FAU’s women’s basketball team (2-5, 0-3 C-USA) remains winless in C-USA play, as they lose to the Old Dominion Monarchs (4-3, 1-2 C-USA) 71-56.

This loss marks it as the third consecutive defeat for the women’s team.

FAU was poor offensively, especially in the first quarter. Old Dominion outscored the Owls 25-8, as FAU did not make a field goal until redshirt junior forward Sofia Galeron hit a layup with 4:07 left in the quarter. The Owls finished the quarter making only three out of 14 shots.

The second quarter was an improvement for the Owls. After going down as much as 20 early in the quarter, FAU was able to recover on offense to keep themselves in the game. Galeron and graduate transfer guard Iggy Allen scored six points each, while redshirt junior guard Rita Pleskevich had five points in the quarter.

FAU was great defensively in the third quarter. Old Dominion struggled to make shots against the Owls during the quarter, as they shot 4-15 from the field. The Monarchs only had 11 points as a result, while FAU got 14 points on 5-12 shooting.

Despite this, the Owls were unable to replicate the same defense they had in the third quarter for the fourth quarter. Three-point shooting was the difference in this quarter, as Old Dominion made four three-pointers on six attempts, while FAU made only one three-pointer with the same number of attempts. 

Allen continued performing highly for the Owls. She turned in a 24-point, 14-rebound double-double performance, including four assists and two steals. Pleskevich and Galeron were notable contributors, with Pleskevich having 12 points on 5-8 shooting, and Galeron finishing with eight points, eight rebounds, three steals, and two blocks.

Old Dominion’s best player was junior guard Ajah Wayne, who had a 23-point, 14-rebound double-double on 9-20 shooting. Senior guard Victoria Morris and junior guard Aziah Hudson helped the Monarchs as well, with Morris concluding with 16 points, four rebounds, and three assists, and Hudson ending with 13 points and two blocks. 

The women’s team will finish their back-to-back against Old Dominion on Jan. 9 at 2 p.m. It will be broadcast on C-USA TV.

Richard Pereira is the Sports Editor for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @Rich26Pereira.