Florida Atlantic women’s basketball (1-1) is officially back in full swing, and the Lady Owls kicked off their first official home game of the season against Mercer University Bears (1-1), coming out on top 58-48.

Guard Mya Perry and guard Erin Rodgers scored a combined 29 points. Rodgers was an elite asset on defense, racking up eight rebounds and five steals for the Owls, all while shooting 83% from the free-throw line. On the other side of the floor, Perry was an elite offensive asset, scoring 18 points and shooting 100% from the three-point line. 

“Being a leader, I was just doing whatever I could, whether that was on defense or putting my teammates in the right direction,” said Perry. “I think this game was more figuring each other out. It was our home opener, so it was more of the team aspect.”

The Owls racked up 36 rebounds and 13 steals, shooting 65.2% from the free-throw line and 43.8% from the three-point line.

There was assistance from all players on all sides of the floor, and no matter what challenge came the Owls’ way, they persevered and came back even stronger than before. 

“I really do give them all the credit; they’re the ones out there trying to figure it out,” said head coach Jennifer Sullivan. “We just had some time outs where we discussed some things that we saw on the other end; take care of the basketball, share the basketball, that sort of thing.”

Recap

FAU won the opening tip courtesy of forward Alana Rouser. The Owls had a solid defensive start with effective ball movement; however, the game was off to a slow start offensively on both ends of the court. After two minutes of unanswered scoring, Perry put up the Owls’ first points and triple.

After a 4-0 run by Mercer, Perry was able to cut the lead to one within less than 30 seconds of the Owls’ last possession. The Owls had a solid ability to shoot from the three-point line and had a robust offensive comeback on a 7-0 run. 

The Owls took a 15-10 lead over Mercer at the end of the first quarter, shooting 54.5% from the field and 66.7% from three.  

Senior guard Jada Moore had a solid start to the second quarter, grabbing one rebound drive to the pain and making a two-point jumper. 

The Owls gained all three of their team fouls in the second quarter, two of which were and-ones. 

The Owls went on a 10-2 scoring run to start the second quarter, with forward Maria Myklebust and Perry making one triple each, putting the score to 26-15, FAU. 

Not too long after the Bears’ last possession, forward Emaya Lewis blocked the shot, Perry took it back down-court and assisted Rodgers with the layup.

The score remained 28-17 for 2:39, but Mercer broke the unanswered score with 2:05 left in the second quarter.

The Owls continued to lead the game 28-19 at halftime, shooting 50% from three and 66% from the free-throw line at the end of the first half.

Perry scored a floater to kick off the second half after great ball movement by the Owls. While the Bears went on a temporary 4-0 scoring run, Rodgers picked the Owls back up, scoring nine points, seven of those in the third period alone.

“That’s kind of just what [Rodgers] does,” said Sullivan. “She loves the rebound, and she crashes. I thought a lot of her rebounds were kind of back breakers that just really broke [Mercer’s] spirits.”

The Owls keep the lead at the end of the third quarter, 41-30. 

FAU came into the fourth and final quarter with a vengeance, grabbing six defensive rebounds and being very aggressive on both sides of the floor. 

The Bears kept the Owls on their toes; the highest lead the Bears had on the Owls was just four points, whereas the Owls’ most significant lead was 14 points. The Bears only led the game for 3:41, and the Owls kept the lead for the remainder.

The Owls end the game with their first victory at home this season, 58-48. The Owls’ next home game is against the North Florida Ospreys on Wednesday, November 13, at 11 am. 

Angelina Martell is a contributing writer with the University Press. Email her at amartell2023@fau.edu or reach out on Instagram @angieemartell for more information regarding this or other stories.