Owls to Square Off Against Lady Eagles

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University women's basketball team (5-15, 1-8 in Conference USA) continues its road stretch at Southern Miss (13-7, 5-4 in C-USA) with a Saturday matinee matchup in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The two squads are set to tipoff at 3 p.m. at Reed Green Coliseum with the game being broadcast on ESPN+. Head coach Jennifer Sullivan will face her former collegiate coach from her playing days at Memphis in Joye Lee-McNelis.

About the Owls

FAU is looking to bounce back from Thursday's loss at Louisiana Tech and earn its second C-USA win of the season
The Owls are in the middle of a three-game road trip with its matchup at Southern Miss being the second of three contests in the span of five days
Amber Gaston leads the Owls with 12.0 points per game and a .507 field goal percentage
Janeta Rozentale has a team's most 8.6 rebounds per game
Kynadi Kuykendoll leads the way with 3.1 assists per game (61 total)
FAU has four Owls averaging double digits in scoring (Gaston, Rozentale, Rita Pleskevich and Alexa Zaph)
In C-USA statistical rankings, the Owls are third in defensive rebounds per game (26.85) and fourth in total assists (244)
Sullivan is in her first season at the helm of the FAU women's basketball program. She is a 16-year coaching veteran and the sixth head coach in program history. On Saturday, she will be facing her collegiate coach in Lee-McNelis, who was Sullivan's collegiate coach at Memphis

Last Time Out

FAU dropped its game on the road to LA Tech, 64-49
The Owls outscored the Lady Techsters 17-9 in the fourth quarter, but it was too little too late and FAU lost its fifth straight road contest
Galeron led the Owls after finishing just shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine boards
Zaph registered double digits in scoring with 12 points and five boards
Pleskevich recorded 10 points
The Owls held the Lady Techsters to 1-for-6 for 16.7% shooting from beyond the arc

Scouting Southern Miss

The Lady Eagles were projected to finish 13th in the C-USA Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league's head coaches
Southern Miss is coming off a statement 65-64 win over FIU off a buzzer beater from Dominque Davis. The Lady Eagles are second in the West division with a 5-4 mark in the league, 13-7 overall
Davis paces the Lady Eagles with 16.2 points per game. She also leads the team with 81 assists for 4.3 assists per game
Meliya Grayson pulls down a team's most 6.8 rebounds per game along with a team's most 21 blocks

Series History vs. the Lady Eagles

Southern Miss has a 7-3 advantage over FAU in the all-time series history with Saturday's game being the 11th of the series
The first contest of the series was played in 2014, the Owls' inaugural year in C-USA. Both teams have played one another every year since, and over the past two seasons, FAU and Southern Miss have played one another twice each year
FAU commenced the series 0-4, but earned its first win over the Lady Eagles in 2018 following an 89-74 win at home
The Owls are on a two-game winning streak over the Lady Eagles after sweeping Southern Miss at home last season in the back-to-back series
The Owls have never won at Reed Green Coliseum
In the first of two games of the series last year, the Owls won 78-63. Galeron tallied 17 points, while Rozentale pulled down 13 rebounds
The second game resulted in an 86-61 feat for FAU. Gaston led all scorers with 22 points off the bench. Galeron (12 points and nine rebounds), Zaph (12 points and five assists) and Bre Beck (14 points) also captured double digits

An Owl Win Means

The Owls will find their way back in the winning column
Head coach Jennifer Sullivan will earn first conference road win
FAU will break a five-game losing skid on the road
The Owls will earn three straight victories over the Lady Eagles

Upcoming

The Owls will wrap up three games in five days at Charlotte on Monday, Feb. 7 with a 5 p.m. tipoff versus the 49ers. The Owls will be back at home to face WKU on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. Tickets for the game 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).

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Players Mentioned

Bre Beck

Amber Gaston

Kynadi Kuykendoll

Rita Pleskevich

Janeta Rozentale

Alexa Zaph

Upcoming Events

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.

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Wright State on November 28, 2025 at 1 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball at Western Kentucky on December 3, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.

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