FAU women’s basketball (4-11, 0-4 C-USA) couldn’t snap their losing streak Monday evening at Norfolk, Va., as it extends to six after a 61-48 loss to the Old Dominion Monarchs (ODU) (12-3, 2-1 C-USA).

The game was a reunion for the Owls, as they faced former teammate Iggy Allen, who led them to the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Tournament last season before transferring to ODU.

FAU took charge to start the game early, scoring the first nine points of the game as the team kept ODU quiet for five minutes.

ODU got themselves into rhythm as the quarter went on, going on a 15-10 run that featured Allen getting six of the Monarchs’ 15 points.

The Monarchs kept up the pace in the second quarter, limiting the Owls to just five points as they held a six-point lead to end the first half.

FAU struggled in shooting from the field to enter halftime. After going 7-13 from the field for 53.8% in the first quarter, they shot 2-11 overall in the second quarter for an accuracy of 18.2%. Redshirt senior forward Sofia Galeron and redshirt senior guard Rita Pleskevich were FAU’s best scorers in the half, having eight and seven points respectively.

The third quarter went in the Owls’ favor. They recovered from their hardships in the second quarter by shooting 45.5% overall as they took the lead following a buzzer-beating jumper from redshirt junior forward Janeta Rozentale.

Most notable from FAU in the third quarter was its defense. The team made ODU miss 16 out of 19 shots from the field, limiting them to just eight points for the quarter.

Unfortunately for the Owls, their fourth-quarter woes from past games continued against ODU. They failed to score in double-digits as the Monarchs dropped 23 points on them to run away with it, confirming another loss to FAU’s record in conference play.

Turnovers played a major factor in the Owls’ losing streak stretching to six, their longest since the 2018-19 season. They gave the ball away 31 times, a season-worst in a year where they have been prone to committing turnovers throughout multiple games this season.

Junior guard Alexa Zaph led FAU in scoring with 14 points while getting three rebounds, two assists, and two steals in the process. Galeron and Rozentale came next with 13 and 12 points as the remaining Owls to score in double-digits.

Senior guard Ajah Wayne was ODU’s player of the game. She had a game-high 22 points and eight rebounds on 8-16 shooting from the field. As for Allen, her first game against her former team ended with a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds.

The Owls continue their three-game road trip as they head to Bowling Green, Ky. to face Western Kentucky on Thursday, Jan. 20, at noon. The game will be broadcast on C-USA TV.

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