After a strong start to the first quarter, the FAU women’s basketball were outscored by 20 in the second, in an eventual 82-63 loss to Western Kentucky Saturday afternoon.  

After starting the game in fourth place overall with a 57.1 win percentage in conference play, the loss drops the Owls (10-9, 4-4 C-USA) to a tie for sixth overall, with three other teams.

With the victory, the Hilltoppers (17-5, 8-1 C-USA) grab the sole lead of first place. They have won five games in a row and 16 of their last 18 after starting the season off 1-3.

After grabbing a 17-12 lead off a layup by redshirt senior forward Raven Doyle with 1:22 to go in the first quarter, the Owls were outscored 41-15 the rest of the first half. That included a 23-0 run to fall behind 53-32 at the break.

At one point the team fell behind by 29 (81-52) with 3:26 to go in the game, but FAU closed the game on a 11-1 run.

The Owls were led by redshirt junior guard Danneal Ford led the team with 25 points, tying her career high. It was her third straight scoring over 20 points and ninth straight scoring over 10 points.

She also had a team high two steals, along with three rebounds, and two assists.

Junior forward Ra’Kyra Gabriel scored 10 points on 62 percent shooting from the field. She also grabbed three rebounds and had a block.

The Hilltoppers were led by forward Tashia Brown who had a double-double. She scored a game-high 25 points along with grabbing 11 boards.

Forward Ivy Brown also produced a double-double, grabbing a game-high 16 rebounds along with scoring 14 points. She also had a game-high seven steals plus two assists.

The Owls next game is at home on Thursday, Feb. 8 at 7:00 p.m. against Middle Tennessee.

Matt Brown is a contributing writer with the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @mattyb407.