Thursday, March 09, 2006

DOTHAN, Ala. – Shontavia Williams scored 24 points and added 10 rebounds to lift second-seeded Florida Atlantic past No. 7 Jacksonville 74-61 in Atlantic Sun Championship first round action at the Dothan Civic Center.

The Owls advance to the semifinals and will face the winner between No. 3 ETSU and No. 6 Mercer. Florida Atlantic won an opening round game for the first time since advancing to the championship finals in 2002.

Florida Atlantic (18-10) built a 13-point first half advantage, but Jacksonville used a 9-2 run to end the first half to get back into the game. FAU carried a 37-31 advantage into the break.

The Dolphins (10-18) would finish off the rally, sprinting out to a four-point lead following a three-pointer from Regina Omoite with 10:12 left in the game. After a three-pointer by JU’s Virginia Gregoire, the game was knotted at 56-56. From that point on, the Owls took control as they closed the game on an 18-5 run over the final 7:12.

Florida Atlantic dominated the rebounding category, out-rebounding Jacksonville 51-35 thanks in large part to a pair of huge double-doubles by Williams and freshman Brittney Crenshaw. Crenshaw finished with 18 points and 13 boards, both career-highs. Missy Glaser also chipped in 18 points for the Owls. Jacksonville’s Sheena Carpenter nearly led the Dolphins to the upset by herself, matching a career-high with 25 points on 11-of-24 shooting from the floor. Sharpshooters Gregoire and Omoite finished with 13 and 11 points respectively.

General Notes
• Florida Atlantic is now 6-9 in tournament play, and Jacksonville drops to 0-3.
• The #2 seed improves to 33-14 and the #7 seed drops to 0-18 all time in tournament play.

Florida Atlantic Notes
• The Owls improved to 14-1 this season when scoring over 70 points.
• Freshman Brittney Crenshaw had a career-high in both points (18) and rebounds (13), marking her first career double-double.
• Shontavia Williams also finished with a double-double (24 points and 10 rebounds), her fifth of the season.
• This game marks the first tournament win since for Florida Atlantic since 2002, which was the same year they made their only finals appearance (L vs. Georgia State, 64-63)

Jacksonville Notes
• This game marked the third time for Jacksonville to make the tournament since the program began in 1998, dropping them to 0-3 in postseason play in the program’s history.
• First team All-Atlantic Sun selection Ashley Williams was held to just five points on 2-7 shooting in only 23 minutes of play, as she was hampered by a hand injury for most of the game.
• Sheena Carpenter tied a career-high with 25 points in today’s game. Her 25 points are the most by an individual in the championship through two games.