BOCA RATON, Fla. – In what would be a back-and-forth contest all day long, Alabama A&M (2-8, 0-0 SWAC) delivered a 65-63 upset victory at Florida Atlantic (4-7, 0-0 C-USA) as graduate guard Nigeria Jones (Lincoln, Neb.) knocked down the game winning jumper with four seconds to play in an NCAA Division I women's basketball game on Monday, December 20. The game was the final one of the FAU Pre-Christmas Tournament.
 
With the teams separated by just one point entering the fourth, junior guard Jill Harris (Navarre, Fla.) and sophomore guard Darian Burgin (Cincinnati, Ohio) notched consecutive buckets to pull ahead 50-47 just 1:21 into the frame. Playing on their home court and in their tournament, FAU would not go away as Amber Gaston converted a traditional three-point play to knot it up 14 seconds later.
 
Burgin then took matters into her own hands with a layup, steal and fast break bucket for a 54-50 lead only to see the Owls rally behind a 5-0 burst to take back the lead, 55-54, by the 6:40 mark. She would be far from done, however, as she scored seven points and capped a 9-0 run with a long range bomb to flip the script and take back the lead at 63-55 with just under three minutes on the clock.
 
That would almost be all the time that FAU would need as Sofia Galeron scored six points on a pair of threes, including one that tied it up at 63-63 behind an 8-0 run that culminated with 27 seconds left. Following a timeout and a foul, however, A&M then worked the clock down before getting the ball to Jones who proceeded to drill the game-winning jumper with four seconds left to lock up the 65-63 victory.
 
Capable of doing it all, Jones served as the Bulldogs primary scoring option on the day as she dropped 19 points to go with five rebounds while Burgin delivered a season-high 16 points and a pair of steals in 31 minutes. Harris added 10 points, three boards and a career-high five assists and senior forward Dariauna Lewis (Omaha, Neb.) produced a monster game with nine points, eight caroms, four blocks, three assists and a steal. Senior center Jada Clowers (Macon, Ga.) rounded things out with six points, eight boards and three blocks.
 
Both teams would bring their offense as the Owls would jump out to an early lead with five straight points from Kimia Carter before Jones scored eight points in an 11-0 onslaught that put A&M up 11-5 by the 5:36 mark. The clubs would be nearly even over the next two-plus minutes as the Bulldogs maintained their six-point lead at 18-12.
 
From there, however, they would score seven straight as part of a 10-2 run to close the opening stanza with a commanding 28-14 advantage. Lewis notched five points in that stretch and would add a layup in the opening seconds of the second quarter to make it a 16-point advantage before FAU exploded to score 12 of the next 14 points in a span of 3:43, closing the gap to 32-26 with 5:15 to play in the half.
 
A bucket by Clowers helped stem that tide, and following a layup by Galeron to make it 34-28 with just over four minutes showing in the quarter, both teams would go cold for better than two minutes until Rita Pleskevich narrowed the margin to four points on a jumper. Jones and Pleskevich would then trade buckets down the stretch to send A&M to the break with a 36-32 lead.
 
It would continue to be a nip-and-tuck affair as the teams hit the third with FAU tying it up at 36-36 in the first 1:09 before Jones and Pleskevich alternated scores once again to keep it deadlocked. Carter would then knock down a triple and Pleskevich a jumper to take a 43-38 lead by the 7:03 mark before Jones answered with a three of her own, followed by a layup, to once again lock horns, this time at 43-43.
 
The Owls would then notch back-to-back buckets before the Bulldogs scored the final three points of the frame to pull to within 47-46 as they headed to the fourth, setting the stage for an early season signature victory.
 
Galeron fueled the offense for FAU with a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds along with four assists while Carter finished with a game-high 21 points. They were joined by Pleskevich with a solid all-around game of 15 points, five caroms and five assists and Gaston with nine points, four blocks and as many rebounds. Bre Beck chipped in with six points and four assists to round out the top performers.
 
The Bulldogs close out the 2021 portion of their schedule when they return to action on Wednesday, December 29. That game will be at Nicholls State at 2 p.m. in Thibodaux, Louisiana.
 
NOTES
The meeting was the first between Florida Atlantic and Alabama A&M.