Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Owls Host UTEP on Sunday
1/6/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
BOCA RATON, Fla. -- The Florida Atlantic University women's basketball team will continue conference play on Sunday afternoon. The Owls host UTEP at FAU Arena at 2:00 p.m.
GAME NOTABLES
FAU (7-5, 1-0 C-USA) and UTEP (10-4, 1-0 C-USA) have squared off six times in program history. The Miners hold a 4-2 record in the series and claimed wins in both matchups last season.
Both teams will put a three-game winning streak and 1-0 conference record on the line on Sunday.
FAU comes into the game as the conference leader in rebounds per game with an average of 45.9. They also lead the conference in defensive boards, averaging 31.0 per game. FAU is the only team in Conference USA with two players averaging 7.5 rebounds or more per game with Sasha Cedeño (9.2) and Ra'Kyra Gabriel (7.5).
The Owls are averaging 71.5 points per game, which is fourth in C-USA and the highest for an FAU team since the 2013-14 season. Cedeño is the second leading scorer in the league, averaging 20.0 points per game.
LAST TIME OUT
The Owls defeated Marshall, 79-59, on Friday night to start conference play 1-0. It was the first conference win for FAU since March 5, 2016 after going winless in league play last season.
Marshall raced out to an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Owls would not go away. After playing catchup for the first of the opening period, FAU used an 18-0 run in the second frame to go ahead for good.
Malia Kency led the Owls in scoring against the Herd with a season-high 20 points, one shy of her career high. FAU had its best shooting night of the season, shooting 43.8 percent from the floor. Nine players were in the scoring column for the Owls and the FAU bench outscored Marshall, 40-0.
SCOUTING UTEP
The Miners topped FIU on Friday, 77-76, thanks to a pair of free throws from Najala Howell with 3.5 seconds left in the game. Tamera Seda leads the Miners in scoring, averaging 14.6 points per game and is second in Conference USA in rebounding, pulling down 9.8 boards per game. Howell is second on the team in scoring with a 14.0 points per game average.
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