BOCA RATON, Fla. — Florida Atlantic erased a seven-point halftime deficit with two second-half surges and beat the South Alabama women’s basketball team 67-56 on Wednesday in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams.
The loss dropped the Lady Jaguars to 5-2 overall and 0-1 in the Sun Belt. Florida Atlantic improved to 4-2 and 1-0 in league play.
Owls Take Over After Halftime
South Alabama led 29-22 at the break. With under 16 minutes to play, Florida Atlantic used a 15-2 run over six minutes to move in front.
Brianna Wright twice scored to keep the Lady Jaguars within striking distance with under 10 minutes left, but the Owls stretched the margin to 57-41 with 7:13 remaining.
South Alabama cut the deficit to 57-47. That was as close as the Lady Jaguars got the rest of the way. Florida Atlantic pushed its lead to 67-48, its largest of the game, with under two minutes left and held on.
Individual Leaders
Mansa El led South Alabama with 12 points, six assists and five rebounds. She shot 5-of-13 from the field.
Meghan Dunn added 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range. Ronneka Robertson scored six points and grabbed a game-high seven rebounds.
Florida Atlantic had three players reach double figures, led by Kimberly Smith with 19 points.
Up Next
South Alabama closes a five-game road trip Saturday against FIU. Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m. at U.S. Century Bank Arena in Miami.
