Owls Fall in Conference Opener to North Texas

Tuesday, December 30

Boca Raton, Fla.

7 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

6-7,0-1American

North Texas

7-6,1-0American

North Texas

Fla. Atlantic

12/30/2025 11:14:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic women's basketball team fell to North Texas by a score of 81-56 in their American Conference opener on Tuesday at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.

With the loss, the Owls move to 6-7, 0-1 in league play on the season, while North Texas improves to 7-6, 1-0.

HOW IT HAPPENED
North Texas took an early lead, 6-4, before Destyne Jackson connected three-pointer to put the Owls in front 7-6 at the 7:16-minute mark. Ineivi Plata scored off a driving layup in traffic at the 4:41-minute mark to tie things up at nine, however, North Texas pushed its lead back out to five with 1:24 remaining in the first. The Owls closed the quarter with a 4-0 run to make it a one-possession game after the first, 15-14.

Zahira Arizmendi and Jackson scored back-to-back layups to open the second, giving the Owls an 18-15 lead through the first minute of the quarter. However, North Texas answered back, outscoring the Owls 15-2 to take a 30-20 lead with 2:51 to play in the opening half. FAU scored six unanswered points off free throws from Jackson, as well as a layup and a pair of free throws from Vivian Onugha to cut the deficit to four, 30-26, with 1:30 to go. But a pair of layups pushed the Mean Green's lead back to 34-26 at the halftime break.

North Texas struck first in the third, but Michiyah Simmons' first three of the day kept the Owls within seven, 36-29, through the 9:16-minute mark. However, the Owls couldn't get their shot to fall as the Mean Green started to break away, taking a 51-29 advantage through the 3:45-minute mark of the third. Jess Moors got a layup to fall off an offensive board from Madi Gewirtz to make it 51-31, but North Texas pushed its lead back to 54-32 entering the final 10 minutes of play.

The Owls couldn't battle back in the fourth as the Mean Green eventually took the contest.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH LEANN FREELAND
"Disappointing start to American Conference play. North Texas played well together and hit some big shots, and unfortunately, ours just wouldn't fall. We have to get better in order to compete at this level, and I believe we will bounce back strongly as we prepare for Rice on January 3."

NOTES AND TEAM STATS

Onugha and Destyne Jackson led the Owls, recording 14 and 11 points, respectively.
Haley Walker collected a team-high eight rebounds.
Moors dished out a team-best five assists and tied for a team-leading two steals on the day.
Gewirtz finished with a team-best three blocks against the Mean Green.
The Owls outshot the Mean Green 86.4 percent (19-of-22) to 73.3 percent (11-of-15) at the line.

GALLERY

Gallery: (12-30-2025) WBB vs. North Texas

UP NEXT
The Owls will close their conference-opening homestand on Saturday, Jan. 3, welcoming the Rice Owls for a 2 p.m. tip on ESPN+ at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.

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.