Women’s Basketball: Owls’ losing streak extends to eight in 70-55 loss to Old Dominion
Former FAU star Iggy Allen made key plays to haunt the Owls in their eighth consecutive defeat.
Alexa Zaph drives into the paint against Old Dominion on February 24, 2022. Zaph contributed 14 points in FAU’s loss to the Monarchs.
February 24, 2022
FAU women’s basketball’s (5-21, 1-14 C-USA) rough spell continued on Thursday night as they lost to the Old Dominion (ODU) Monarchs (21-6, 11-4 C-USA) in a tightly contested match in the Burrow at Abessinio Court.
The loss marks the Owls’ eighth straight loss and their third straight at home.
The game looked encouraging for the Owls in the beginning, as they ended the first quarter with a 19-13 lead over the Monarchs. The Owls were especially efficient shooting from the three-point line, making three of their five shots behind the line. Redshirt senior forward Sofia Galeron led the team in the quarter making two of the three long range shots.
FAU took a nine-point lead just over two minutes into the second quarter. However, its offensive efficiency slightly fell off as the quarter progressed.
After having their largest lead of the game, ODU outscored FAU 16-8 for the remainder of the quarter. They were unable to convert on all three of their three-point attempts, and only made 4 of 12 shots from the field.
On the opposite end, FAU struggled to contain a familiar face. Former Owls’ standout player, graduate guard Iggy Allen, who transferred to Old Dominion after the 2020-2021 season, helped push the Monarchs to reduce their deficit with two crucial three-point shots.
Despite the Monarchs chipping away at FAU’s lead in the second quarter, the Owls still held a 30-29 lead over Old Dominion going into the second half.
In an effort reminiscent of her stellar season with the Owls, Allen single-handedly gave Old Dominion a slight lead just over a minute into the third quarter. From that point, FAU struggled to garner and maintain any sort of rhythm.
After the halfway point of the third quarter, the Owls found themselves down by seven and the game looked to be slipping away in favor of ODU. Redshirt junior forward Janeta Rozentale and senior guard Rita Pleskevich gave the Owls a response, as both converted on difficult mid-range jump-shots that helped the Owls reduce their deficit to five entering the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, FAU simply fell apart and was unable to respond to an overwhelming performance from the Monarchs.
Nearly three minutes in, the Owls did come within one point of tying the game thanks to an easy layup for Rozentale. After that, Old Dominion controlled the game.
ODU put up a 25-point effort in the fourth quarter, highlighted by Allen’s dominant aggressiveness. Beyond her six points, she also secured two rebounds and forced a steal late in the quarter. Her steal essentially swiped away FAU’s hopes for a comeback, and she capped it off by staring down at FAU’s bench.
The game eventually finished with a score of 70-55, as FAU’s second-half defense led to their downfall.
“I’m disappointed in our third and fourth quarter defense,” stated head coach Jennifer Sullivan after the loss. “We need to focus on getting stops in order to give ourselves a chance to win.”
The Owls will stay at home as they host the University of North Carolina at Charlotte 49ers on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 12 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
