When the post-mortem on this season is written for the USF women’s basketball team, Saturday’s 64-63 loss at Florida Atlantic might be in the first paragraph.
The Owls came into this game at 8-11 with consecutive losses by 21 points to Charlotte and 37 to UTSA. They entered in 10th place in the American Conference. Making things more challenging, the Owls dressed only seven players.
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But the Owls made a gourmet meal out of a handful of ingredients to pull an upset that can only be called catastrophic for the Bulls. With three conference losses now by a total of. six points, USF’s only path to March Madness likely will be to win the conference tournament. The Bulls were preseason favorites to capture the tournament’s top seed, but now sit tied for fourth place.
FAU took command of the game by outscoring the Bulls 24-9 in the third period, giving the home team a 14-point leading heading into the final quarter.
Bulls interim head coach Michele Woods-Baxter dialed up full-court pressure throughout the final 10 minutes, and it seemed to wear down the Owls. Every time USF would get close, however, the Owls would knock down a 3-pointer to give themselves some breathing room.
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Florida Atlantic was 11-of-22 from the arc for the game, but maybe the bigger stat is that the Owls hit their last seven from long distance.
Still ….
The Bulls kept coming, furiously pressing, and forcing play. They were down by eight with 4:11 to go, but Katie Davidson’s layup with 33 seconds left gave the Bulls a one-point lead.
FAU did not call time out, but went with a set play that resulted in a foul that sent Ineivi Plata to the line for two shots. However, she had to leave the game with what looked potentially like a serious leg injury, so Erin Rodgers was designated to shoot two free throws instead.
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Rodgers was 1-for-8 from the floor and had not shot any free throws, but she nailed them both to put the Owls back on top by a point.
After a timeout, the Bulls had what looked like the perfect call that had Stefanie Ingram, USF’s leading scorer in the game with 17 points, streaking with a lane to the basket.
Unfortunately, she dribbled off her foot, and that was that.
How can anyone explain a result like this? Games like this aren’t supposed to happen.
However, give all credit to FAU for a gutsy, inspired performance.
What did USF get?
A long, quiet bus ride home from Boca Raton.
This article was originally published on www.greengoldandbold.com as USF women’s basketball handed shocking loss by underdog Florida Atlantic .
