Florida Atlantic University Athletics
FAU Women's Basketball Begins Regular Season on Friday
11/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 11, 2008
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Florida Atlantic at 17/19 Baylor
Friday, November 14 - Ferrell Center (10,284)
Waco, Texas - 8:00 p.m. ET
SEASON OPENER: Under the direction of ten-year head coach Chancellor Dugan; Florida Atlantic University opens up the 2008-09 women's basketball season against nationally ranked Baylor University. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. eastern.
THE SERIES: The two teams have never met.
FAU VERSUS THE BIG 12: The Owls have only faced Big 12 opponents twice in the school's history. They have not fared well either time. FAU lost to University of Kansas when the Owls were a division two school 99-53 on December 12, 1992. The last time the Owls faced Big 12 competition was on November 12, 2006 when FAU fell to Nebraska in the Veteran's Day Classic in Tempe, Arizona 93-53.
OWLS IN THE OPENER: FAU is 8-16 in season-opening contests. Last year the Owls lost to University of Miami 64-45 on November 9.
RADIO/INTERNET: Live play-by-play audio will be accessible free of charge on FAU's official athletics website (www.fausports.com). Steve Bishop will call the action on Friday night. The pre-game show begins at 7:45 p.m. ET.
FLORIDA ATLANTIC OWLS: Florida Atlantic is poised to improve upon last year's 6-22 record. The Owls return seven letter winners and four starters from last year, including leading scorer Carla Stubbs (Miami, FL/Jackson HS) who averaged 12.6 points per contest. Also returning is sophomore forward Jaimie Givens (Orlando, FL/The First Academy HS) who was the only freshman in the Sun Belt conference who started every game in 2007-08, and junior guard Brittney Bowe (Ocala, FL/Trinity Catholic HS), who averaged just under nine points per game and led the Owls in assists. Also bolstering the Owls' depth is a highly regarded recruiting class which is ranked no. 64 in the nation by Dan Olson Collegiate Girls Basketball Report. Post Jessica Knurick (Commerce, MI/Seminole CC) leads the class. She averaged 15 points per game and nine rebounds a game last year at Seminole Community College.
BAYLOR BEARS: Baylor returns four starters from last year's team that went 25-7 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to the University of Pittsburgh 67-59. The Lady Bears have seen unprecedented success under ninth-year head coach Kim Mulkey. Baylor is 208-60 under Mulkey, having gone to the NCAA Tournament eight times, winning the title in 2005. All four returning starters averaged double-figures in scoring per game, led by forward/post Rachel Allison (13.1 ppg), who also leads the Lady Bears in rebounding (8.5 per game) and was a first-team coaches All-Big XII and All-Defensive team pick. 5-foot-10 guard Jhasmin Player leads the backcourt. Player 12.2 points per game and six rebounds per contest. The Lady Bears went 20-1 in games she played prior to her tearing her ACL and bruising her MCL against Kansas State.
FAU HEAD COACH: Chancellor Dugan begins year number ten as the Owls head coach. FAU has gone 111-151 with Dugan at the helm. Her milestone year was in 2005-06, when she led the Owls to an Atlantic Sun Conference title and the program's first-ever birth in the NCAA Tournament. The Owls would face Louisiana State University in the NCAA Tournament, where they led midway through the first half before falling to LSU 72-48. Dugan has coached some of the leading scorers in the conference. Mistoria Brown completed the 2006-07 campaign seventh in the Sun Belt with 14.2 points per game. Shontavia Williams averaged 16 points her senior year in 2005-06 and owns the FAU record for most points scored in a career. Prior to her arrival at FAU, Dugan turned division two school Southern Indiana into a national powerhouse. She took the Screaming Eagles to four NCAA tournaments and three Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) titles.
BASKETBALL SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW: Single game and season tickets are on sale for the 2008-09 women's basketball season. Season tickets are available for the 14-game regular season for $48. Courtside and sideline seats are also available. Those who purchase courtside seats will receive a priority parking pass and buffet food service. Single game tickets are on sale for $6, $4 for seniors, and group rates as low as $1. For more information call 1-866-FAU-OWLS.
THANKSGIVING TOURNAMENT: For the second year in a row, Florida Atlantic will host a thanksgiving tournament at FAU Arena. The Owls will host Ohio Valley Conference opponent Tennessee Tech on Saturday, November 28 at 3 p.m. In the nightcap, no. 13 Texas faces Atlantic Coast Conference foe Georgia Tech at 5 p.m. The winners of the two games will face each other in the championship of the thanksgiving tournament at 3 p.m.; the losers will proceed in the consolation match at 1 p.m.
FAU IN THE BAHAMAS: Later in the non-conference season, the Owls will travel to Nassau, Bahamas to participate in the Sunsplash Shootout. FAU will face Mercer University on December 18 at 4 p.m. Two day later the Owls play East Carolina University on December 20 at 4 p.m. The last time FAU played outside of the United States was back in 2000 when the Owls lost to Oral Roberts University and Arkansas State University in the "Fun in the Sun" Classic in Cancun, Mexico.
STUBBS NAMED TO ALL-SUN BELT TEAM: Guard Carla Stubbs was named to the All-Sun Belt third team after last season. Stubbs led the Owls in scoring at 12.6 points a game and just under five rebounds a game. Her best game of the year came against Florida International University when he scored 22 points and 11 rebounds in the Owls first win over FIU since 1996. Stubbs was the first player named to an all conference team since FAU joined the Sun Belt.
THE NEW CLASS: Florida Atlantic adds depth in 2008-09 with a highly thought of recruiting class ranked no. 64 in the nation by Dan Olson Collegiate Girls Basketball Report. Three junior college players highlight the class. Jessica Knurick was the 12th-ranked junior college forward in the nation; she averaged 15 points and nine rebounds per game for Seminole Community College last season, leading the team to a 26-3 record and a Mid-Florida Conference championship. Candace Lambert started all 62 games in her two years at Howard College in Texas. She scored over 700 points in her career and was named all-conference her freshman and sophomore years. Erica Caldwell was named Region X pre-season and post-season All-American after averaging just over 18 points per game at Spartanburg Methodist College in South Carolina. Two true freshman round out the class. Teri Stamps led Vincent High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to back to back state championships. She was the no. 1 point guard in Wisconsin after averaging a double-double in points and assists in both her junior and senior years. Breana Turner was a four-year letter winner at De La Salle High School in New Orleans, Louisiana, scoring over 2,400 points in her career, and 26 points per game her senior year.
GIVENS RE-WRITING RECORD BOOKS: The highlight of last year's recruiting class for FAU was forward Jaimie Givens. Last year she was the only freshman in the Sun Belt conference to start all of her team's games. In the process, Givens set freshman school-records for rebounds in a season (182) and block shots (36), while finishing just behind Amanda Whitney for the freshman record for points and field goals made.
DIFEO ADDED TO STAFF: Lou Difeo joins the coaching staff at Florida Atlantic. Prior to joining the Owls staff, Difeo spent the past four seasons at the University of Tennessee at Martin, during which he helped guide the Skyhawks toward becoming a yearly contender in the Ohio Valley Conference. Known for his high energy and ability to recruit, Difeo brought in three players which were named to the OVC All-Newcomer or All-Freshman team. Difeo replaces former assistant Dave Caputo, who left FAU to become the Head Coach at Indian River Community College.
BOWE SETS IN-LINE SKATING RECORD: Brittany Bowe who has won multiple world championships as an inline speed skater competed and set a new world record in the 300 meters at the World Speed Skating Championships in Gijon, Spain this past September. Bowe set the record with a time of 26.610 seconds, more than three-tenths of a second off the old record set by Simona de Cesaris of Italy who set the record back in 1987 with a time of 26.986 seconds.
MAJOR UPGRADES IN `THE BURROW': The FAU Arena (a.k.a. `The Burrow'), home of Florida Atlantic basketball, has undergone a transformation over the past two years. The entire arena was remodeled inside and out in the fall of 2007 - which included the installation of a state-of-the-art video scoreboard. Gone are the bleacher seats, as chair-back seating is now in place throughout the arena. Additionally the completion of four luxury suites is expected soon. The suites will be equipped with 16 seats, nine fixed seats in front and seven stools in the back row. A sink and refrigerator will be available as well as individual climate control and a wall-mounted flat-screen TV. For more information on seating and tickets call 1-866-FAU-OWLS.
