Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Florida Atlantic
4-18 (0-11)
North Texas
8-14 (5-6)
FAU Subdued 79-57 by North Texas Offense
2/9/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Denton, Texas - Box Score (PDF)
Florida Atlantic University women's basketball (4-18, 0-11 C-USA) faced stifling offense from North Texas (8-14, 5-6 C-USA) as the Owls were topped 79-57 at the Super Pit on Thursday night.
The Finish:
The Owls were outscored 11-4 in the first five minutes of the fourth as NT's Terra Ellison picked up seven of those points. FAU then went scoreless for the next 3:15 and committed three turnovers, which allowed the Mean Green to go on a 9-0 run. Melinda Myers ended the Owls' drought with a layup and one followed by two from Katelyn O'Reilly with just over two minutes to play. Unfortunately, NT would tack on another nine points to finish on top.
The Breakdown:
FAU began the first quarter a bit timid as North Texas hit seven of their first nine shots to take a seven-point lead with 5:21 to play. FAU then had a 3:20 scoring drought and NT had three takeaways to go up by 10. At the 1:15 mark, Myers made a basket for two and Alexis Shannon claimed a free throw to come within seven. North Texas had the final two points of the first to go up 25-16. The Mean Green made 11-of-18 shots while FAU saw just 6-of-17 hit their mark.
The Owl defense was pivotal in the second quarter as they held the Mean Green to just 13 points and took 11 boards to narrow the home team's lead to 38-33 heading into the half. The FAU offense started off slow as the team went scoreless until Malia Kency went to the line with just over seven minutes to play. Shannon continued to play with a purpose, drawing two fouls in the first five minutes to earn three points. Kency came through again with the Owls' first field goal of the quarter with a basket from downtown at the halfway point. FAU then put together a 7-0 run over the next 2:04 as Raven Doyle also hit a three. The visitors held North Texas to just two points in the final 2:23.
In the third quarter, North Texas outshot FAU 52.9-25.0 percent to earn 19 points to the Owls' 12. However, FAU did see its first lead of the game in the first minute facilitated by a Julia Jenike 3-pointer followed by a combined three points from Shannon. Over the next nine minutes, NT went on a 19-6 run and came out of the quarter with a 57-45 lead.
"Nothing But Net" Notables:
- Shannon led the Owls with 11 points and has now seen at least that many in the last four of five games. The freshman guard added five rebounds and one assist.
- Jenike was the second leading scorer with 10 points along with three rebounds and two assists. Fellow freshman O'Reilly was tops in rebounds with six followed by Doyle and Shannon with five each.
- FAU was very productive at the free throw line coming away with 16-of-22 while only allowing six points from the line for the Mean Green.
- North Texas was impressive on offense with four players scoring in double-figures led by Tyara Warren with a career-high 18 points. They also outshot the Owls 51.5-30.6 percent with 40 points in the paint.
What's Next:
The Owls will remain in the Lone Star State to play Rice in Houston on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 3 p.m. ET. Fans can watch the game live on CUSA.tv and listen free HERE.
