RICHMOND — In the closest game they’ve played thus far this season, the Lady Colonels came up just short against Florida Atlantic Saturday afternoon at McBrayer Arena.

Eastern Ken-tucky Univer-sity had advantages in several statistical categories, but like in its previous two losses, it was ultimately turnovers that doomed the Lady Colonels in the 66-58 loss to the Lady Owls. The Lady Colonels committed 32 turnovers to FAU’s 20.

“Offensively, we’ve taken a lot of steps forward,” EKU coach Chrissy Roberts said. “One thing we need to work on now is our turnovers. We have to settle down and relax. A lot of times, they aren’t forcing them as much as we’re causing them. If we can cut down on our turnovers, we’re going to be better.”

EKU (0-3) took a one-point lead, 46-45, with eight minutes left. However, it would not last. FAU took a lead off a pair of free throws by Andrea Taylor and did not trail the rest of the way.

The scoring was anemic to start the game. Neither team could find the bottom of the net for two and a half minutes, then EKU didn’t score until almost five minutes into the game off a jump shot by Talisha Davis. The junior college transfer was one of the bright spots of the day for EKU — leading all scorers with 23 points in her second start of the season.

“This is what Talisha is capable of,” Roberts said. “She played with a lot of confidence. Her playing with a lot of confidence and being comfortable allowed her team to play with a lot of confidence. Her position is a very important position and she’s still trying to find herself. She’s going to be exciting to watch as the season progresses.”

EKU had the lead for part of the first half, until Lyrell Barfield connected on a three-pointer to give FAU the lead with 4:37 left in the first half, a lead which would carry into halftime.

“We’ve just got to connect and the mistakes we’re making are little mistakes that can be fixed,” EKU junior Cherie White said. “Some of the mistakes are because they’re new or we’re new together. Once we connect on everything, we’ll be alright.”

The Lady Colonels tied the game four times in the second half but could never sustain the lead.

EKU outrebounded its third-straight opponent, 37-30, which included a season-high 10 boards by Nadia Mossong. They had 10 assists to FAU’s nine and shot 40 percent from the floor, including 31 percent from three-point range.

“What I would like to improve on is our offensive rebounding,” Roberts said. “With only six offensive boards, I would like to double that. We did a decent job on boxing out today and we outrebounded them by seven, but I would like our offensive boards to double.”

Saturday’s matchup was the first home game of the 2009-10 season for the Lady Colonels and they will play in the confines of McBrayer Arena only twice more before the end of this year. They will return to action this week in the Lady Pirate Invitational, the home tournament of East Carolina in Greenville, N.C. EKU will face Towson on Thursday and Bethune-Cookman on Friday, two teams that Roberts said will help her team immensely in preparing for Ohio Valley Conference action.

“We’re going to have to go to East Carolina and grind it out and compete,” she said. “I have no doubt that if we take this effort that we had at home to the Pirate Classic, we’re going to be alright. Our non-conference schedule is tough, but I can see us improving every day. The key is getting our kids ready for January.”