Sullivan Earns First Head Coaching Win

Wednesday, November 10

Boca Raton, Fla.

6 PM

Florida Atlantic

-10,00 CUSA

Palm Beach Atlantic

0-0,0-0Sunshine State

Palm Beach Atl.

Fla. Atlantic

Photo by: Alex Liscio

11/10/2021 10:02:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Final Score (PDF)

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University women's basketball team (1-0) opened up the 2021-22 campaign with a convincing 88-41 win over Palm Beach Atlantic. Head coach Jennifer Sullivan earned her first career win as a head coach, as the Owls shot 52.7 percent from the field while holding the Sailfish to an 18.6 mark. Four Owls reached double digits and scoring, led by Amber Gaston, whose 15 points and 13 boards marked her first career double-double.

How It Was Decided

1Q
The Owls pulled ahead halfway through the first half at 7-6 following an Amber Gaston layup. FAU would then initiate an 8-0 run to hold a 13-6 lead at the media timeout mark. The Sailfish were held without a field goal for over five minutes while committing eight fouls in the quarter, as FAU took a convincing 21-8 lead after one frame of play.

2Q
Rita Pleskevich opened up the fourth quarter with back-to-back baskets. Kimia Carter then came up with a steal and took the ball coast-to-coast by delivering a layup, as the Owls led 27-11 two minutes into the second quarter. The Owls then went quiet for some time, as the team did not convert a basket for over two minutes, but Sofia Galeron broke the silence with a 3-pointer, as the Owls led 36-18. Late in the quarter, Gaston continued to put on a show on both sides of the ball and after a second-chance layup from the senior, she went into the locker room with 10 points and rebounds apiece. The Owls rolled into halftime win a 40-22 lead.

3Q
PBA opened up the quarter on a 7-3 run to cut the Owls' lead to 14 with 6:06 left in the quarter. That was the closest the Sailfish would get, as Galeron knocked down a jumper and Alexa Zaph logged a second-chance 3-pointer to elevate the Owls to a 20-point lead with 3:41 left in the third. In the final three minutes in the quarter, FAU cruised on a 10-2 run, which was capped off by a Juliette Gauthier 3-pointer with 36.5 seconds left. FAU led PBA 62-34 going into the final quarter.

4Q
The Owls outscored the Sailfish 26-7 in the fourth quarter. Nikola Ozola got the party started beyond the arc in the fourth quarter, as she splashed in a 3-pointer to pull FAU ahead by 38 points with 5:23 remaining the game. FAU would finish the quarter shooting 4-for-5 from beyond the arc, as the Owls took a persuasive 47-point victory to win the season opener, 88-41.

Game Notes

Coach Sullivan achieved her first win as a head coach
All 11 active players saw 10+ minutes on the court and scored at least two points
Gaston logged her first career double-double after tallying 15 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. She also added two blocks
Pleskevich shot 7-for-11 from the field to match a team-leading 15 points
Galeron logged 11 points while shooting 2-for-3 from beyond the arc. She also logged eight boards
Alexa Zaph captured 10 points to be the fourth Owl in double digits, while also registering three assists
Bre Beck had an impressive eight assists, which marks a new career high
In her first game back from injury, Gauthier tallied nine points and four boards
Janeta Rozentale pulled down eight rebounds
FAU shot an impressive 52.7 percent from the field, pulled down 50 rebounds and logged 17 assists

Coach Sully's Statements

On first career win:
"It's very exciting. I was excited for the girls, but I told them in the locker room that you will just never forget the first one," said Sullivan. "I'm really thankful to have the opportunity to be here and to get the first win in that way with that group. I'm really excited!"

On Gaston's performance:
"Since our staff got here this summer, [Amber] has worked her tail off every single day. She has been consistent, so that's step one, and I think step two is that she is older and has been in the system a long time. She kind of knows what is coming so we are reaping the benefits from her age."

On the defense's effort:
"We want to be strong on either side of the ball. Going into the game, the goal was to hold them to 52 [points] or lower, so obviously we were below that and did a good job with that. But defensively, we aren't going to be the biggest team, but I do think from the perimeter, we are pretty long and I think our kids play hard. So we are going to try to get a lot of stops."

Up Next

FAU will complete opening week with a Sunday matinee matchup against Bethune-Cookman at 2 p.m. Tickets for the game can be purchased here or by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS.

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