Women's Basketball Topped by WKU 76-55

Friday, December 30

Bowling Green, Ky.

8:00 PM

Florida Atlantic

-48 (00 CUSA)

WKU

-94 (00 CUSA)

Florida Atlantic

WKU

12/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Dec. 30, 2016

Box Score

Bowling Green, Ky. -

Box Score

The Florida Atlantic University women's basketball team (4-8) was topped by WKU (9-4) 76-55 on Friday night to open Conference USA play despite the Owls outshooting the Lady Toppers 37.9-35.2 percent.

On the Court with Coach Jay:
"I thought we handled their pressure well. We've historically had a tough time here handling their pressure, and I thought we did a good job of that in the first half," said Head Women's Basketball Coach Kellie Lewis-Jay. "I also am proud of our effort in the second half. Our goal was to come out and win each quarter in the second half. We won the third and we tied the fourth, so I was happy with that. We were more aggressive tonight offensively getting to the basket and looking to get into the paint. Defensively, even though the score doesn't necessarily show it I thought we showed some good things defensively. There is a reason they are the defending conference champs. They are very, very talented. It was a challenge."

The Finish:
It was a back-and-forth battle in the fourth as both teams came away with 11 points as the Owls outshot WKU 33.3-25.0 percent. Sasha Cedeno nailed a 3-pointer at 5:02 for the team's first points of the quarter. Cedeno would add another three along with two apiece from Katelyn O'Reilly and Melinda Myers. Unfortunately, the gap was just too big to overcome as the Lady Toppers would secure the 76-55 win.

The Breakdown:
The Lady Toppers came out as expected scoring six in the first two minutes from beyond the arc. The Owls' first points came from freshman Jacey Bailey who hit a three from deep in the corner. FAU saw a three-minute scoring drought, which was ended by Raven Doyle at the 3:47 mark. The FAU defense turned it on in the final 2:45 as WKU took just two free throws. WKU outrebounded the Owls 12-6, but FAU outshoot the Lady Toppers 46.7-44.4 percent ending the quarter 24-16.

The Owls saw just nine points in the second quarter to WKU's 23 as the Lady Toppers shot 46.7 percent to FAU's 20.0. FAU saw seven fouls in the quarter, which resulted in eight points for the home team. The Lady Toppers went on a 9-2 run over the final 3:55 to take a 47-25 lead into the half. Ra'Kyra Gabriel saw the Owls' final two points in the quarter's waning seconds.

The Owls came out with purpose in the third holding WKU to six points in the first six minutes, all of which were earned from the free throw line. Midway through the quarter, Malia Kency gave FAU some serious offensive momentum as she went 5-of-11 for 12 of the team's 19 points. The Owls outshot the Lady Toppers 50.0-27.8 percent to outscore the home team 19-18 and end the quarter down 65-44.

"Nothing But Net" Notables:

Freshman Bailey had a career-best nine points on 4-of-10 and added two assists in 32 minutes of play. Junior guard Kency had a team-high 12 points, including two threes, all coming in the third quarter.
Cedeno and O'Reilly added nine points apiece. O'Reilly and Myers had a team-best seven boards apiece on the night.
The Owls saw their lowest turnover count of the season with 14, but the Lady Toppers earned 18 points off takeaways to FAU's 14. FAU was outworked on the boards for just the fourth time this season as WKU saw 52 rebounds compared to the Owls' 30.
WKU led for 39:31 of the game as four players scored in double digits. The Lady Toppers were 19-of-21 from the free throw line as the Owls had 21 fouls.

What's Next:

The Owls will ring in the new year in Huntington, W.Va. where they will take on Marshall on Sunday, Jan. 1 at 1 p.m. ET.