Owls Fall in Heartbreaker to Alabama A&M

Monday, December 20

Boca Raton, Fla.

2:30 PM

Florida Atlantic

-47,00 CUSA

Alabama A&M

2-8,0-0SWAC

Alabama A&M

Fla. Atlantic

12/20/2021 6:22:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University women's basketball team (4-7) dropped a heartbreaker to Alabama A&M (2-8) on Monday afternoon, 65-63. Down by three points with less than 30 seconds left, Sofia Galeron knocked down a clutch 3-pointer to tie the game at 63. Alabama A&M then responded with a go-ahead jumper to pull ahead of the Owls. Kimia Carter led the game with 21 points, while Galeron tallied her first career double-double (10 points and 11 rebounds).

How It Was Decided

1Q
Carter scored the Owls' first five points off two free throws and a 3-pointer, as FAU began the game up 5-0. AAMU then cruised on a 9-0 run to help the Bulldogs pull ahead 9-5 with less than 7:25 left in the first quarter. Both sides were held off the scoreboard for nearly two minutes until AAMU nailed another bucket to close out their 11-0 run. Bre Beck pulled the Owls out of their scoring drought with a layup, but the Owls trailed the Bulldogs 11-7 at the media timeout. FAU continued to have troubles shooting, as the Owls were in a scoring drought for nearly three minutes. The Owls shot 28% from the field in the first quarter to trail the Bulldogs, 28-14.

2Q
The Owls trailed by as many as 16 less than two minutes into the second quarter, but FAU then cruised on a 9-0 run, which was capped off by a Carter 3-pointer. FAU trailed 32-26 with 5:15 left in the first half, as AAMU was in a scoring drought for almost four minutes. The Owls closed out the quarter on a 6-4 run, as Rita Pleskevich made a layup with 14 seconds left in the first half. FAU trailed by four, 36-32, after two quarters.

3Q
FAU opened up the third quarter on an 11-2 run with a Pleskevich jumper to pull the Owls ahead by five with 7:03 left in the third. AAMU then went on a 5-0 run to tie the game at 43, but FAU responded with back-to-back baskets by Pleskevich and Amber Gaston to lead 47-43 with 2:05 remaining. The Bulldogs closed out the quarter on a 3-0 run, as FAU led 47-46 after three quarters of play.

4Q
AAMU opened up the fourth quarter on a 4-0 run to pull ahead of the Owls, 50-47. Gaston then made a layup and was fouled in the process, converting the 3-point play to tie the game back up at 50. After FAU took the lead by one with 6:40 remaining in the game, AAMU scored nine unanswered points to take an eight-point lead with 2:57 left. The Owls would respond with a Galeron 3-pointer and a Beck layup to come within three points. Following an AAMU turnover, the Owls had the ball with 31 seconds left and a chance to tie the game. Galeron would make that happen with a trey to tie the game at 63 with 22 seconds left. With the shot clock turned off, AAMU came up with the game-winning jumper with a second left on the clock. The Bulldogs knocked off the Owls, 65-63.

Game Notes

Carter had back-to-back career games at the FAU Pre-Christmas Tournament. She ended the day with a career-high 21 points off 7-for-14 shooting from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc
Pleskevich followed by matching a season-high 15 points off 7-for-13 shooting. She also added five boards and a career-high five assists
Galeron logged her first career double-double, logging 10 points and matching a career-high 11 boards. She also tallied four assists and a block
Gaston tallied nine points, four rebounds and matched a career-high four blocks
Beck came off the bench to deliver six points and four dimes
The Owls matched a season-high 17 assists

Sully's Statements

"I was really proud of our fight. Obviously, we were really short-handed and had seven healthy bodies," said head coach Jennifer Sullivan. "We battled against a team that I knew was very physical on the boards. We rotated three post players and kind of played some people out of position. One of the goals of the game was to win the battle on the boards, and [Alabama A&M] ended up with 16 offensive rebounds, which is too many opportunities for them. That area was disappointing, but I do appreciate our kids' fight. Games like this will pay off for us in conference. We have to continue to get better."

Up Next

FAU will start out Conference USA play on the road at Charlotte on Dec. 30 at 6 p.m. followed by a Jan. 1 matchup at Old Dominion at 2 p.m. The Owls will return to Boca Raton on Saturday, Jan. 8 to face Marshall at 2 p.m. Tickets for the game can be purchased hereor by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS.

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