who played from 1996-2000 for the Owls currently is in 2nd with 118 career triples.
"Cristal has really stepped up these last couple of weeks," said Dugan. "She really wants to have a great senior year. People think she's just a shooter but she's our best post passer and ball handler."
Senior Demina Anderson and sophomore Brittney Crenshaw made their season debuts on Saturday. Both scored their first points of the year (Anderson -4, Crenshaw - 2), while Crenshaw added a team-high six rebounds and four blocks with three steals.
The Trojans (6-3, 0-0) will be playing their Sun Belt opener on Thursday. Troy dropped its last game on Saturday to Samford, 54-51. The group is led by three players who are scoring in double-digits. Junior Amy Lewis paces the Trojans with 17.2 points-per-game on 48.2 percent shooting from the field. Sophomore Kylie Morrissy is their top player in the paint, with 8.6 rebound-a-game to go along with a 13.8 scoring average.Sophomore Danielle Realph is the team's top three-point sniper, knocking down 40 percent (12-30) of her shots from long-range. She chips in 10.7 points-per-game.
All-time FAU has an 11-5 series advantage over the Troy. All though, the last time the two squads met it was the Trojans taking the victory, 65-57, in the 2005 Atlantic Sun tournament.
The game is set to tip at 7 p.m. Eastern time at FAU Arena. All games this season can be heard for free on fausports.com.
Notes:
Season tickets are still available for FAU men's and women's basketball. Fans can also purchase individual game tickets ($10 general admission for adults, $7 for youth/seniors) or as a group ($5/ticket for groups of 15 or more). Tickets may be purchased through Ticketmaster, on FAUsports.com, at the FAU Box Office located next to the Tom Oxley Athletic Center on the Boca Raton campus, or by calling 1-866-FAU-Owls. Tickets will also be available in the lobby of FAU Arena once doors open.
There is no charge for parking during FAU men's and women's basketball games.
Thursday women's basketball games are also "Thirsty Thursdays". A free soft drink will be given with the purchase of popcorn.
