Owls Fall Short at Memphis

Wednesday, January 7

Memphis, Tenn.

8 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

6-9,0-3American

Memphis

7-9,1-2American

Fla. Atlantic

Memphis

1/8/2026 12:16:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Florida Atlantic Owls couldn't bounce back from third-quarter struggles, falling short 74-66 on the road at Memphis on Wednesday inside Elma Roane Fieldhouse.

The Owls fall to 6-9 overall and 0-3 in American Conference play, while Memphis moves to 7-9 and 1-2 in conference play.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Owls opened the contest on a 10-5 run, capped off by a triple from Zahira Arizmendi, to hold a five-point advantage through the first five minutes of play. FAU continued to hold a 12-9 lead after an Arizmendi layup through the 4:09-minute mark. Memphis tied things up at 12-12 with 2:35 to play in the first. The Tigers led 18-16 before Grace Carstensen knocked down her first triple of the day to put the Owls back in front 19-18, however, Memphis scored before the end of the quarter to take the lead 20-19 at the end of the first.

Memphis extended its lead to eight, 27-19, after scoring seven unanswered points to open the second. The Tigers maintained a seven-point advantage, 35-28, through the 1:48-minute mark, but a layup from Vivian Onugha and Arizmendi's second 3-pointer of the day brought the Owls back within two, 35-33, entering the halftime break.

The Tigers extend their lead back to nine, 42-33, through the first two and a half minutes of the third. The Owls got three points back off a layup from Michiyah Simmons and a Madi Gewirtz layup to cut the deficit back to six, 42-36. However, the Tigers responded, extending their lead to 12 after an 8-2 run, however, a free throw from Onugha and a buzzer-beating jumper from Erin Rodgers brought things back to single-digits, 50-41, entering the final 10 minutes of play.

Memphis opened the fourth on an 11-2 run to open the fourth, as the Owls' deficit ballooned to 18, 61-43, with 6:14 left to play. Looking to overcome a 13-point Memphis lead, 67-54, with 1:17 to play, the Owls rallied off a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to just five, 69-64, after a triple from Carstensen, but it was just too little too late as the Tigers eventually took the contest, 74-66.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH LEANN FREELAND
"We battled hard on the road. I felt that we were good enough to win this game, but a few lapses on defense and a few missed shots gave Memphis the opportunity to win the game. I do think we battled, and we're getting better. We just gotta refocus and be ready for UAB on Saturday."

NOTES AND TEAM STATS

Rodgers, Gewirtz, and Carstensen led the Owls offensively against the Tigers.
Rodgers recorded a season-high 17 points, shooting 8-of-14 from the field and 1-of-2 from 3-point range, and added two rebounds, two assists, and a steal on the night.
Gewirtz and Carstensen rounded out the Owls' double-figure scorers, tallying 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Jess Moors and Arizmendi tied for a team-high four assists.
Onugha led the Owls on the glass, pulling down a team-best nine rebounds in the contest.
Arizmendi and Onugha tied for a team-leading three steals, and Gewirtz finished with a game-high two blocks.
The Owls finished with advantages in bench points (35-21), fast break points (22-16), and points off turnovers (21-15).

GALLERY

Gallery: (1-7-2026) WBB at Memphis

UP NEXT
The Owls close out their road trip on Saturday, visiting the UAB Blazers for a 3 p.m. ET tipoff inside Bartow Arena on ESPN+.

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