Women's Basketball Advances to Thanksgiving Tournament Title Game

Friday, November 23

Boca Raton, Fla.

12 PM

Florida Atlantic

2-3

Lafayette College

3-2

LAFAYETT

FAU

Photo by: ©JC Ridley/Owlpix.com

Women's Basketball Advances to Thanksgiving Tournament Title Game

11/23/2018 2:51:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University women's basketball team (2-3) came from behind to defeat Lafayette (3-2) on Friday. After falling behind as much as 10 points in the third quarter, the Owls clawed back to secure a 53-49 win to advance to the championship game of the FAU Thanksgiving Tournament.

HOW IT WAS DECIDED

FAU and Lafayette went back-and-forth in the first quarter, but a 9-1 run by the Leopards midway through the period helped Lafayette take an 18-10 lead into the second quarter
The second quarter was a low-scoring affair for both teams, but the Owls got the edge, 13-9, to cut into the Lafayette lead
FAU made their move in the third quarter, outscoring Lafayette 22-10 in the frame. Myka Johnson Matthews led the charge with nine points in the period. After Lafayette inflated their lead to 10 points shortly after halftime, Abby Voss made a 3-pointer to cut it to seven. The Owls went on a 12-0 run to take the lead for the first time in the game and ended the quarter up by eight points
The Leopards didn't shy away after conceding the lead. In the fourth quarter, Lafayette made a 10-0 run to regain the lead, but Glenisha Harkless found Gaston on a pick-and-roll to go up again. This time, the lead would stay

COACH JABIR POSTGAME INTERVIEW

GAME NOTES

Johnson Matthews had her best game of the season with 25 points, a new career high for the redshirt junior. Johnson Matthews was clutch from the free throw line, going 7-of-7 for the game. She also had three assists and two steals in the contest
Gaston had an impressive showing with eight points, five rebounds and four blocks. She made the game-sealing free throw with one second left and had three important rebounds with less than three minutes remaining in the game
Juliette Gauthier had five points, seven rebounds and three steals in the game. She was 1-of-1 from the free throw line to continue her perfect streak (11-of-11) from the charity stripe to start her career
Harkless provided a spark off the bench for the Owls with seven points, three assists and two rebounds
The team had a season-high 11 steals in the game
FAU improved to 12-1 under head coach Jim Jabir when leading with five minutes remaining in the game
The starting combination of Jayla Adams, Abby Voss, Johnson Matthews, Gauthier and Ra'Kyra Gabriel improved to 2-1 on the season

UP NEXT
FAU will take on the winner of the Bradley vs. Delaware game on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. for the FAU Thanksgiving Tournament title game. Both Bradley and Delaware would be first time opponents for the Owls.

TICKETS
For tickets, call 1-800-FAU-OWLS or visit FAUSports.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA
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