Owls Drop Hard-Fought Battle vs. South Florida

Saturday, February 15

Boca Raton, Fla.

2 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

10-16,2-11AAC

South Florida

18-8,11-2AAC

South Fla.

Fla. Atlantic

2/15/2025 6:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic Owls fell in a hard-fought 74-62 battle against the South Florida Bulls on Saturday at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.

The Owls fall to 10-16 on the season and 2-11 in AAC play, while the Bulls move to 18-8 and 11-2 in conference play.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Mya Perry got things started for Florida Atlantic, pushing the Owls out to a 3-0 lead to open the contest, however, the Owls quickly fell behind as the Bulls went on a 22-6 run through the remainder of the first to hold a 22-9 advantage after one.

The Bulls struck first in the second to extend their lead to 15, but a pair of triples from Mya Perry and Stefanie Ingram brought the Owls back within 11, 26-15. South Florida maintained an 11-point lead, 30-19, but the Owls went on their best run of the day, scoring seven unanswered to cut the deficit to just four, 30-26, with two minutes to play in the half. Ta'Ziah Jenks kept the Owls within four after a tip-in layup with 34 seconds to go, but the Bulls tacked on another three to close out the half, making it a seven-point game at the break, 37-30.

The Owls and Bulls battled back and forth in the third. South Florida scored three to open the second, pushing its lead back out to 10, 40-30. Following a 48-38 South Florida lead, the Owls went on another 7-0 scoring run, capped off by a triple from Maria Myklebust, to cut the deficit to just three, 48-45, with 1:15 to go in the third, however, the Bulls hit back-to-back threes to close out the third as the Owls trailed by nine, 54-45, entering the final 10 minutes of play.

Florida Atlantic opened the fourth on yet another 7-0 run, with a pair of layups from Perry and Alana Rouser and Perry's fourth triple of the day, to bring the Owls back within two, 54-52, with 7:40 to play. Jada Moore kept things within three after an and-one, 58-55, with 6:27 to go, but Florida Atlantic just ran out of steam over the final minutes of the contest. South Florida, closed the day on a 16-7 run to eventually take the 74-62 contest.

POSTGAME WITH HEAD COACH JENNIFER SULLIVAN

"I thought we did enough good things in order to win. But they got off to a hot start shooting the ball from three in the first half, and took us a while to settle in, I think they only hit three in the second, which is a big adjustment. The way we play is kind of a little funky, so I thought they made plays. But in game one at their place, we got murdered on the boards, that didn't happen in this game. We did a much better job taking care of the basketball and also finishing in the paint. Lots of positives. I told the girls, things to build on from this game against a really good team for us to continue to work to get better."

NOTES AND TEAM STATS

Mya Perry led the way for the Owls with her ninth career and sixth 20-point game this season, posting a team-high 22 points, shooting 44 percent (8-of-18) from the field and 38 percent (5-of-13) from beyond the arc, while also pulling down four boards and getting a steal.
Stefanie Ingram and Jada Moore rounded out the Owls' double-figure scorers with 15 and 13 points, respectively. Ingram shot 70 percent (7-of-10) from the field and 33 percent (1-of-3) from 3-point range, while Moore finished 50 percent (5-of-10) from the field and a perfect 100 percent (3-of-3) at the line. Ingram and Moore also tied for a team-leading seven rebounds, and Ingram finished with a team-leading five assists.
Ta'Ziah Jenks led the Owls in steals, recording three in the contest.
The Owls outscored the Bulls 21-15 in the second.
Florida Atlantic held advantages in points in the paint, 32-28, and points off turnovers, 15-14.

UP NEXT

The Owls head back on the road next week as they travel to Houston to face Rice on Tuesday, Feb. 18, before closing out their two-game road stretch at Charlotte on Saturday, Feb. 22.

FOLLOW THE OWLS

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