FAU women’s basketball (12-11, 5-9 C-USA) fell 85-64 against the Rice University Owls (16-6, 7-6 C-USA) Thursday night at Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, Texas.

Despite FAU jumping out to a quick 8-0 lead, Rice was able to get back into the game led by senior guard Destiny Jackson with 7 points.

Rice answered after that lead with an 18-6 scoring run which left them ahead by 4 with 2:05 in the first quarter.

Rices’ first basket of the second quarter was a three-point by senior guard Katelyn Crosthwait which extended their lead to 7.

Senior guard Alexa Zaph buried a wide-open three cutting Rice’s lead to 2. Two minutes later, Zaph tied the game at 27 a piece on a layup, before redshirt junior guard Joiya Maddox hit a foul shot giving FAU their first lead of the night. FAU trailed 34-32 going into halftime. 

In the first half, FAU shot 50% from the field and 12.5% from behind the arc, compared to Rice’s respective 42.4% and 37.5%. Zaph and junior guard Jada Moore led FAU in scoring at halftime with 7 points each.

FAU struggled in the second half with turnovers and fouls, but Zaph kept the Owls in the game with a 7-point contribution in the third quarter.

Even with Zaph’s strong third quarter, Rice began to pull away as they pushed their lead to 11 in the final minute of the third. 

Rice continued to dominate going into the fourth, holding FAU to just 12 points in the final quarter of play.

Rice’s dominant fourth quarter, in which they outscored FAU 22-12, left them with a 21-point victory at the end of regulation. 

The Owls finished the night shooting 46% from the field and 12.5% from three-point range with Zaph as their leading scorer with 14 points, two rebounds, and two assists. Redshirt senior, Janeta Rozentale chipped in with 12 points and five rebounds.

The FAU Owls will now travel to Ruston, La., to take on Louisiana Tech University Lady Techsters (13-10, 6-7 C-USA) on Saturday, Feb. 11. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Thomas Assembly Center and will be broadcast by 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].