Owls Drop Hard-Fought Season-Opener at Florida

Monday, November 4

Gainesville, Fla.

7 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

0-1,0-0AAC

Florida

1-0,0-0SEC

Fla. Atlantic

Florida

11/4/2024 11:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic women's basketball team opened up its 2024-25 season, falling in a hard-fought 82-54 loss on the road at Florida on Monday inside the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.

Florida Atlantic falls to 0-1 to open the season, while Florida moves to 1-0.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Florida struck first, but Jada Moore secured the Owls' first points of the season, cashing in the layup and drawing the foul for her first and-1 of the season, 3-2. The Gators started to break away, scoring 10 unanswered points, but the Owls went on a 5-3 run to cut the deficit to 15-8 at the opening media timeout. Erin Rodgers hit a jumper out of the timeout to score her first collegiate points, 16-10, but Florida closed the first on a 10-5 run to lead 26-15 after the first.

The Gators opened the scoring in the second and held a 13-point advantage through the 5:29-minute mark of the second, but Ta'Ziah Jenks knocked down her first triple of the season to bring the Owls back within 10, 33-23, at the second quarter media timeout. The Owls kept things within 11, 40-29, through the 1:32 mark of the second, however, the Gators closed the half on a 6-0 run to take a 46-29 lead into the break.

The Owls struggled to find an answer to the Gators as Florida went on an 11-4 run to open the second half, extending their lead to 57-33, but another And-1 from Jada helped spark an 11-4 Florida Atlantic run to close out the gap to 17, 61-44, entering the final 10 minutes of play.

Jada Moore scored first in the fourth, cutting the deficit to 15, 61-46, with 8:40 to play in the contest, but the Owls struggled to get their shots to fall in the fourth as Florida outscored the Owls 21-10 over the final period of play to close out the contest, 82-54.

HEAD COACH JENNIFER SULLIVAN POSTGAME THOUGHTS

"Not the outcome we wanted, but I thought there were a lot of positives and the mistakes that we made are mistakes that are fixable. I really enjoy coaching this group. One of the keys to the game for us was to stay within five on the boards, and we were only out-rebounded by six. That's definitely a big positive. That's just a lot of fight against a lot of height and playing against an SEC team on the road. Lots of work to do, but we are excited for the next chapter, and the next game."

NOTES AND TEAM STATS

Jada Moore led the way for the Owls with 18 points, shooting 50 percent (7-of-14) from the field and adding four rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
Stefanie Ingram also finished in double-figures for the Owls, tallying 12 points, shooting 33 percent (4-of-12) from the floor and 33 percent (2-of-6) from 3-point range.
Alana Rouser had a phenomenal first collegiate game, leading the Owls defensively with 12 rebounds and a team-best two steals.
The Owls bench outscored the Gators' reserves, 16-12.
Florida Atlantic also matched the Gators point-for-point in the third, tying 15-15 in the frame.

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