The Florida Atlantic University women’s basketball team lost 77-58 to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane on Tuesday at the Donald W. Reynolds Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The defeat drops the Owls’ record to 9-12 overall and 3-6 in American Athletic Conference play, while Tulsa improves to 14-6 and 6-2 in conference.
The first quarter was closely contested, with FAU leading by two points at the first media timeout and finishing the period ahead 17-16. In the second quarter, Grace Carstensen hit two three-pointers as part of an 8-0 run that extended FAU’s lead to nine. Tulsa responded with a run of their own, tying the game before Jess Moors gave FAU a narrow lead heading into halftime, 37-36.
After halftime, both teams exchanged baskets before Tulsa took control midway through the third quarter with a series of successful shots. By the end of the third period, Tulsa led by ten points. The Golden Hurricane extended their advantage early in the fourth quarter and maintained control for the rest of the game.
Head coach LeAnn Freeland said: “Disappointing second half at Tulsa. We’re good enough to play with this team, but unfortunately, we had too many defensive breakdowns, and we were unable to find a rhythm offensively in the second half. Excited for the opportunity to get back on the court on Saturday at North Texas.”
Moors and Carstensen were again top scorers for FAU. Carstensen scored 14 points and made four three-pointers; she has now hit at least one three-pointer in 18 out of FAU’s 21 games this season. Haley Walker led FAU in rebounds for the tenth time this year with five boards against Tulsa.
FAU entered this game as leaders in bench scoring within their conference and finished with 23 bench points compared to their average of 24.5 per game. The Owls also made more three-pointers than Tulsa (six versus five), but were outscored inside by a margin of 40-26.
Florida Atlantic continues its road trip on Saturday with a game against North Texas Mean Green in Denton, Texas; tipoff is set for 3 p.m. ET on ESPN+ from Super Pit Arena.
To follow updates about Florida Atlantic women’s basketball, fans can visit their social media pages on X (@FAUWBB_Hoops), Instagram (@FAUWBB), or Facebook (Florida Atlantic Women’s Basketball).
Florida Atlantic’s women’s basketball season is sponsored by Flagler Credit Union.
