FAU women’s basketball (5-20, 1-13 C-USA) saw defeat on the road Saturday afternoon, losing its seventh straight by a score of 72-49 against the Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) Blue Raiders (19-5, 11-3 C-USA) in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Following the defeat, FAU’s current record of 5-20 marks the worst regular-season performance since the 2018-19 campaign, when the team ended with a 5-25 record.

While junior guard Alexa Zaph scored six of the Owls’ 14 points, they could not stop Middle Tennessee from getting 28 points on an accuracy of 60% throughout the first quarter.

FAU struggled in the second quarter. The team only had six total points on 3-13 shooting for a low rate of 23.1% in the period.

The Owls played better when the second half began. They outscored the Blue Raiders 17-8 in the third quarter while playing great defense at the perimeter, not allowing any of Middle Tennessee’s six attempts to go through the hoop.

Despite its efforts, FAU was unable to overcome the 28-point deficit that overwhelmed the team in the first half. Only getting 12 points to the Blue Raiders’ 16 in the fourth quarter, the Owls finished under 50 points for the eighth time this season.

Zaph and redshirt senior guard Rita Pleskevich got a majority of FAU’s points, respectively scoring 16 and 13 points. Senior guard Bre Beck contributed with seven points and two rebounds.

Three players scored in double-digits for the Blue Raiders. Senior guard Alexis Whittington had a game-high 17 points and seven rebounds on 6-10 shooting, redshirt sophomore forward Kseniya Malashka put up 16 points and grabbed six boards, and junior forward Courtney Whitson finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and assists each, and three steals. 

The Owls will return home to the Burrow at Abessinio Court to host their last three home games of the season, starting with Old Dominion University on Thursday, Feb. 24, at 6 p.m. The match 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.