Zaph Scores Career-High in Loss Against Furman

Friday, December 20

Boca Raton, FLA.

2 PM

Florida Atlantic

-64 (00 CUSA)

Furman

7-4 (0-0SoCon)

Furman

Fla. Atlantic

Photo by: ©JC Ridley/Owlpix.com

12/20/2019 5:34:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

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.

How It Was Decided

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.

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.

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.

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.

Game Notes

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

Up Next

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 main FAU Women's Basketball ticket page.

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