The Florida Atlantic University Owls (13-14, 7-9 in Conference USA) won a close game against the University of Marshall.

The game was highly contested in the first half, and Marshall University (16-10, 8-7 in Conference USA) head coach Matt Daniel was assessed a technical foul in the first half. He was later ejected from the game with about 13 minutes left.

The Owls shot well in the first half shooting 43 percent from the 3-point line and 44 percent from the field and this helped gain a 19 point lead on the Thundering Herd.

FAU was 3-for-6 on their first six 3-pointer attempts, for the game they were 11-for-29 for 37 percent.

“It’s nice when we can hit those [3-point shots], we definitely feed off of our offense,” said head coach Kellie Lewis-Jay.

However, costly turnovers to finish off the half led to 10 fast break points for Marshall that dwindled the FAU lead.

Marshall also dominated the Owls inside, scoring 18 points in the paint in the first half to the Owls’ four. This led to 41-32 score at the end of the period. For the game Marshall scored 46 points in the paint to FAU’s 22 points.

FAU’s shooting and defense propelled them to a 20 point lead in the second half. Junior guard Morgan Robinson led the Owls in the second half with 11 points. She and Shaneese Bailey led the Owls in scoring with 19 points each.

The Herd would not go away quietly. Forward Leah Scott scored 21 points in the second half to help Marshall come within nine points with four minutes left.

“We’re getting better at being able to handle runs and learning how to counter them,” said Lewis-Jay.

Marshall is fifth in Conference USA and was on a two-game winning streak coming into the game.

“It was a good win for us… it was a huge win, [it] gives us seven in conference, we only had six last year,” said Lewis-Jay about the win.

Next for the Owls is a road game at the University of Alabama, in Birmingham on March 5.

Josue Simplice is the sports editor at the University Press and can be reached at @josuesimplice and [email protected] by email.