The Florida Atlantic University (12-14, 6-9 in Conference USA) Owls lost against the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers in a hard fought game 85-74.

From the onset of the game the Owls were playing from behind, with WKU opening up a 10-3 lead behind eight quick points from Hilltoppers guard Kendall Noble. Noble had 23 points and shot an efficient 9-for-10 from the field hitting three 3-point shots in the process.

“She’s a stud, she was on fire so she’s talented and we certainly started off her hot by giving her two wide open looks to start the game and not knowing where she was with our communicating,” said head coach Kellie Lewis-Jay about Noble.

WKU (24-4, 13-2 in Conference USA) closed out the first half strong going on a 22-12 run to give them a 46-36 lead.

FAU shot well from the 3-point line shooting 38.5 percent. They were 5-for-13 from the 3-point line. The Owls opened up the second half down 46-36 but rallied back in the game to get it within five points twice in the second half.

However, untimely turnovers doomed the Owls. They had 14 turnovers and turned the ball over five times within the last six minutes of the game.

“We had some few turnovers here and there, but it hasn’t been every possession likes it’s been lately,” said Kellie Lewis-Jay about the turnovers.

FAU dwindled the WKU lead within five points with 57 seconds left but could not close out the game. The Hilltoppers sit atop Conference USA with their 25-4 record.

“Confidence. You play the number one team in the league, and you play them well,” said Kellie Lewis-Jay about her takeaway from this game.

Next for the Owls is a home game against Marshall University on Feb. 28.

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