BOCA RATON, Fla. – Tanajah Hayes’ clutch three-pointer in the closing seconds propelled Charlotte Women’s Basketball to a thrilling 57-56 victory over the Florida Atlantic Owls with major American Conference tournament seeding implications on the line.

With the win, Charlotte improves to 13-15 on the season and 7-8 in the American. As it currently stands, Charlotte is seventh in the standings, a half game ahead of Temple who will face undefeated Rice at home tomorrow.

“Coach called my number and I had to be ready for the moment,” said Tanajah Hayes. “I took what the defense gave me and praise the Lord it went in. Last week was tough but we learned from that game and were ready to go tonight. We focused on execution in practice this week and that is what won us the game.”

COACH’S CORNER

“We struggled for most of this game, but I am proud of our team for finding a way to win in the end,” said Tomekia Reed. “Florida Atlantic is a tough place to play. Part of our strategy is to keep our bench involved in key moments, so they are ready to play in the postseason. Everyone showed resilience in the second half to come through with this win. We played hard and we played together. It was great to have those two timeouts on the final possession to ensure we got a good look. Tanajah is poised in the clutch moments and kept her composure.”

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Princess Anderson’s 20 points were a game-high, while Caitlin Staley’s 10 points made her the second Niner to reach double figures. Ja’Navia Gage scored nine points and grabbed eight rebounds, highlighted by a strong first half. Tanajah Hayes scored five of her nine points in the fourth quarter, capped off by the game-winning shot with 2.5 seconds remaining.

Defensively, Zoe Best, Hayes, and Anderson had three steals each as the Niners totaled 12 as a team.

“Zoe did a great job leading our defense and coming up with some clutch steals and stops in the fourth quarter,” said Tomekia Reed. “While she did not have a good offensive performance, she certainly made an impact on the defensive side of the floor.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

Charlotte jumped out to an early 17-7 lead in the first quarter fueled by a strong performance from Ja’Navia Gage, who scored the first six points of the night and finished the half with a team-high nine points. The Niners shot an efficient 53.3% from the floor despite missing all four of their shots from behind the arc. In the closing minutes, Florida Atlantic regrouped and ended the quarter on an 8-0 scoring run led by six points from Grace Carstensen to trim the deficit to two.

The Niners offense started to fade in the second quarter with their shooting percentage dropping to 27% (5-18) while the Owls found their groove, making seven of their 12 shots. Of their 15 points in the quarter, 12 of them came in the paint. A three-pointer from Erin Rodgers on the final possession gave Florida Atlantic a 30-28 lead going into halftime.

Florida Atlantic started to take control in the third quarter as their lead grew to as much as seven. Imani Smith knocked down a big three-pointer to help stop the bleeding with less than a minute to go, and a layup from Asianae Nicholson tied the game before the start of the fourth quarter.

Princess Anderson and Tanajah Hayes took over down the stretch for Charlotte as the duo combined to score all of the team’s fourth quarter points. After FAU took a 50-46 lead, Anderson rattled off a personal 6-0 scoring run to help the Niners tie the game. With 22 seconds on the clock, a Jess Moors layup gave the Owls a 56-54 lead. Preparing for the final seconds, Coach Reed had two timeouts in her back pocket.

After the ball deflected out of bounds on the first possession, Reed used her second timeout to draw up another play. With Tanajah Hayes inbounding the ball, she immediately got the ball back and found herself open behind the three-point line, getting the shooter’s bounce off the rim to give Charlotte the lead with 2.5 seconds left.

Grace Carstensen, who had made three shots from behind the arc on the night, missed her game-winner attempt at the buzzer as Charlotte held on for the much-needed 57-56 victory.

NEXT UP

Charlotte will now turn the page and prepare for in-state rival East Carolina on Saturday (Feb. 28) on the road in Greenville. Opening tip is set for 2:00 p.m.