JONESBORO, Ark. – After trailing by as many as eight points, the FGCU women's basketball team took control and used a 12-5 run to end the game to defeat Arkansas State 74-68 Monday night at the Convocation Center.  The Eagles sank five free throws in the final minute en route to their 10th victory of the season and pushed A-State to a 5-5 record to conclude nonconference action.
 
The home team maintained a slight advantage from the floor and on the boards in the first half and took control of the game with 12 made free throws on 15 attempts with the Eagles taking just three shots from the charity stripe in the first stanza. After trailing by seven at the beginning of the second half, the Eagles responded with a 14-2 streak that included nine points from Kaneisha Atwater (Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce Westwood High School/VCU) and helped FGCU reclaim the lead with 15 minutes to play.  The teams traded the momentum six times in the final seven minutes of action before the Green and Blue used five-straight points from Jenna Cobb (New Holland, Ohio/Miami Trace High School/Butler) to take back the advantage at the two minute mark. FGCU went on to sink five free throws in the final minute to outlast the Sun Belt foe and move to 10-2 on the season.
 
"Arkansas State really outplayed us in the first half," said head coach Karl Smesko. "They were tougher and their defensive pressure threw us off from where we needed to be. The start of the second half was huge for us; we took the lead by the first media and it got us playing with a little more energy. They hit big shot after big shot and it was one of those games where whoever could make the plays in the last few minutes was going to win. I feel good that our team responded and was able to make those plays."
 
Atwater led the team's well-balanced attack with 18 points, four rebounds and three steals, while four others contributed double-figures. Redshirt freshman Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wisc./Cudahy High School) put up 14 points with four made shots from the perimeter, while Stephanie Haas (Avon Lake, Ohio/Magnificat High School) added 11 with five made free throws on seven attempts. Cobb and Whitney Knight (Winston-Salem, N.C./R.J. Reynolds High School) each provided an additional 10 points with Knight leading the team's rebounding effort with six boards in 27 minutes.
 
DyTiesha Dunson (Albany, Ga./Westover High School) also added three steals for the Eagles with strong defensive play in 24 minutes on the court.
 
As a unit, the Eagles narrowly outshot the Red Wolves, 46.7 to 45.8 percent from the field with a 36 to 35.7 percent advantage from 3-point range. A-State sank 19-of-22 free throws with FGCU making 9-of-13 and outrebounded the Eagles 37-24. FGCU handled the ball well in the road contest with just 12 turnovers compared to A-State's 24. The Eagles produced 17 points on ASU miscues with five fast-break layups.
 
After trading empty possessions, the home team got on the scoreboard first with a layup but Cobb and Gradinjan were quick to respond with a five-point streak to give the Eagles their first lead of the game.  The advantage was short lived as the Green and Blue missed five layups in the opening minutes and allowed the Red Wolves to reclaim the lead and forge ahead with a 7-0 run.
 
While facing a 17-11 deficit, Smesko hailed for a timeout with nine minutes to play. Cobb sank a shot from beyond-the-arc on the next possession to cut the A-State run but the Red Wolves were quick to respond with a 3-point play of their own.
 
Atwater produced two quick layups to cut the A-State lead to five points but five free throws over the next three minutes helped the home team maintain a seven-point advantage at the three-minute mark.
 
Haas added four points for the Green and Blue, including the team's first made free throws, in the final two minutes of the half to send the Eagles into the break trailing 34-29.
 
A-State opened the second half with a jumper from the left side to increase the lead to seven points before an Atwater layup and a charge taken by Haas swung the momentum in FGCU's favor.
 
Knight connected on a 3-pointer on the team's next possession and was followed by consecutive fast-break layups from Atwater to give the Eagles their first lead in nearly 17 minutes of game play. With a 42-40 lead, FGCU saw as the home team hailed for a timeout with 15:29 left on the clock.  Following the timeout, FGCU forced A-State's fourth turnover of the half and drove to the rim. Haas kicked the ball to Atwater in the corner who buried a 3-pointer to move the lead to five points.
 
With strong shooting from Gradinjan and a string of A-State turnovers, the Eagles maintained a slight advantage through the midpoint of the half.  However, a five-point run by ASU cut the FGCU lead to 58-57 with eight minutes to play before the Red Wolves took back the lead with two made free throws at the seven-minute mark. A-State went up three points with a steal and fast-break layup and forced Smesko into a timeout with 6:48 on the clock.
 
Following the timeout, Atwater hit a long shot from the corner to tie the game at 61. The Eagles and Red Wolves traded empty possessions with the home team maintaining a slight lead as the game approached the two minute mark. With two minutes to go, Cobb drove to the rim to reclaim the lead and sank a free throw to push the score to 65-63. A-State was quick to retaliate with a layup 10 seconds later, but Cobb again gave FGCU the advantage with a left-handed layup with 1:36 to go.
 
FGCU drew an offensive foul on the home team's next possession and went up four points on a pivotal layup from Knight with one minute left in the game. Knight's bucket pushed the lead to 69-65 and forced A-State to use another timeout.
 
The Red Wolves missed their 3-point attempt out of the timeout and Knight came up with the rebound. The junior held onto the ball and burned six seconds off the clock before getting fouled at midcourt. Knight sank two free throws to increase the lead to 71-65 with 35 seconds to go.
 
A-State drove down the floor quickly and converted a traditional 3-point play with 26 seconds on the clock to bring the score to 71-68. Knight again burned time off the clock, this time taking 14 ticks, before getting fouled again. Knight sank one free throw, turning the game into a two possession contest with 12 seconds to go.
 
The home team again missed a 3-point attempt and sent Haas to the free-throw line for one last time with three seconds remaining. Haas sank both to bring the game to its end point at 74-68.
 
After beginning the season with a record of 10-2, the Eagles will break for several days for the Christmas holiday before reconvening in Philadelphia for the Saint Joseph's Hawk Classic Dec. 28 and 29. The team will face Cal State Northridge and either Saint Joseph's or Quinnipiac in back-to-back days. Following the two-game tournament, the team will wrap up nonconference action with a game at Harvard Jan. 2.
 
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 324 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.