Owls Win Overtime Thriller Over Wright State

Friday, November 28

Boca Raton, Fla.

1 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

4-3,0-0American

Wright State

4-4,0-0Horizon

OT 1

Wright St.

Fla. Atlantic

11/28/2025 5:37:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Morgan McDonald

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic women's basketball team completed the comeback to win an overtime thriller 66-65 over the Wright State Raiders at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena on Friday.

The Owls improve to 4-3 overall, while Wright State falls to 4-4 on the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED
A slow start saw the Owls fall behind 9-2 over the first six minutes of play. Michiyah Simmons started to get the offense going with a 3-pointer a minute later, 9-5, and a layup from Jess Moors off a steal made it a two-point game, 9-7, at the 3:23-minute mark. The Owls kept things within two to close the first quarter, 11-9.

FAU continued to trail into the second quarter, keeping it close at 13-12 through the seven-minute mark. However, Wright State began to pull away, going up by six points at 18-12. Grace Carstensen got her first points of the game, starting a 5-0 run to bring Florida Atlantic within a point, 18-17. But the Raiders responded, going on a 6-0 run of their own to close out the half to make it a 24-17 ballgame at the break.

Madi Gewirtz opened the scoring in the third, knocking down a pair of free throws, 24-19. Wright State then went on an 11-5 run to extend its lead to as much as 11, 35-24, through the 6:08-minute mark. However, the Owls fought back, combined a pair of runs, a 5-0 run, followed by an 8-0 run, to make it a one-possession game, 39-37, entering the final 10 minutes of play.

Wright State extended its lead back to five, 42-37, after a trio of free throws to start the fourth. Vivian Onugha led the comeback for the Owls, contributing seven points to put Florida Atlantic ahead by two for their first lead of the game at 46-44. The back-and-forth battle continued, with Jess Moors tying it up in the final seconds to send the game into overtime tied at 56.

The back-and-forth battle continued into overtime. The Owls took the lead 58-56 to open overtime after a pair of free throws from Gewirtz, but the Raiders answered back on an 8-1 run to retake a five-point lead, 64-59. FAU fought back on a 6-1 run, capped off by a Simmons three, to tie things up once again at 65 with 23 seconds to play. Carstensen put the owls up by one with six seconds to go off a free throw. Wright State had the final possession, but Moors intercepted the inbound pass to close out the final seconds and seal the Owls' 66-65 win.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH LEANN FREELAND
I'm really proud of our effort today. It was a complete team win. I thought we fought for 45 minutes. Even though it wasn't pretty offensively, I thought we had a great defensive effort and followed the game plan extremely well. We had some big plays down the stretch, Jess Moors' layup in transition to put us into overtime, and then her steal late came up huge. Also, Michiyah Simmons, I thought she had some big plays offensively to keep us in the game. But overall, a great team win, and really proud of this team for continuing to fight and never giving in."

NOTES AND TEAM STATS

Three Owls finished in double digits on the day. Destyne Jackson and Simmons each had a team-high 12 points. Jackson shot 42 percent (5-of-12) from the field and 29 percent (2-of-7) from beyond the arc, while Simmons shot 33 percent (3-of-9) from the field, 40 percent (2-of-5) from 3-point range, and went a perfect 100 percent (4-of-4) at the line. Gewirtz rounded out the Owls' double-figure scorers, finishing with 11 points, shooting 75 percent (3-of-4) from the field and going a perfect 100 percent (5-of-5) at the line.
Haley Walker led the team on the glass with 11 rebounds, while Onugha finished second with nine boards in the win.
The Owls dominated the Raiders on the boards, outrebounding Wright State 50 to 37, including a 21-11 advantage on the offensive glass.
FAU also earned a big advantage in points off the bench as the Owls' reserves outscored Wright State 23 to eight in the win.

UP NEXT
The Owls head to Bowling Green, Kentucky, to face Western Kentucky on Wednesday, Dec. 3, at 7:30 p.m. at E.A. Diddle Arena and on ESPN+.

FOLLOW THE OWLS
To stay up to date with everything Florida Atlantic women's basketball, follow @FAUWBB_Hoops on X and @FAUWBB on Instagram, or like Florida Atlantic Women's Basketball on Facebook.

Florida Atlantic's 2025-26 season is sponsored by Flagler Credit Union.