ESTERO, Fla. --- First, Florida Gulf Coast University guard Jennifer Santana hit the deck. Seconds later, teammate Noreen McCallum joined her on the TECO Arena floor.
 
They couldn't care less that the Eagles were up 22 points midway through the second half against Ohio-Dominican University. It didn't matter to them that the game was well in hand thanks to the sharpshooting of Santana, Trish Fleming and Rebecca Stewart.
 
All that mattered was that the ball was on the ground, and somebody had to get it. They'd waited too long to let any opportunity to make a play pass them by. In fact, Santana even felt kind of lonely out there rubbing her floor burns.
 
"All five of us should have been on the ball," said Santana after scoring 17 points and grabbing four rebounds to help the Eagles take down the Panthers 75-58 in FGCU's inaugural game. "We're all about hustling. That's the kind of team we are."
 
Time and again Friday night, the Eagles did all the little things head coach Karl Smesko holds dear. They boxed out, earning a 37-30 edge on the boards. They played unselfishly, notching 21 assists on their 28 field goals.
 
And for a team that had never taken the floor together for an actual game before, they looked like they've been doing this thing for awhile.
 
"We looked more like a team than we ever have," Smesko said after his team improved to 1-0. "There are still some things we need to iron out, but we beat a very good basketball team tonight."
 
Fleming showed why she earned All-American honors at the University of North Dakota, leading all scorers with 31 points, and doing it in a variety of ways. She hit 3-pointers. She worked in the blocks. She ran the break. She played 38 exhausting minutes, a little more than she planned on.
 
"I was a little tired at the end," said Fleming, who also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds and handed out five assists. "Everyone did their part. Everyone did what they're supposed to do."
 
After a tentative first couple of minutes, the Eagles seemed to relax after Fleming hit a layup for the school's first ever field goal. They took their first lead minutes later, as Stewart (11 points) drilled a 3-pointer — with her foot on the NBA's 3-point line — to put FGCU up 10-7. Though the Panthers would take a slim one-point lead at 11-10, it would be their last of the night.
 
With center Robyn Swain clogging up the middle on defense, the Eagles went on a 12-3 run over the next three minutes.
 
Fleming knocked down three triples during the run, and the Eagles had control.
 
"Trish can do it all," Smesko said. "I'm comfortable with her at point guard, at forward. She's very versatile and skilled. And we have some good shooters on this team."
 
The lead continued to grow for the remainder of the half.
 
With Fleming and Stewart leading the way, the Eagles led 39-24 at the break.
 
The Panthers made it interesting early in the second half, cutting the gap to nine at 43-34.
 
But a 23-6 surge over the game's next eight minutes gave the Eagles plenty of breathing room despite ODU's zone press.
 
"We played pretty smart basketball overall," Smesko said.
 
"We tried to put pressure on them in practice all week. We were calm when things started to go awry and got a couple of good looks and knocked them down."
 
Amanda Lewis and Janel Swinehart led the Panthers (3-3) with 13 points apiece, but they were held to just 36 percent shooting from the floor and made just 5-of-19 shots from behind the arc.
 
"We had to change our system with our personnel this year, and the offense isn't clicking," said ODU head coach Kate Cummings. "(But) I knew they were going to be good, no doubt. We were a little overmatched coming in. They run their system very well and they have some talented kids out there."
 
The Eagles host Missouri Valley College tonight at 6 p.m. at TECO.