After 10 lead changes and eight ties, Florida Atlantic women’s basketball came away with their third straight victory Friday night with a 71-67 win over the Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers.

“It’s tough when you’re coming off two wins. Sometimes you get a little complacent and I think we saw that in the first half from us,” Head coach Kellie Lewis-Jay said of her team’s intensity.

Milwaukee (2-1) held possession with a chance to win or tie with 17.2 seconds left in the game, but were unable to convert on the last shot of the game as sophomore guard Danneal Ford came away with the rebound and dribbled away the clock.

Defense kept Florida Atlantic (3-0) in the lead for most of the game, as they forced eight steals and had two blocks. Milwaukee’s 18 total turnovers lead to 17 points.

The Owls were largely unable to capitalize on three point attempts, going 5-of-22 from behind the arc. Most of their offensive production came from inside the paint, with 40 of their points coming from close-range scores.

“I think that’s something we tried to look, We tried to get in the paint with penetration,” Lewis-Jay said. “Ali did a good job with that, instead of settling for the three which we sometimes have a tendency to do.”

Redshirt senior guard Ali Gorrell led the team with 20 points, 10 of which came in the first half. Currently the reigning Conference USA players of the week for last week, she also had eight rebounds and three assists.

“I think having experience helps,” Gorell said of her recent performance. “It’s my fifth year in college, I’ve been practicing and playing a ton. Being comfortable on the court and having a lot of threats on our team makes it a lot easier on me.”

The win is FAU’s first ever victory over the Panthers. Their only other meeting resulted in a 66-57 loss in the 1998-99 season

The Owls will host their annual Thanksgiving tournament on Nov. 27 and 28, beginning with a noon matchup Friday versus Delaware State.

Ryan Lynch is the sports editor of the University Press. For tips regarding this or other articles, he can be contacted at [email protected] or on Twitter.