Florida Atlantic University Athletics
FAU Women Hoping to Top WKU on Sunday
1/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 10, 2009
Game Notes in PDF Format 
WKU (8-6, 2-2 Sun Belt) at Florida Atlantic (4-10, 1-3 Sun Belt)
FAU Arena - Boca Raton, Florida
Sunday, January 11- 2 p.m.
GAME FIFTEEN: After dropping back to back games on back to back nights, the Florida Atlantic University women's basketball team returns to FAU Arena to face Western Kentucky on Sunday at 2 p.m.
SERIES: Western Kentucky leads 4-0. The Lady Toppers won both games easily last season. At E.A. Diddle Arena on January 17, Western Kentucky got a 21 point effort from Kenzie Rich en route to an 86-50 win over the Owls. FAU would fare no better in the rematch at FAU Arena on March 1. Despite having three players in double figures led by Brittany Bowe's 13 points, the Lady Toppers got 26 points from Crystal Kelly in an 89-52 win.
RADIO/INTERNET: Steve Bishop will call the action with live streaming audio beginning at 1:45 p.m. on www.fausports.com.
AT HOME IN `THE BURROW' : Sunday's game begins a stretch for the Owls that will see them play seven home games in the next ten contests. The Owls have fared well at FAU Arena this year. Three of their four wins have come at home; most recently the Owls defeated South Alabama 67-66 on January 1 to pick up their first conference win.
FLORIDA ATLANTIC: FAU played back to back games over the course of this week, and were unable to pull out a win in either game. Despite a 13 point effort from Carla Stubbs (Miami, FL/Jackson HS) and Brittany Bowe (Ocala, FL/Trinity Catholic HS), the Owls fell to Troy on Tuesday 62-53. The next night, FAU didn't fare any better, as Middle Tennessee hit nine first-half three's and shot 55 percent from the field in the Blue Raiders 90-64 win over the Owls. Among the positives for FAU in that game was the play of freshman Breana Turner (New Orleans, LA/De La Salle HS), who came away with a career-high 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting. 18 of her points came in a second half that saw FAU outscore Middle Tennessee 35-33. Andrea Taylor (Birmingham, AL/Vestavia Hills HS) also played well, netting a season-high ten points on four-of-nine shooting, including two three-pointers.
WESTERN KENTUCKY: WKU is currently 8-6 on the season and have evened up their record in the Sun Belt at 2-2 after coming away with a 54-47 win over FIU on Wednesday night. Arnika Brown had a monster game for the Lady Toppers, scoring a game-high 24 points and pulling down a career-high 21 rebounds. Brown has been impressive in her sophomore campaign, as she averages a double-double per game, 15.3 points and a Sun Belt leading 12.7 rebounds per game. Brown has had to pick up the inside play after WKU lost pre-season Sun Belt player of the year Dominique Duck for the season after complications flared up from a knee injury she suffered in April. Western Kentucky gets good contributions from two of their experienced guards. Junior Kenzie Rich has connected on 30 percent of her three-pointers and averages 14.6 points per game. Sophomore Amy McNear scores ten points per game and leads the team in assists with just under five per game.
TURNER CLASSIC: Freshman Breana Turner turned in one of the best performances by a freshman in school history against Middle Tennessee on Wednesday night. Turner poured in 26 points, a career-high and the most points scored by any FAU player since Mistoria Brown scored 33 points against North Texas on January 20, 2007. It's also the most points scored by a freshman since Chantale Jones scored 26 against Boston University on December 6, 1998.
OWLS PLAY STRONG SCHEDULE: FAU played some of the top teams in the country in non-conference play. FAU has faced three teams in the RPI-top 100, according to realtimerpi.com Texas (10), Baylor (13) and Middle Tennessee (25). The Owls boast a win over South Alabama, who was ranked 88th at the time of the victory. In conference play the Owls will face three more teams currently in the top-100, Arkansas-Little Rock (71), ULM (83) and Western Kentucky (86). Going back to the Texas game on November 30, the last nine opponents boast a combined record of 76-48.
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 six 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 2007-08. That total does not include the 76-66 overtime loss to Denver that was close through the final minutes of regulation.
STUBBS SCORING AND DISHING: 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 put back in the lineup, Stubbs has scored double-digits in all but two games over a twelve-game stretch. Among the noteworthy performances was a 12 point, nine rebound game in the win over Bethune-Cookman November 25, and a 21 point performance Stubbs has also been dishing out assists at a personal record pace. She has 34 assists, two more than she had all of last year.
NEXT UP The Owls will `Bury the Burrow in Red' as they face rival FIU at FAU Arena on Wednesday, January 14 at 7 p.m. Fans are encouraged to wear red. Among the giveaways at Wednesday night's game will be t-shirts, bandanas and megaphones. Live music will be provided by Owl Radio.
For tickets and more information, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS or visit www.fausports.com. If you purchase tickets on-line you're guaranteed to receive a "Bury the Burrow in Red" t-shirt.
