Owls Fall in Final Seconds Against Charlotte

Tuesday, February 24

Boca Raton, Fla.

7 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

12-16,6-10American

Charlotte

13-15,7-8American

Charlotte

Fla. Atlantic

2/24/2026 10:34:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Morgan McDonald

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic Owls fell 57-56 in a tough battle against the Charlotte 49ers on Tuesday at home on Abessinio Court at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.

The Owls fall to 12-16 overall and 6-10 in American play, while Charlotte improves to 13-15 on the season and 7-8 in conference play.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Grace Carstensen opened the scoring for Florida Atlantic with her first three-pointer of the night. Scoring went back and forth between the Owls and 49ers before a 7-0 Charlotte run gave the 49ers a 13-5 advantage at the opening media timeout. However, after trailing 17-7 with 2:32 remaining in the quarter, the Owls closed the first on an 8-0 run of their own, highlighted y back-to-back triples from Michiyah Simmons and Carstensen, to battle back within two after the first, 17-15.

Charlotte scored first in the second, but a pair of buckets from Erin Rodgers and Madi Gewirtz evened things up at 19-19 at the 8:18-minute mark. Vivian Onugha scored back-to-back buckets to put Florida Atlantic up by one, 23-22, with five remaining in the opening half. Charlotte held a three-point advantage at 28-25 through the 2:42-minute mark, however, a transition bucket from Ineivi Plata and a 3-pointer from Rodgers put five unanswered points on the board for the Owls to close out the half as they took a 30-28 lead into the locker room.

The 49ers opened the third on a 5-0 run to retake the lead 33-30. However, the Owls answered once again, scoring eight unanswered points, capped off by another pair of back-to-back triples, this time from Rodgers and Carstensen, to put the Owls back in front by five, 38-33, with 5:55 to go in the third. The Owls got their biggest lead of the night with 1:40 left in the third, going up by 7 at 46-39, after an and-1 from Onugha. But the 49ers responded with a 7-0 run over the final two minutes of the quarter to tie things up at 46 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.

Jess Moors and Carstensen combined in the opening minutes of the fourth to put the Owls up back up by four, 50-46. Jess Moors kept the Owls' advantage at four, 52-48, through the 6:12-minute mark, but Charlotte scored back-to-back buckets, tying things up at 52 after a fast break layup with 5:11 to play. Florida Atlantic went up by two at 54-52 after a layup from Simmons until the 49ers tied it back up, 54-54, with 42 seconds remaining. Moors put the Owls back in front 56-54 with 22 seconds to go, but Charlotte's Tanajah Hayes hit her only 3-pointer of the game with two seconds to play to close the contest, 57-56.

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE

NOTES AND TEAM STATS

Rodgers led the Owls on the night with 12 points, going 4-9 from the field and 2-2 from 3-point range. She was followed closely by Carstensen and Onugha with 11 points apiece.
Rodgers led the team in rebounds as well, tying for a game-high eight on the night.
The Owls shot 100 percent on free throws, going 7-7 at the line.
Florida Atlantic outshot Charlotte, shooting 45.7 percent from the field compared to the 49ers' 39.7 percent. They also led from beyond the arc, outshooting the 49ers 38.9 percent to Charlotte's 23.1 percent.

GALLERY

Gallery: (2-24-2026) WBB vs. Charlotte (Feb. 24)

UP NEXT
The Owls will stay at home, hosting the Tulane Green Wave for Senior Day on Tuesday, March 3, at 7 p.m. at Eleanor R. Baldwin 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.