Owls Face Miami for First Road Contest

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University women's basketball team (2-0) will hit the road for the first time of the 2021-22 season, as the Owls play at Miami (3-0) on Thursday night. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. at the Watsco Center, as FAU looks to defeat UM for the first time in school history and knock off a Power Five program for the first time since 1997.

About the Owls

FAU opened up the Jennifer Sullivan era on a memorable note, as the first-year head coach earned her first two wins as a collegiate head coach to start the season 2-0. Prior to FAU, Sullivan served on multiple staffs around the country as an assistant, bringing 16 years of coaching experience
The Owls are coming off dominating performances over Palm Beach Atlantic (88-41) and Bethune-Cookman (85-65)
The team brings back 10 student-athletes from the 2020-21 squad, all of whom have seen time on a collegiate court
Rita Pleskevich and Alexa Zaph lead the team in scoring after two games, logging 14.5 points per game
Amber Gaston and Janeta Rozentale pull down a team-high 9.5 rebounds per game
Bre Beck has logged a team's most nine assists across two contests
FAU has five Owls averaging double digits in scoring after two games (Zaph, Pleskevich, Gaston, Rozentale and Sofia Galeron)
The Owls lead Conference USA in field goal percentage defense (.275), 3-point field-goal percentage (.500) & defensive rebounds per game (35.0)
FAU was picked to finish 10th in C-USA, as voted on by the league's head coaches. The team is coming off the 2020-21 season having achieved an 11-11 (8-8 C-USA) record with eight conference wins being the most the Owls have achieved in C-USA

Last Time Out

The Owls defeated Bethune-Cookman, 85-65, behind 50% shooting from the field and beyond the arc to begin the season 2-0 for the first time since 2016
Five Owls notched double digits in scoring
Zaph led the Owls with a career-high 19 points and six boards
Rozentale logged her first double-double of the season off a career-high 18 points and 11 boards with three assists
Pleksevich had another solid performance with 14 points and five boards
Galeron tallied 10 points and seven boards off the bench, while Gaston registered 10 points and six rebounds

Scouting UM

Miami has opened up the season 3-0 following wins over Jackson State, Bethune-Cookman and Stetson, all at home
The Canes were picked to finish ninth in the ACC Preseason Poll with 92 points, as voted on by the league's head coaches
Kelsey Marshall leads the Canes by averaging 12.5 points per game. She also averages 5.7 rebounds per game and is tied with Mykea Gray for a team's most 4.0 assists per game
Lola Pendande pulls down a team's most 6.3 boards per game
With 306 wins at UM, Kate Meier is the winningest coach in UM WBB history

History Against the Canes

The FAU vs. UM series has gone the Canes' way all 18 times, as UM leads the series, 18-0
FAU and UM played one another last year for the first time since 2012
The Owls gave the Canes a game last season, dropping the contest 73-61 in Coral Gables. With 2:27 left in the third quarter, the Owls were up by one, but were unable to pull off the upset
In last season's game, Zaph tallied 13 points, five rebounds and three assists, while Rozentale logged nine points, five rebounds and two blocks

Upcoming

FAU will play another road contest this Sunday, as the Owls head to North Florida for a 9:30 a.m. game. The Owls will return home for the FAU Thanksgiving Tournament, taking place from Nov. 26-27. Tickets for those games can be purchased here or by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS.

Owls on Social Media

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

Calendar

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Players Mentioned

Bre Beck

Sofia Galeron

Amber Gaston

Rita Pleskevich

Janeta Rozentale

Alexa Zaph

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Florida Memorial on November 4, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball at Kennesaw State on November 8, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball at Miami on November 13, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball at South Alabama on November 20, 2025 at 8 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Florida on November 24, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Air Force on November 27, 2025 at 12 p.m.

Florida Atlantic University Athletics