FAU women’s basketball (12-12, 5-10 C-USA) was unable to come back from a first-half deficit, losing 68-56 to the Louisiana Tech University (LA Tech) Lady Techsters (14-10, 7-7 C-USA) on the road Saturday afternoon.

“Proud of their effort,” said head coach Jennifer Sullivan. “But we just need more of that effort consistently, not take steps back in order to get over the hump.”

LA Tech jumped out to a 6-0 lead before graduate forward Amber Gaston was able to convert a pair of free throws for the Owls’ first points of the game.

FAU struggled to find momentum on both sides of the court, scoring just 9-points and conceding six turnovers in the first quarter, which allowed the Lady Techsters a 10-point lead going into the second.

Another slow quarter by the Owls gave LA Tech an 18-point lead midway through the second quarter—the largest of the game. However, FAU was able to pull that lead down to single digits in the final minute of the first half.

With just 17 seconds left, junior guard Joiya Maddox made a layup cutting LA Tech’s lead to 5, before Techsters’ graduate guard Gabbie Greene made a set of free throws leaving them ahead 36-29 at halftime.

Heading into halftime, FAU was shooting 42.3% from the field while not hitting a single three. The Techsters were shooting 48.1% from the field and 50% beyond the arc. Freshman guard Aniya Hubbard led the Owls with 9-points, two rebounds, and assists.

FAU quickly turned things around in the second half. A more efficient third quarter, where the Owls shot 43.8% from the field, allowed them to trail by just one with 2:37 left in the third.

The Owls trailed by 3 heading into the last quarter of play. A turnover by the Lady Techsters allowed senior guard Alexa Zaph an easy bucket to cut the lead back down to 1.

However, LA Tech went right back to extend their lead. A three-pointer by junior guard Lotte Sant extended LA Tech’s lead to 11 with 1:38 left of regulation.

Despite various efforts in the second half, the Owls were unable to come back from the first-half deficit and ended the afternoon with a 12-point defeat. 

The Owls shot 42.1% from the field and missed all 12 of their attempts from three-point range. Hubbard and junior guard Jada Moore led the Owls with 11 points each.

“To be down 18 and cut it to within seven at the half was big for us,” said Sullivan. “We’ve got to have more reps of that in order to get over the hump of winning games like this.”

The FAU Owls will now prepare to host the Middle Tennessee State University Lady Raiders (20-4, 13-2 C-USA) on Thursday, Feb. 16. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena and will be broadcast on C-USA TV.

Gianna Alberti is a staff writer at the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email her at [email protected].