Women’s basketball falls to FAU despite career high from Tac
Brady Keane | Staff Writer
Despite getting off to a hot start on the offensive side of the ball, the Mean Green women’s basketball team went ice cold from the floor Saturday and fell to Florida Atlantic University 71-61. The loss caps off a weekend split on the road for the Mean Green (9-15, 4-10) after defeating Florida International University 58-40 on Thursday.
North Texas jumped out to an early lead behind the play of senior forward Acheil Tac, shooting 57 percent from the field as a team in the first quarter. However, that fast start faded quickly, as the Mean Green made just 14 of the next 49 shot attempts to finish the game.
“We came out strong and we were making shots and everything was clicking offensively,” junior guard Candice Adams said. “We kind of got away from that and the shots didn’t fall from there.”
Tac finished the game with a career high 25-point performance and added her third straight double-double by grabbing 14 rebounds. But although the senior shined, the supporting cast on the perimeter struggled to take the pressure off.
While the Mean Green guards shot just 22 percent from behind the three-point line, Florida Atlantic (12-14, 4-11) knocked down nine three pointers in the game.
“When your shooters can knock down shots, that’s a way to keep the inside open,” head coach Jalie Mitchell said. “We weren’t doing that too much tonight. We were taking some ill-advised shots.”
On the defensive side of the ball, the Mean Green struggled to slow down the balanced offensive attack that the Owls utilized in the win. FAU had five players in double figures and found success both in the paint and on the perimeter.
North Texas is now 0-7 this season when allowing 70 or more points.
“We overplayed some things looking for the threes,” Mitchell said. “Every time we could cut the lead, they hit a timely shot.”
On the scoreboard, the Mean Green were led by Tac with 25 points, junior guard Kelsey Criner with 13, Adams with 10 and junior guard Terra Ellison with eight.
The Mean Green has just four games remaining in the regular season to improve in the Conference USA standings before the postseason tournament. The team will play its final home games in the Super Pit on Feb. 25 and 27 against Louisiana Tech University and the University of Southern Mississippi.
“We’ve just got to play hard, take it one game at a time and play together as a team,” Tac said. “These are two important games, so we need to find a way to win. I want to go out with some wins since it’s the last time I’ll play at the Super Pit.”
Featured Image: North Texas fell 71-61 to Florida Atlantic University. Kristen Watson | Visuals Editor
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