Turnovers Stump Owls at Miami

Thursday, November 18

Coral Gables, Fla.

6 PM

Florida Atlantic

-21,00 CUSA

Miami

4-0,0-0ACC

Fla. Atlantic

Miami (FL)

11/18/2021 8:36:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box (PDF)

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University women's basketball team (2-1) was unable to push past Miami (4-0) on Thursday night, falling to the Canes in a defensive battle, 56-46. The Owls committed a season-high 28 turnovers, making it difficult for the team to pull out the win in Coral Gables.

How It Was Decided

1Q
The Owls were able to get things going in the first quarter thanks to Amber Gaston, who hit a 3-pointer and followed that up with a layup. Following a UM turnover, Rita Pleskevich knocked down a 3-pointer to help the Owls lead 12-7 with 4:37 left in the first quarter. The Owls kept that momentum rolling off two free throws by Janeta Rozentale and then a second-chance layup by the redshirt junior, as FAU was ahead, 16-9 with 2:18 left in the first frame. UM would then ride on a 9-0 run, as FAU was unable to hit a basket, and UM led 18-16 after one quarter of play.

2Q
UM continued their run going into the second quarter, taking advantage of FAU miscues and missed shots. Sofia Galeron brought FAU out of a drought with a 3-pointer with 6:16 left in the second quarter for the Owls' first points of the frame. It was a low scoring second quarter, but FAU was outscored by the Canes 12-6 to trail 30-22 at the halfway point.

3Q
The Owls committed 17 turnovers in the first half, but still had a difficult time cleaning that up, tallying nine in the third quarter. Alike the second quarter, FAU took some time to get going offensively. The Owls found a spark following a Pleskevich steal, as she took it all the way down to the hoop for a layup. Gaston then came up with a monster block with 3:33 remaining in the frame, as FAU trailed 41-29. The Owls then committed five turnovers in a span of 2:30, while UM went on a 6-0 run. Nikola Ozola came up with a driving layup with 30 seconds in the quarter, but a late FAU foul put the Canes back to the line to knock down two. FAU trailed 49-34 after three quarters.

4Q
Neither side scored in the fourth quarter until 5:32 left in the game. Pleskevich notched the first points on the board in the quarter off a jumper, as the Owls trailed 49-36. The Owls cut the Canes' lead down to 10 points following a Pleskevich trey, who tallied seven of her team-leading 12 points in the fourth quarter. The Owls outscored the Canes 12-7 in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough to pull out the comeback victory. FAU fell 56-46 for their first loss of the season.

Game Notes

Pleskevich led the Owls with an impressive stat line of 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. She also played a team-leading 35 minutes
Rozentale followed with 11 points and seven rebounds along with two steals
Gaston tallied her third consecutive double digit scoring contest off 10 points, three boards and two blocks
Alexa Zaph logged five points and a team's best seven rebounds

Coach Sully's Statements

"I'm really proud of the team's fight and execution on the defensive side of the floor," said head coach Jennifer Sullivan. "We held them to under 60 points, but we obviously need to get better at taking care of the ball. We are going to get better and bounce back at North Florida on Sunday."

Up Next

FAU will stay on the road to face North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida on Sunday, Nov. 21 at 9:30 a.m.. The Owls will return home for the FAU Thanksgiving Tournament, taking place from Nov. 26-27. Tickets for the games can be purchased here or by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS.

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