Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Florida Atlantic
Mercer
Owls Move Into A-Sun Finals Over Mercer
3/11/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 11, 2006
Dothan, AL --- The Florida Atlantic University women's basketball team will advance to the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship for the first time since the 2001-2002 season as it held on to beat the Mercer Bears 70-65 in semifinal action on Friday night at the Dothan Civic Center. The second-seeded Owls will battle the fourth-seeded Lady Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb today at 2:00 p.m. est. for a chance to capture their first conference championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament.
"We worked so hard all year long to get here and it is so gratifying that we will be playing for a conference championship," head coach Chancellor Dugan said following the game.
The first half was played very closely as the Owls and Bears were all knotted up at 24 with 4:19 left in the frame, but FAU scored nine of the final 13 points of the session to hold a 33-28 lead at the break.
Shontavia Williams scored 13 of her game-high 23 points in the first half to pace the Owls' offensive attack. In her 18th start of the season, freshman Brittney Crenshaw also added eight of her nine points in the first 20 minutes of action.
The Owls offense went stagnant in the first four minutes of the second half, allowing Mercer to take a 35-33 lead with 15:33 remaining in the game, but FAU responded with a 7-0 spurt to reclaim the lead, 40-35, at the 13:19 mark.
Williams gave the Owls a 55-50 advantage as she deposited two of her career-high 15 free throws with 3:58 left in the contest. Sally Skeldon knocked down a triple to get Mercer within five, 68-63, with 20.5 seconds to go, but the Bears were unable to surge past the Owls.
FAU cashed in 32-of-40 free throws, including 14-of-15 in the final two and half minutes to preserve the win. The Owls also netted 21 points off of 26 turnovers by the Bears.
Williams was one rebound shy of recording her second straight double-double as she led the Owls with nine boards on the night. Fellow seniors Sharia Young and Amanda Bulin combined to add 19 points for FAU.
Skeldon led Mercer with 14 points and Rhonda Owens chipped in 10 of her own for the Bears. Zsaquez Flucker raked in a game-high 12 boards.
Gardner-Webb advanced to the championship game by knocking off the top-seeded Belmont Bruins, 72-60, in the first semifinal game of the night.
Fans with Comcast Cable can watch the game live on CSS and FAU-backers worldwide can listen online at www.fausports.com
