Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Florida Atlantic
Belmont
Owls Drop Season Finale, 78-71
3/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 4, 2006
Nashville, TN - With the Atlantic Sun Conference regular-season crown on the line, the Florida Atlantic University's women's basketball team fell just short by losing to the Belmont Bruins 78-71 on Saturday night at the Curb Event Center. The Owls (17-10, 16-4 A-Sun) finished the season in second place and will battle the seventh seeded Jacksonville Dolphins in round one of the A-Sun Tournament, beginning next week.
The Bruins opened up a 27-14 lead at the 8:07 mark in the first half as Destri Bockey completed a three-point play. FAU responded with a 10-2 run consisting of back-to-back threes from Amanda Bulin and Shontavia Williams. Shuteamia Brayboy booked a runner in the lane to cut the lead to four, 29-24, with 3:21 left in the half.
Demina Anderson deposited a pair of charity tosses to extend FAU's run and tie the score at 31 with 25 seconds left in the first session. Tonisha Jones got fouled with two seconds left and split the pair, but Brooke Sunday grabbed the rebound and hit a buzzer beater to give Belmont a 34-31 lead going into the intermission.
The Owls cashed in 17 points off of 13 Belmont first-half turnovers but, the Bruins converted 11 points on second-chance opportunities in the half.
Belmont extended the halftime lead as Alysha Clark converted inside to give the Belmont a 10 point advantage, 43-33, with 15:12 left in the game. Cristal Randolph nailed a deep three and Breana Cox converted a three-point play the old fashion way to cut the lead to six, 48-42, with 11:59 remaining.
FAU got within two, 63-61. The Owls kept fighting before a Bruins home crowd closing the gap once again when Danielle Riekeberg sank a pair of free throws with 5:21 left in the game, but the Owls were unable to to push past Belmont.
Anderson led the Owls with 13 points off the bench and freshman Breana Cox added nine points coming in reserve. Bulin led the Owls' starters with 10 points. Brayboy dished out eight helpers for the second straight game to go along with four steals.
Belmont had five players score in double-figures with Sunday leading the way with 18 points. The Bruins shot 38 free throws in the second half, making 28 and they out rebounded the Owls 43-29 on the night.
The Owls will head to Dothan, AL to take on JU in the first round of the tournament. Tip-time is TBA.
