MIAMI, Fla. – Chelsea Lyles scored a game-high 18 points and four Eagles scored in double figures for the second straight game, as the FGCU women's basketball team defeated FIU 76-62 on Tuesday night at U.S. Century Bank Arena in Miami.
With the win, the Eagles improve their record to 6-3 (2-0 A-Sun), while the Golden Panthers fall to 5-6 (1-1 Sun Belt).
Courtney Chihil (13), Eglah Griffin (11), Chelsea Lyles (18) and Adrianne McNally (12) all scored in double-figures to lead the Blue and Green in the road win.
The Eagles used a 14-1 run midway through the first half to build a 25-10 lead. During the run, Lyles (Colorado Spring, Colo.) went 2-for-2 from behind the arc, while the rally was capped by a 3-pointer from junior Shannon Murphy (Brighton, Mich.). However, after two straight makes from behind the arc, the Golden Panthers found themselves down by just nine points with 8:00 left in the first half (25-16).
Chihil (Tipp City, Ohio) and Senior Brittany Brown (Flint, Mich.) helped lead the Eagles on a 14-0 run to end the first half. Chihil converted three straight shots from the field, including one from behind the arc, while Brown converted a three-point play and two straight from the charity stripe to build the FGCU lead to 42-19 at the half.
Chihil led all first half scorers with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting, while Monika Bosilj led the way for FIU with 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting. As a team FGCU shot 13-of-26 (50-percent) from the field, including 6-of-12 from long range, compared to just 7-of-25 (28-percent) shooting for the Golden Panthers.
Led by Griffin (Ft. Myers, Fla.), the Blue and Green continued its hot shooting into the start of the second half. Griffin hit 3-of-3 shots from the field, including two from behind the arc advancing the Eagles to a 52-27 lead early in the second half.
FGCU's lead was too much to overcome for the Golden Panthers, who never came within 12 points, even after a 12-0 run late in the game (71-59). The Eagles shot 12-of-25 (48-percent) in the second half and 25-of-51 (49-percent) for the game. They were on fire from behind the arc as they shot 50-percent from long range (12-of-24).
The Eagles will be back in action Tuesday, December 29 when they return home to battle Bethune-Cookman. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m. at FGCU's Alico Arena.
