Feb. 27, 2009

Game Notes in PDF Format

Florida Atlantic (11-16, 8-9 Sun Belt) at Florida International (6-22, 4-13 Sun Belt)
US Cellular Bank Arena - Miami, FL
Saturday, February 28 - 5 p.m.

GAME TWENTY-EIGHT: The Florida Atlantic University women's basketball needs a win to stay home in round one of the Sun Belt Conference tournament as they face FIU in Miami at 5 p.m.

SERIES: FIU leads 21-3. Despite the one-sided series edge to the Golden Panthers, it's the Owls who have the last two wins in the series. On January 14, six players scored double-figures, led by Brittany Bowe's 20 points as the Owls defeated FIU 94-82.

RADIO/INTERNET: Steve Bishop will call the action with streaming audio and video beginning at 4:45 p.m. on www.fausports.com.

WIN OR GO ON THE ROAD: The scenario is pretty simple for FAU on Saturday, a win against FIU means they can do no worse than a eight-seed in Next week's Sun Belt tournament, and thus they'd be home in round one on Wednesday night. If the Owls lose to FIU, FAU will be seeded ninth in the Sun Belt Tournament and face the University of New Orleans at Lakefront Arena on March 4.

FLORIDA ATLANTIC: FAU struggled from the field on Wednesday night at WKU. The Owls only made 30 percent (17-56) of their field goals in a 66-48 loss to the Lady Toppers. FAU fell behind 34-20 at halftime, and mounted their lone charge in the second half, when they went on an 11-4 run to cut the WKU lead to seven before falling further behind late. Freshman Breana Turner (New Orleans, LA/De La Salle HS) had her third straight double-digit scoring night with 13 points; she went five-of-seven from the free throw line. Jessica Knurick (Commerce, MI/Walled Lake Northern HS) also scored 13 points on five-of-10 shooting and Carla Stubbs (Miami/Jackson HS) added 12. FAU only committed 13 turnovers; however, they were out rebounded by WKU 46-30.

FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL: FIU is locked into the No. 12 seed in Next Week's Sun Belt tournament. The Golden Panthers have struggled to a 4-13 record in the Sun Belt Conference after losing to Middle Tennessee 74-54 on Wednesday night. Guard Monika Bosilj leads FIU in scoring at 15 points per game. She's averaged over 25 points per game in the past two meetings with FAU, and scored 24 points in the Golden Panthers 94-82 loss on January 14. Michelle Gonzalez runs the point for FIU and leads the team in assists at just under four per game. Elisa Carey handles the inside play leading the team in rebounds at just over nine per game. She is second in the Sun Belt in blocks at 1.6 per contest.

TURNER NAMED SUN BELT CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Breana Turner was named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week for her efforts in the Owls 73-70 win over No. 25 Middle Tennessee on February 21. It is the first-ever win over a top-25 team and the first time an FAU player has been named SBC Player of the Week since FAU joined the conference. Turner is also the first freshman to be named Player of the Week by the SBC this season. This was Turner's third start of the year, and she was the focal point on offense early. As her two early lay-ups gave the Owls an early 10-2 lead, her nine first-half points gave FAU a 39-33 halftime lead. Turner made it to the free-throw line frequently in the second-half. She went five-of-six from the foul line and her foul shots gave FAU a lead by as many as 14 points with eight minutes to go.

OWLS PLAY STRONG SCHEDULE: FAU played some of the top teams in the country this season. FAU has defeated three teams this year that were in the RPI Top-100 at the time of victory, according to www.realtimerpi.com. FAU defeated South Alabama (88) on January 1, ULM (98) January 21, and Middle Tennessee (27) on February 21.

WHAT A TURNAROUND: With the Owls win over Middle Tennessee, FAU has improved its overall win total from six last season to 11 wins so far this season. The five win improvement ties FAU with 10 other NCAA schools for the 18th biggest turnaround from the 2007-08 season to 2008-09.

KEEPING IT CLOSE: The Owls have played in a number of tight games this season. The Owls have played in ten games that were decided by six points or less this year. That's compared to six games that were decided by the same margin all of last year. FAU is 4-6 in contests decided by six points or less. That total does not include the 76-66 overtime loss to Denver and the Owls latest win over the Pioneers, which was a four-point game until the final minutes.