FORT MYERS, Fla. – Adrianne McNally and Chelsea Lyles each scored 21 points as the Eagles ran away from the USC Upstate Spartans on Saturday afternoon, 70-61.  The Eagles used a 16-5 run in the second half to break open a tie game, and FGCU was able to hit their free throws down the stretch to hang on for the win.

The first half was a very tight affair, with neither team able to extend a lead into double digits.  The Spartans did use an 8-0 run to grab the largest lead of the half, 22-13, with 8:40 to play in the half.  The Eagles responded with a 9-0 run of their own to tie the game at 22-22 with 5:31 left until halftime.  USC Upstate would eventually carry a one point lead into the half, 30-29.

The second half started out very similar to the first half, with five different tie scores in the first 8:19 of the half.  With the scored tied at 46, FGCU finally broke the game open, going on a 16-5 run over a 10:50 span to take a 62-51 lead with 3:51 to play.  Adrianne McNally led that charge, scoring 8 of the Eagles' 16 points.  Down the stretch, the Eagles converted enough free throws (their last 8 points all came from the free throw line) to seal the victory, 70-61.

For the Spartans (7-7, 2-4), Courtney Hawkins led all scorers with 22 points and also had a game-high 5 assists and a game-high 3 steals.  Chelsea McMillan added 11 points and a game-high 3 blocks.

For the Eagles (10-4, 3-3), Adrianne McNally and Chelsea Lyles each scored a team-high 21 points and each dished out a team-high 4 assists.  Lyles also pulled down 8 boards and grabbed 2 steals, while McNally pulled down a game-high 11 boards and a game-high 3 steals.  Brittany Brown also scored 10 points for the Eagles.

The Eagles will hit the road for a pair of A-Sun conference games next week, first at Mercer followed by a trip to Kennesaw State.  On Thursday, January 15th, the Eagles will travel to Macon, Georgia, to take on the Mercer Bears at 7:00PM.  Then on Saturday, January 17th, the Eagles will be in Kennesaw, Georgia, to pay a visit to the Kennesaw State Owls at 2:00PM.  The Eagles land back at home on Thursday, January 22nd, to take on the Jacksonville Dolphins at 7:00PM.