BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Western Michigan women's basketball team opened its Florida trip with a 69-59 victory over Florida Atlantic University on Sunday, Dec. 16.

WMU ties a season-high with 69 points in the first ever meeting between and Broncos and the Owls, improving its record to 4-4 overall on the season.

"It's less about if we win and more about how we compete," said head coach Shane Clipfell. "We always look to make improvements from the last game and I think we did, so I'm elated that it included a win. Our energy was where it needed to be consistently for a 40-minute stretch."

Deja Wimby led the Brown & Gold with her first double-double of the season (seventh career), tallying 18 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. She also notched seven assists and five steals.

Meredith Miller scored a season-high 16 points (one point shy of her career-high), paced by her four three-point field goals. Additionally, Leighah-Amori Wool and Maxine Moore each added 11 points.

Western Michigan shot 34.8 percent (23-for-69) from the field and 23.1 percent (6-for-26) from beyond the arc. WMU converted 24 points off Owl turnovers and scored 32 points in the paint.

Just over five minutes in, the Broncos and Owls were knotted 9-9 at the first media timeout. Western Michigan closed out the first quarter on a 12-2 run, capped off by a Miller three-pointer and a Wimby steal and fast break layup to lead 21-11 heading into the second frame.

WMU claimed its largest lead of the game near the midway point of the second quarter, extending its advantage to 30-15 with a Wimby, her team-leading fifth basket of the half.

Florida Atlantic responded with a 10-2 run, cutting the Bronco lead to 32-25 near the end of the half. A Moore jumper with 1:22 left in the half gave the Brown & Gold a 34-25 lead heading into the intermission.  

A few minutes into the third stanza, FAU cut its deficit to four points, trimming the WMU lead to 38-34, forcing a Bronco timeout.

WMU struggled to find its shooting stride in the back-half of the third quarter while FAU ended the frame with a jumper at the buzzer to come within a point of the Broncos as the scoreboard read 45-44 in favor of WMU.

"We had great energy in the first 20 minutes and then in the third quarter I though we kind of came out flat," Clipfell commented. "We have been in a spot like that before and it was good sign that we didn't wither in the situation."

Despite the Owls clawing back into the game heading into the final 10 minutes, the Broncos scored a game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter to sink FAU. WMU led by 10 a few times in the final stanza, finished off by a Max Moore layup to seal the 69-59 win.

Game Notes

• WMU ties a season-high with 69 points, matching the point total in the season-opener versus Purdue Fort Wayne (Nov. 8)
• WMU forced a season-high 27 turnovers while tallying a season-high 15 steals 
• WMU led for 35 minutes
  • A Wimby free throw gave WMU a 10-9 lead with 4:02 remaining in the first quarter, which they maintained for the rest of the game
• Moore's 11 points are a season/career-high
• Wimby's seven assists puts her just two away from 400 in her career. She is also just 12 steals away from 200 in her career. 
• Kamrin Reed's five assists are a career-high
• Miller's four three-point field goals tied a career-high, set in the season-opener versus Purdue Fort Wayne
• Wool's four steals ties a career-high, set the previous game at Detroit Mercy (Dec. 9)