BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University women's basketball team (6-4) dropped their opening game at the FAU Holiday Classic against Furman (7-4) at Abessinio Court at RoofClaim.com Arena, 69-63. The Owls were down by two points with 18 seconds left to go in the contest, but were unable to pull off another comeback victory.
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The Owls jumped out in the game with a 5-0 lead thanks to
Juliette Gauthier scoring off a layup and 3-pointer.
Nikola Ozola would then come alive in the quarter, cashing in on a 3-pointer to put the Owls within four. Free throws made by
Amber Gaston and
Crystal Primm pulled the Owls ahead, 20-18 at the end of the first quarter. Ozola would score all seven of her points in the first.
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Alexa Zaph only needed one quarter to match a career-high in scoring, totaling 10 points in the second frame. The freshman opened up the quarter with a 3-pointer to put the Owls ahead by six points. FAU would then fall in a scoring drought for nearly five minutes, but after draining a shot from downtown and two free throws by
Amber Gaston, the Owls trailed by just two going into the locker room, 36-34.
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In the third quarter,
Astou Gaye captured seven of her nine points in the frame, scoring five straight points to put the Owls ahead 39-36. The Paladins would then go on a 19-6 run to lead by as many as 12. FAU trailed 59-49 going into the fourth quarter.
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As the Owls were looking to capture their fourth comeback victory of the season, FAU opened up the quarter on a 6-0 run to cut the Paladins' lead to four. With 1:41 left in the contest, Primm knocked down a free throw and the Owls trailed by just three. In the final minute of the game, the Owls inched their way within two points, but ultimately fell, 69-63.
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- Zaph captured a career-high 14 points, along with a career-high three 3-pointers. The freshman was 3-6 from beyond the arc
- Amber Gaston captured 11 points along with a rebound, assist and block
- Gauthier produced a solid stat line of 10 points, seven boards and a steal
- Gaye tallied nine points, six boards and a block
- Crystal Primm came up with seven points and seven boards along with three assists
- Lotta Vehka-Aho totaled five points and six assists
- Ozola recorded seven points all in the first quarter
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The Owls take on the loser of Saint Joseph's and Furman tomorrow at 2 p.m. For tickets, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS or visit the mainÂ
FAU Women's Basketball ticket page.
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