Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Eastern Kentucky led by three with 1:42 left in the game before Florida Atlantic scored 10 unanswered to pull out a 60-57 victory on Monday night. Sophomore Brittany Coles hit five three-pointers and finished with a career-best 24 points.

Freshman Marie Carpenter scored 11 points for EKU (1-3). Sophomore Alex Jones finished with eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds. April Goins, Lyrell Barfield and Vontrice Dennis each finished with 11 points for Florida Atlantic (2-3). Dennis grabbed 10 boards.

An old-fashioned three-point play by Coles and a lay-up by Nadia Mossong stretched Eastern’s lead to nine, 32-23, with 17:10 remaining in the game. However, FAU rolled off eight straight to close the gap to one and stay in the game.

A three-pointer by Reese Bass and a jumper by Carpenter put a stop to the Owl run and pushed the lead back to six. FAU answered again, this time with a 12-3 run to take the lead. A three-pointer by Kimberly Smith and a jumper as the shot clock expired by Barfield capped the run and left the Owls ahead 43-40 with 8:09 left to play.

Each time Florida Atlantic threatened to pull away, Coles had the answer. Another bucket and free throw tied the game at 43-43. With the Lady Colonels down by three again, she knocked down another trey to force another tie at 46-46 with 4:12 remaining in the game. Another three-pointer by Coles gave EKU a 49-48 lead with 2:59 to go.

A bucket by Alex Jones stretched the margin to three before Florida Atlantic rolled off 10 unanswered to seal the game. Free throws by Teri Stamps made it a 58-51 game with 12 seconds showing on the clock. Coles’ final three-pointer at the buzzer set the final score.

Coles went 8-for-13 from the field, including 5-for-7 from three-point land. She also had eight rebounds.

The Lady Colonels shot 31 percent from the field and 27 percent from three-point range. After shooting 23 percent in the first half, FAU made 41 percent of its second half shots. The Owls out-scored Eastern 11-3 at the free throw line in the second half.

Neither team led by more than four points in the first half until a three-pointer by Coles gave the Lady Colonels a five-point advantage, 21-16, with 4:57 showing on the clock. The two teams combined for only four points in the final 3:50 of the opening period. Carpenter drained a trey from the right wing with 1:32 before intermission to send EKU to the locker room in front by six, 26-20.

Eastern Kentucky shot just 30 percent in the first 20 minutes, but Florida Atlantic made only 23 percent (8-for-35) of its first half shots. The Owls were 0-for-13 from behind the arc in the first half.

The Lady Colonels will return to action on Saturday when Brewton-Parker College visits McBrayer Arena. The game is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.

Notes
Florida Atlantic missed its first 14 shots from three-point range. FAU finished 3-for-25 (12 percent) from behind the arc.

Sophomore Alex Jones picked up her third foul of the game at the 19:09 mark of the second half.

Sophomore Brittany Coles finished with a career-high 24 points. Her previous best was 18 points at Morehead State on Feb. 20, 2010.

EKU committed a season-low 13 turnovers.