Owls Earn American Championship First Round Win Over Charlotte

Tuesday, March 10

Birmingham, Ala.

1 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

14-17,7-11American

Charlotte

14-18,8-10American

OT 1

Fla. Atlantic

Charlotte

Owls Earn American Championship First Round Win Over Charlotte

3/10/2026 6:41:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The No. 9-seeded Florida Atlantic women's basketball team earned a 74-70 overtime win over No. 8 Charlotte in the opening round of the American Conference Tournament on Tuesday inside Legacy Arena.

The Owls improve to 14-17 overall, while Charlotte's season ends at 14-18 overall.

HOW IT HAPPENED
After a 4-4 tie to open things up, the Owls got hot, scoring seven unanswered points, capped off by a triple from Haley Walker and a Destyne Jackson layup to lead 11-4 at the opening media break. The Owls continued their run, extending the lead to 10, 17-7, after a pair of free throws from Vivian Onugha. However, the 49ers closed the quarter with a three as the Owls led by seven after the first, 17-10.

Onugha got things started in the second quarter. Grace Carstensen knocked down her first triple of the day at the 6:52-minute mark to push the Owls' lead back to nine at the second quarter media break, 22-13. The Owls continued to pressure the 49ers in the first half. Following a 30-20 Owls' lead with 2:08 to play, Madi Gewirtz closed the first half with a pair of layups to push the FAU lead to its peak of the half at 34-20 entering the halftime break.

The Owls opened the second half on a 7-2 run, capped off by the second 3-pointer of the day for Carstensen, to take a 19-point advantage with 7:39 to play in the third. The Owls maintained a 19-point advantage through the 5:12-minute mark, after a 3-pointer from Michiyah Simmons and a Jackson free throw, 46-27. After leading 46-30 at the third-quarter media break, the 49ers started to battle back, closing the quarter on a 14-5 run to make it a 51-41 FAU advantage entering the final 10 minutes of play.

Florida Atlantic began the fourth with six unanswered points to extend the lead back to 16, 57-41, through the 8:09-minute mark. However, the 49ers responded with six points of their own to cut the lead back to 10, 57-47, at the fourth quarter media break. The 49ers kept slowly chipping away at the Owls' advantage, cutting the lead to three at 61-58. Jackson connected on a layup with 1:30 to play to push the lead back to five, 63-58, however, Charlotte scored five points over the following minute of play to tie things up at 63-63 with 33 seconds to go, sending the contest to overtime.

Charlotte opened overtime with a free throw, but back-to-back layups from Onugha put the Owls back in front by three, 67-64, with 3:36 to play. After trading layups through a 69-68 FAU lead, Gewirtz knocked down her first 3-pointer of the day, which proved to be the dagger, extending FAU's lead to 72-68 with 1:43 to go. Charlotte got back within two after a pair of free throws, but the Owls also connected on a pair of free throws to clinch the 74-70 win.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH LEANN FREELAND
"Charlotte is such a great team. In the regular season, they beat us twice, so we've been trying to shift around the game plan to figure out how to stop them. Their guards are so talented, and their bigs are so strong and efficient down low. We just had to figure out a way to play as a unit to try and slow them down. The first half I thought was very effective. They had to go to some guard play in the second half, which kind of affected our flow a little bit, but I'm really proud of our team. We finished strong, and we finished together."

NOTES AND TEAM STATS
• The win marks the Owls' first postseason win since the 2020-21 season and the program's first since joining the American.
• Gewirtz and Onugha led the way for the Owls, tying for a team-best 16 points apiece. Gewirtz also led the Owls in steals and blocks, collecting a game-high three steals and tying for a game-best three blocks in the win.
• Jackson also scored in double figures for the Owls, finishing with 11 points against the 49ers.
• Onugha barely missed getting her third double-double of the season, finishing with a game-high tying nine boards.
• Jess Moors dished out a game-best five assists.
• The Owls dominated in the opening half, outshooting the 49ers 50 percent to 22.2 percent from the field.
• FAU's reserves dominated Charlotte's bench, outscoring the 49ers 35-7.
• The Owls also doubled up the 49ers in transition, outscoring Charlotte 16-8.

GALLERY

Gallery: (3-10-2026) WBB AC First Round vs. No. 8 Charlotte

UP NEXT
The Owls will prepare to take on No. 5-seed North Texas on Wednesday, March 11, in the second round of the American Championship. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET at Legacy 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.