FAU earned its first victory of the season, dominating Richmond 69-55 at home.

Freshman forward Abby Voss starred in the Owls’ (1-3, 0-0 Conference-USA) winning effort, grabbing a team-high 17 rebounds to go along with eight points and five assists.

The Owls pulled ahead at the start of this game and didn’t look back, building a double-digit lead by halftime and maintaining it through the final buzzer. FAU had the Spiders’ (1-4, 0-0 Atlantic 10) number defensively, holding them to 24.3 percent from the field and 4-25 from deep.

Voss was all over the court today; making key defensive plays, setting up teammates and hitting the glass hard. The double-digit rebound game from Voss was her second of the season.

Owls guard Myka Johnson Matthews also had a stellar performance, dropping 17 points including four three-pointers. FAU has now gone 256-straight games with a three-point make.

Senior forward Ra’Kyra Gabriel added 17 points and seven boards, playing strong defense in the fourth quarter to help keep FAU’s hefty lead intact.

“It feels great because that means we’re growing and we’re getting better,” FAU coach Jim Jabir said of his team’s three-game losing streak coming to an end. “There are times when we have five freshmen on the floor, so it’s all about getting better.”

Jabir and the Owls hope to feed off of this victory when they take on undefeated Lafayette on Friday. Tip off at FAU Arena is set for noon.

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