Owls Battle Falls Short Against Hilltoppers

Saturday, February 22

Boca Raton, Fla.

2 PM

Florida Atlantic

-1214, 69 CUSA

WKU

-206, 123 CUSA

Western Ky.

Fla. Atlantic

2020 FAU Women's Basketball vs Southern Mississippi

Photo by: ©JC Ridley/Owlpix.com

2/22/2020 5:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University women's basketball team (12-14, 6-9 C-USA) were unable to get over the hump in Saturday's tilt against Western Kentucky (20-6, 12-3 C-USA). FAU fell 69-56 in the Owls' first of four bonus play games.

How It Was Decided

Juliette Gauthier pulled the Owls ahead early with a 3-pointer, 5-4, but WKU began to heat up on the floor to pick up a 6-0 run. The Hilltoppers then fell in a scoring drought for 2:15, as FAU was able to creep up within a point with three minutes left, but the Owls tallied three turnovers in 40 seconds to trail 19-9 after one quarter of play.

The Owls trailed by 14 with 4:35 left in the half despite WKU missing four consecutive free throws. FAU would not begin to heat up, ending the quarter on a 7-0 run with Gauthier capturing six of those seven points. The Owls outscored the Hilltoppers 13-10 in the second quarter, going into the locker room down, 29-22.

FAU continued their scoring drive coming out of the half to score four more unanswered points thanks to back-to-back baskets put in by Crystal Primm. The Owls came within three points of the Hilltoppers to start the quarter, but WKU went 5-6 from the field to pull ahead by 12 with 6:27 left. FAU would not go away, as Amber Gaston sunk a 3-pointer, as the Owls trailed, 42-37. Despite the Owls coming within five points at the timeout, WKU scored six unanswered points to close out the frame and hold a 53-42 advantage.

With FAU surging to come back, the Owls came within nine points of the Hilltoppers after a Nikola Ozola jumper. The Hilltoppers got going on a 9-0 run, as the Owls were unable to get over the hump, dropping the contest, 69-56.

Game Notes

Gauthier led the way with 20 points and 11 rebounds to capture her sixth double-double of the season. The sophomore also had two assists and a steal
Primm followed with 17 points and eight rebounds to fall just short of a double-double. The guard added three assists, as well as a block and steal
Ozola tallied five points, while Tanyia Gordon pulled down a career-high seven boards to add to her two steals
The Owls were nearly perfect at the charity strike, making 92 percent of free throws (12-13)

Up Next

The Owls will head to Old Dominion on Wednesday as part of FAU's second of four games in bonus play. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. For tickets, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS or visit fausports.com.

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