The Florida Atlantic Owls women’s basketball team (5-12, 0-6 AAC) fell short 76-56 against the University of Memphis Tigers (6-12, 2-5 AAC) on Saturday. The Owls’ losing streak extends to seven and they remain winless in conference play.
A matchup that was heavily favored for Memphis, quickly proved the predictions. Memphis set the tone for the game after going up by 20 during the first quarter and maintained their lead throughout.
“A disappointing loss. [This was] one of the few times this year I felt like I was really disappointed with our effort. We were doing things incorrectly that I know that we can do well,” said head coach Jennifer Sullivan. “We just talked about how we got to regroup. There’s only one of two options, you can fight or you can roll over, and this group isn’t going to roll over.
Florida Atlantic shot 41.2% from the field and 36.4% behind the arc. Memphis was 44.3% from the field and 38.5% behind the arc. The game changer was FAU giving up 24 points to the Tigers off 18 turnovers.
Aside from the loss, Aniya Hubbard was back to leading scorer status in her second game after being gone for nine. She put up 19 points and five rebounds off the bench. Rose Caverly got her 500th career rebound during the fourth quarter, making her a member of the 1,000 point & 500-rebound club.
“We got to regroup and find ways that we can dig deeper to bring more to the table. We’ll figure it out,” said Sullivan.
The Owls are back at home on Jan. 25 at 5 p.m. to take on the East Carolina University Pirates (10-7, 3-3 AAC). The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
Recap
Memphis quickly made their offensive presence known on the court by sinking a three-point jumper to set them up by ten during the first five-minutes of the game. They continued to extend their lead by going on a 16-0 run.
Hubbard checked at 5:16 and in two-minutes secured back-to-back layups to stop Memphis’ large scoring streak. She accounted for four of the Owls eight points during the first quarter, 8-22.
The Tigers started the second by quickly making a layup to give them a lead of 22. Their largest of the game was 36.
Mya Perry took a step-back three to get the owls within 16, 19-36.
After four FAU turnovers, Caverly made both of her free-throws to continue to keep their deficit less than 20.
Memphis began their second large scoring streak by going 11-0 to end the first half.
At half time, FAU trailed 50-21 and had 19 points given up off 12 turnovers. Both teams were shooting 50% from the three-point line. Memphis dominated in the paint with 29 points compared to FAU’s four.
In the third quarter, Memphis continued to crawl away from the Owls with their consistent shooting and a defense that seemed impossible to get around.
FAU found their offensive spark during the fourth quarter and outscored Memphis 12-2. Perry and Hubbard combined for ten of those points.
Despite the Owls last push effort, they fell short by 20 with a final of 76-56.
Megan Bruinsma is a staff writer for the University Press. Email her at [email protected] or DM her on Instagram @megan_bruinsma for more information regarding this or other stories.
