Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Women's Basketball Wraps Up Non-Conference Play
12/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 28, 2008
South Carolina State (2-6) at Florida Atlantic (3-7)
FAU Arena - Boca Raton, Florida
Monday, December 29 - 7 p.m.
GAME ELEVEN: In search of a win to wrap up the month of December, the Florida Atlantic University women's basketball team ends the month and the non-conference season against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference foe South Carolina State at FAU Arena on Monday, December 29 at 7 p.m.
SERIES: FAU leads the series 2-0. These two teams met last year on December 22 in Orangeburg, South Carolina. The Owls were led by Jaimie Givens and Breana Cox, who scored 19 points apiece in a 75-48 win over the Bulldogs.
RADIO/INTERNET: Steve Bishop will call the action with live streaming audio beginning at 6:45 p.m. on www.fausports.com.
BOWE NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Brittany Bowe put together two good offensive performances in the Bahamas Sunshine Shootout on December 18 and 20 against Mercer and East Carolina. Bowe scored 16 points on seven-of-12 shooting against Mercer, then topped that performance with a season-high 18 points and four assists, as she helped the Owls stay with East Carolina the whole way.
FLORIDA ATLANTIC: FAU lost their second close contest at the Bahamas Sunshine shootout on Saturday, December 20 as a 14-2 run by East Carolina allowed the Pirates to escape with a 68-63 win over FAU. The Owls led virtually the entire game, getting out to a 10-0 start thanks to two early buckets by Jessica Knurick (Commerce, MI/Seminole CC) who ended up with 11 points as the Owls led 28-27 at halftime. Brittany Bowe (Ocala, FL/Trinity Catholic HS) paced FAU with a season-high 18 points, earning her all-tournament team honors, and two buckets late by Candace Lambert (Omaha, NE/Howard College (TX)) gave the Owls a lead as high as seven points in the second half. Lambert ended the day with a career-high 13 points on three three-pointers.
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE: South Carolina State is currently 2-6 on the season after they lost to FIU in their last game played on Monday, December 22 by a final of 64-56. Doug Robertson is in his first year as the Head Coach of the Bulldogs, and he is led by two experienced players on the inside and outside. Center Marie Reid leads the team in both scoring (13.0 ppg) and rebounding (6.1 rpg). She scored 15 points and seven rebounds in the loss to the Golden Panthers. Junior Sophilia Hipps has hit 30 percent of her three-pointers this year and averages 11.0 points per game. The Bulldogs last win came on December 6 against Winston Salem State when the Bulldogs came away with a 64-44 win.
OWLS PLAY STRONG SCHEDULE: FAU played some of the top teams in the country in non-conference play. Currently, the Owls strength of schedule is ranked 63rd according to realtimerpi.com. FAU has faced two teams in the RPI-top 100, Texas (8) and Baylor (12). In conference play the Owls will face at three more teams currently in the top-100, Middle Tennessee (42), Western Kentucky (76), and Arkansas-Little Rock (100).
KEEPING IT CLOSE: Though FAU would like to come away with a few more victories, the Owls have played in a number of tight games this season. The Owls have played in four games that were decided by six points or less this year. That's compared to six games that were decided by the same margin all of last year. That total does not include the 76-66 overtime loss to Denver that was close through the final minutes of regulation.
STUBBS CONTINUES TO PAY DIVIDENDS: Since being re-inserted in the starting lineup against UCF on November 22, Carla Stubbs has returned to the form that led to her being named All-Sun Belt Third Team last season. Since being inserted in the lineup, Stubbs has scored double-digits in all but one game over an eight-game stretch. Among the noteworthy performances was a 12 point, nine rebound game in the win over Bethune-Cookman onNovember 25, and a 13 point performance against UIC on December 3.
THE KNU(RICK) DEAL: Jessica Knurick has picked up the rebounding slack of late for the Owls for the Owls. Knurick picked up a career-high 11 rebounds against UIC on December 3, ten days later, she picked off ten boards and scored eight points keeping the Owls close against Denver. She averages just over six rebounds per game, putting her in the top-15 in the conference.
NEXT UP The Owls stay at home to resume conference play as they face South Alabama on January 1 at noon. The game will lead-off a doubleheader with the FAU men's team who will face South Alabama at 2 p.m. For tickets, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS.
