FAU women’s basketball (11-6, 4-4 C-USA) bounced back from back-to-back losses with a 81-66 victory over the University of Texas-San Antonio (UTSA) Roadrunners (4-13, 2-6 C-USA) Thursday night at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.

“I think it’s just huge for our team, our team needed that,” said head coach Jennifer Sullivan. “Not the win per se, but to play well for four quarters.”

Freshman guard Aniya Hubbard, who’s the Owls’ leading scorer on the season averaging 13.3 point per game, got things started for FAU with a three-pointer 1:20 into the game.

The Roadrunners momentarily took the lead in the first quarter, but FAU quickly rallied back. Redshirt junior guard Joiya Maddox drew a foul and made both free throw attempts, leaving the Owls with an eight-point lead heading into the second quarter. 

Although they shot just 37.5% from the field and 20% from deep in the second quarter, the Owls continued to extend their lead. 

With 3:21 left in the first half, a layup by Hubbard capped an eight-point scoring run by Owls, giving them their largest lead of the night at 12 points. 

Despite holding a seven-point advantage, the FAU’s numbers at halftime weren’t far off from UTSA’s. The Owls were shooting 38% from the field and 31% from three-point range, compared to the Roadrunners’ 34% and 33% respectively.

FAU turned up their aggressiveness after halftime. In the third quarter they drew seven trips to the free-throw line, which accounted for 10 of their 18 points in the third. 

Redshirt senior forward Janeta Rozenale sank a jumper as time expired in the third quarter, which extended the Owls’ lead to 16—the largest lead of the night to that point.

The Roadrunners outscored FAU in the fourth quarter, however, they still weren’t able to topple the enormous deficit. Graduate forward Sofia Galeron made her fourth three-pointer of the night with 3:32 left in regulation, pushing their lead out to 25.

Sophomore guard Simona Henshaw, who made her first appearance in a month on Thursday, left the final stamp on the victory, scoring on back-to-back possessions to finish the game. 

Hubbard’s fourth 20+ point performance on the season made her the Owls’ leading scorer with 21 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Galeron also contributed 12 points, while Maddox finished closely behind with 11.

“We know we are doing a lot of good things, it’s just a matter of putting it all together, with a lot of new pieces, and people in and out of the lineups,” said Sullivan. “It was very exciting for our group to put it all together for four quarters.”

The Owls will now prepare for another conference matchup on Saturday, Jan. 21 against the University of Texas-El Paso Miners (12-5, 5-3 C-USA). Tipoff from Eleanor r. Baldwin Arena is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast by C-USA TV.

Cameron Priester is the Sports Editor for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @PriesterCameron