ST. THOMAS, USVI. – With 14 made shots from the perimeter, the FGCU women's basketball team cruised to its second victory in as many days with an 86-61 win over Clemson Friday afternoon at the UVI Sports and Fitness Center. The Eagles improved to 5-1 on the season and are now 2-0 in play at the 2014 Paradise Jam. The Tigers fall to 3-3 on the year with their second loss in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
 
The Eagles sank 10 3-pointers with 8-of-10 made shots from the free-throw line in the first half to hold a 52-27 lead at the break. The Tigers shot 54.2 percent and matched FGCU's point production in the second half but were unable to catch the Green and Blue's lead as FGCU became the only undefeated team in the Island Division of the Paradise Jam.
 
FGCU was led by a career-high 28 points from junior Whitney Knight (Winston-Salem, N.C./R.J. Reynolds High School). Knight also paced the team with seven rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Kaneisha Atwater (Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce Westwood High School/VCU), Stephanie Haas (Avon Lake, Ohio/Magnificat High School) and Anthi Chatzigiakoumi (Athens, Greece/General Senior High School of Kallithea) also contributed double-figures for the Eagles. Atwater produced 17 points with four assists, while Haas and Chatzigiakoumi each added 12 points in the Eagles' third-consecutive win.
 
The Eagles sank 14 shots from beyond-the-arc with a 42.6 percent success rate from the floor with 20 makes from the free-throw line. The team capitalized on 21 Clemson turnovers for 32 points and outrebounded the Tigers 35-26. However, FGCU was outshot by Clemson, who produced a mark of 45.5 percent from the floor.
 
"I thought we played a really inspired first half," said head coach Karl Smesko. "We executed really well, we didn't turn the ball over and we didn't give them a lot of good looks. In the second half, I thought Clemson played really well and they had us on our heels a little bit. But we played well enough in the first half that we were able to withstand that."
 
Senior Jenna Cobb (New Holland, Ohio/Miami Trace High School/Butler) opened the contest with a single made free throw before the Tigers took their only lead of the game with a 3-pointer. The Clemson lead lasted just 12 seconds as FGCU responded with a long-range shot from Knight to reclaim the advantage. Knight added two more points from the charity stripe two Atwater drives to the rim and a Haas free throw pushed FGCU ahead 11-3 and forced Clemson into its first timeout fewer than four minutes in.
 
A bucket from Cobb from beyond-the-arc moved the FGCU run to 13 points before Clemson stopped a four-minute dry spell with a 3-pointer from the right side. The Tigers added two points from the free-throw line but quickly sent Atwater to the line for two freebies of her own to move the score to 16-8 in favor of the Eagles.
 
The Eagles drew 12 fouls in the first half and sank 8-of-10 free throws in the first ten minute of play to extend the lead to double-figures. Atwater again drove to the basket to push the Eagles to a 20-8 lead and forced Clemson into another timeout near the 12-minute mark. The junior guard followed with a 3-point shot from the left side to increase the lead and cap a 9-0 run for the Eagles. After forcing six-straight turnovers, FGCU held onto a 23-8 lead.
 
Clemson brought its point total to double-figures with a layup midway through the half but FGCU maintained the lead with shots from Cobb, Haas and Knight. The Tigers worked their way to the free-throw line for seven-straight points over a span of two minutes, bringing the score to 36-22, but could not stop the Eagles' on the perimeter.
FGCU saw back-to-back threes from Knight before Haas and Chatzigiakoumi contributed for four long-range shots in the final three minutes of the half.
 
With 10 made shots from the perimeter, the Eagles went into the break with a 52-27 lead.
 
Clemson opened the second half with offensive intensity and quickly put four points on the scoreboard. A floater from Knight cut the run and allowed the Eagles to maintain a 20-point lead.
 
The teams traded baskets over a two-minute span before five-straight from Atwater complemented free throws from DyTiesha Dunson (Albany, Ga./Westover High School) and Knight to bring the Eagle lead to 39-66 with 13 minutes left to play. Just one minute later, Knight successfully converted a 3-point shot from the top of the arc to bring the Eagle lead to a game-high 30 points.
 
Clemson responded to the deficit with six-straight points but a Chatzigiakoumi 3-pointer cut the run. Long-range shots from Clemson and Jaime Gluesing (Solon, Ohio/Solon High School) held the advantage at 27 points as the second half reached the midway point.
 
FGCU added points on layups from Chatzigiakoumi and free throws from Atwater and Knight, but the Tigers matched the Eagle production in the final minutes of action. The Eagles scored the final three points of the game to take the 25-point win.
 
The Eagles conclude action at the Paradise Jam Saturday with a 3:30 p.m. EST matchup against the Buckeyes of Ohio State. As the field's only undefeated team, a win over OSU would give FGCU the outright championship in the Paradise Jam Island Division. The team returns to Alico Arena Saturday, Dec. 6 to host Southern Mississippi in a 7 p.m. bout.
 
Single-game tickets for all FGCU women's basketball games are on sale online at FGCUAthletics.com, over the phone at 239-590-7145 or in person at the Alico Arena Box Office.

Group sales for women's basketball games are available for parties of 20 or more at a discounted rate.  Beginning this season, groups will receive the opportunity for to upgrade their package to include chairback seats, a PA announcement and a special FGCU group T-Shirt at a cost of $10.
For up-to-the minute information on the FGCU women's basketball team, stay tuned to FGCUAthletics.com and follow the official Twitter of FGCU women's basketball at @FGCU_WBB.

Head coach Karl Smesko earned his fourth-consecutive Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year award after a successful 2013-14 campaign. Under his direction, the team completed the season with a record of 26-8, including a 17-1 mark in conference action and won the program's 300th win in January. Smesko guided the Eagles to their fourth-consecutive regular season championship and went undefeated in the A-Sun Conference tournament to win their second Tournament Championship in three seasons.  The 2013-14 season marked the 10th-consecutive season in which a Smesko coached team won at least 20 games.  He has recorded 314 wins at FGCU with 117 Atlantic Sun victories.  The five-time Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year ranks among an elite list of just four active Division I coaches with a career win percentage of .800 or higher.  Smesko joins Connecticut's Geno Auriemma, Baylor's Kim Mulkey and Stanford's Tara VanDerveer in the esteemed group.