FAU women’s basketball (2-3) kicked off their Thanksgiving Tournament in the Burrow at Abessinio Court with a 70-68 defeat against the University of Tulsa (5-0) Friday afternoon.

The Owls got off to a solid start in the first quarter, limiting Tulsa to just 11 points on 4-14 shooting. They locked down Tulsa’s starting players to being scoreless for that entire period.

Unfortunately for FAU, the second quarter completely shifted momentum to the Golden Hurricane’s favor. They outscored the Owls by 16 points, entering halftime with a 35-25 lead.

The Owls struggled in the second quarter, only getting eight total points on 3-13 shooting. Their play was the polar opposite with how they performed in the first period, losing the control they had to begin the game.

Both teams went at one another in a balanced manner to start the second half, as Tulsa had the slight edge in points scored with 18 to FAU’s 16.

FAU made a great effort to cut the deficit to single digits, getting it as close to one point with less than three minutes to go.

Despite their insistence on getting back into the game, the Owls couldn’t connect on important shots that could’ve changed the tempo and gave them the lead for good as Tulsa escaped with the win.

Four players scored in double-digits for the Owls, with redshirt junior forward, Janeta Rozentale, leading the team in scoring for 16 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. Redshirt senior guard Rita Pleskevich and senior forward Amber Gaston came next with 15 and 14 points respectively while junior guard Alexa Zaph contributed with 12 points, three rebounds, three steals, and two assists. 

For Tulsa, senior guard Maya Mayberry and freshman forward Temira Poindexter combined for 39 points to lead the Golden Hurricane to victory.

The Owls will finish hosting their tournament on Saturday, Nov. 27 at 2:30 p.m. against Davidson University. The game 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.