Owls Earn Road Win Over Wichita State

Saturday, January 27

Wichita, Kan.

6 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

6-13,1-7AAC

Wichita State

6-15,2-7AAC

Fla. Atlantic

Wichita St.

1/28/2024 1:33:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

WICHITA, Kan. – Florida Atlantic women's basketball (6-13, 1-7 AAC) picked up its first American Athletic Conference win, earning a 63-56 road win over the Wichita State Shockers (6-15, 2-7 AAC) on Saturday inside Charles Koch Arena.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Owls had a slow start, falling behind 9-4 early in the opening quarter. But the Owls bounced back, scoring eight unanswered, capped off by a steal from Aniya Hubbard and fastbreak layup from Kristina Godfrey, to take a 12-9 lead with just under three minutes to go in the first. The Shockers tied things up at 12, but the Owls closed the opening quarter on a 6-2 run to hold a four-point advantage after the first, 18-14.

Florida Atlantic and Wichita State traded baskets through the first three minutes of the second, leading to a two-point Owl advantage, 23-21. A Hubbard layup and a Mya Perry triple extended the Owls' lead to seven, 28-21, at the second-quarter media timeout. Florida Atlantic expanded its lead to eight through the 1:30-minute mark following a driving layup from Alexa Zaph, however the Shockers cut the Owls' lead in half after back-to-back baskets to close out the half, 34-30.

Janeta Rozentale opened up the second half for the Owls, pushing Florida Atlantic's lead back to six, 36-30. The Shockers battled back over the following five minutes of clock, eventually evening the contest at 40-40. Wichita State continued the momentum, outscoring the Owls 6-2 to hold a four-point lead, 46-42, with 1:51 remaining in the third. But the Owls answered back over the last two minutes of the period, scoring five unanswered, capped off by a Perry 3-pointer, to retake the lead 47-46 entering the fourth.

Hubbard extended Florida Atlantic's lead to three to open the fourth, but the Shockers responded on a 5-0 run to take a 51-49 lead with 7:49 to play. The Owls then retook the lead 52-51 after Perry's third triple of the day and another Hubbard free throw put Florida Atlantic's advantage at 53-51 at the final media timeout. The Owls continued their momentum, outscoring the Shockers 5-1 through the 2:41-minute mark, extending their lead back to six, 58-52. The Owls never let up the rest of the way, maintaining their advantage to eventually capture the 63-56 win.

HEAD COACH JENNIFER SULLIVAN POSTGAME THOUGHTS

"Getting our first win in the American was huge. Winning on the road is huge. Just a tough battle from start to finish and our kids did it. The one area for us that has been a tough thing is the rebounding, and watching our kids compete on the boards with everything they have is really great. But just in so many categories, so many people stepped up in big ways. Just really really proud of this group. They have shown up every day practicing hard, and again we've told them, there's a lot of games left to be played. We're still trying to figure things out and this is a big step for us in the right direction."

NOTES AND TEAM STATS

Aniya Hubbard, Mya Perry, and Alexa Zaph led the Owls in the win.
Hubbard recorded her fifth 20-point game of the season, registering a game-high 21 points, shooting 50 percent (7-of-14) from the field and 88 percent (7-of-8) from the line, in addition to tying a career-best six assists, grabbing seven boards, and collecting a team-high four assists.
Perry scored a team second-best 12 points, knocking down 40 percent (4-of-10) from the field and 44 percent (4-of-9) from 3-point range, and added four boards, an assist, and a block.
Zaph rounded out the Owls double-figure scorers with 10 points, shooting 57 percent (4-of-7) from the field, 33 percent (1-of-3) from beyond the arc, and going a perfect 1-of-1 at the line. She also added three boards and an assist.
The Owls held advantages in nearly every category, outscoring the Shockers 32-26 in points in the paint, 28-8 in points off the bench, 15-6 in points off turnovers, 8-6 in points off second-chance opportunities, and 6-3 in fastbreak points.
Florida Atlantic also outscored Wichita State 18-14 in the first quarter and 16-10 in the fourth quarter.

CINEMATIC HIGHLIGHTS

UP NEXT

Florida Atlantic will next travel to Birmingham, Alabama as they get ready to face off against the UAB Blazers on Wednesday, Jan. 31. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

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