Women’s Basketball Dominates in Fourth Quarter to Push Past CCSU

Sunday, December 15

Boca Raton, FLA.

2 PM

Florida Atlantic

-63 (00 CUSA)

Central Connecticut State

0-9 (0-0NEC)

CCSU

Fla. Atlantic

Photo by: ©JC Ridley/Owlpix.com

Women’s Basketball Dominates in Fourth Quarter to Push Past CCSU

12/15/2019 4:57:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University women's basketball team (6-3) took down Central Connecticut State (0-9) in Sunday's tilt, 72-54. FAU trailed Central Connecticut by as many as seven in the contest, but the Owls pulled away late in the game, outscoring the Blue Devils 22-8 in the fourth quarter.

How It Was Decided

The Owls got off to a tough start in the first quarter, as they trailed the Blue Devils 18-15 after one frame of play. In the quarter, Crystal Primm got to the free throw line three times, knocking down all six foul shots to lead both sides with eight points early in the contest.

Central Connecticut reached their largest lead in the game early in the second quarter, as they hiked their lead up to seven, but back-to-back 3-pointers scored by Juliette Gauthier and Lotta Vehka-Aho pulled the Owls within distance. With 4:11 left in the half, Astou Gaye pushed the Owls ahead for the first time in the game with a nice drive to the basket. The junior had six points and five boards in the second quarter. Central Connecticut would then pull ahead again, but Tanyia Gordon came up with a scoop and score prior to the end of the half, and the Owls went to the locker room trailing, 34-33.

The Owls came into the second half with intensity, opening up the third quarter on a 4-0 run. After a Central Connecticut 3-pointer tied the game for the second time of the day, the Owls went on a 13-7 run to close out the quarter with a 50-46 lead.

With a two-possession lead going into the fourth quarter, Nikola Ozola drove straight to the basket to get the Owls' run started. Following a Primm layup, Gauthier knocked down her second 3-pointer in the game to extend FAU's lead to double digits with 4:51 left. The Owls would go on to outscore the Blue Devils 22-8 in fourth quarter and pull out a 72-54 victory.

Game Notes

Gaye had her breakout game as an Owl. The junior tallied a career-high 17 points and 12 rebounds to capture first career double-double
Vehka-Aho led both sides with 18 points, while adding in two boards
Primm was the third Owl in double-digits, recording 16 points, seven rebounds, two steals and a block
Gauthier was just shy of a double-double, delivering eight points and nine boards, while playing 37 minutes in the contest
The Owls were 88 percent from the charity strike, which is a new season high. FAU also shot 43.1 percent from the field
The Owls captured their sixth win of the season, surpassing last year's win total

With Coach Jabir

"I was happy with the way we came back in the second half after being off for a long time," said head coach Jim Jabir. "I thought we played with some poise and now we have to get ready for a really good Furman team."

Up Next

The Owls will prepare to host the annual Holiday Classic this Friday and Saturday. FAU will get things started against Furman on Friday at 2 p.m. For tickets, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS or visit the main tournament page or FAU Women's Basketball ticket page.

Owls on Social Media

For complete coverage of FAU women's basketball, follow us on Twitter (@FAU_WBB), Instagram (@FAU_WBB) and Facebook (Florida Atlantic Women's Basketball).