FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's basketball team broke through Auburn's heavy defensive pressure Monday night to earn a 52-45 win at Alico Arena. With the victory over the SEC foe, the Eagles move to 11-4 in nonconference action, while the Tigers fall to 10-3. The win stands as the team's second victory over a Power Five conference foe this season after the Eagles defeated Arizona just 10 days ago.
 
The Eagles and Tigers traded the lead four times and were each held scoreless for long periods of time in the early goings. Despite the Tigers' relentless defense, the Eagles took care of the ball and held a slight 23-20 edge at halftime. On baskets from Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wisc./Cudahy High School) and DyTiesha Dunson (Albany, Ga./Westover High School), the team extended the lead with a nine-point run to start the second half. The Eagles increased the point difference to a game-high 13 points midway through the third quarter and maintained the advantage through the final whistle to hand Auburn its third loss of the nonconference slate.
 
"We thought that the key to the game would be taking care of the ball," said head coach Karl Smesko. "We knew we couldn't turn it over. Auburn is so good at forcing turnovers and turning those turnovers into points. I thought our team did a good job of getting open, working together and taking care of the basketball."
 
FGCU was outperformed statistically, with a 32.1 percent mark from the floor compared to Auburn's 40 percent clip and a 43-23 disadvantage in rebounds, but limited the Auburn offensive presence to hold control of the game. The Tigers rank among the nation's top teams with over 23 turnovers forced per game but saw just six miscues from the Eagles over the 40-minute affair. FGCU however forced 19 Auburn turnovers and scored 16 points on the mishandlings.  The Eagles sank 10 3-pointers on the night with 14 assists, nine steals and six blocks.
 
Gradinjan led all players with 16 points against the SEC foe. The sophomore sank four long-range shots and went 2-for-2 from the free-throw line late in the game to help the Green and Blue. She also paced the team with six rebounds and added one assist and one steal. Dunson added 14 points for FGCU with another four 3-pointers. Senior Whitney Knight (Winston-Salem, N.C./R.J. Reynolds High School) scored six points for the Eagles and swatted five shots through 28 minutes on the floor. With the five blocks, Knight jumps ahead two positions in the Atlantic Sun record books with 250 career blocks. She stands tied for third in A-Sun history and is just 40 shy of the all-time record.
 
FGCU took the initial lead in the game when Knight blocked a jumper attempt and followed with an assist to Gradinjan on the other end. Gradinjan's first bucket of the game gave the Green and Blue a 3-0 lead but the Tigers were quick to respond. The teams traded the lead in the opening minutes before a Dunson long-range make and two free throws from Knight gave the Eagles an 11-8 advantage. Auburn used heavy defensive pressure to stifle FGCU's offensive attempts but the Eagles turned the ball over just once in the first quarter.
 
After a series of empty possessions, Auburn claimed the lead with a 6-0 run and held a 14-11 advantage in the final minute. Jaime Gluesing (Solon, Ohio/Solon High School) cut the Tiger lead with a final layup but the visiting team took a one-point lead into the first break.
 
The teams tied at 16 in the first minute of the second quarter before Auburn went ahead 18-16 on a layup two minutes in. After the layup, the Eagles stifled the Tiger offense and held the team scoreless for a span of seven and a half minutes. Despite the dry spell, the Eagles scored just seven points over the span but took a 23-18 lead after forcing another six turnovers for Auburn. The Tigers added a last-minute layup before the half expired and brought the score to 23-20 in favor of FGCU at halftime.
 
The Eagles broke through the Auburn press on the opening possession of the second half and found Gradinjan at the post with a long pass. The sophomore laid the shot in to spark a run for FGCU as the Eagles added back-to-back 3-pointers from Dunson and Gradinjan to take a 31-20 lead and force Auburn into a timeout.
 
Atwater added a single free throw out of the timeout to push the lead to 12 points just three minutes into the second half. Auburn cut its scoring drought with two free-throws on the next possession but Dunson gave FGCU its largest lead of the game at 35-22 with a 3-pointer from the top of the arc.
 
FGCU maintained the double-figure lead through the end of the quarter and went into the final 10 minutes of action with a 40-30 advantage.
 
Auburn went 5-for-14 in the final 10 minutes and added five makes from the charity stripe to cut the deficit to just six points with three minutes to play. With a 49-43 lead, the Eagles forced two turnovers and added three made free throws in the last 90 seconds to seal the victory over the SEC opponent.
 
The Eagles welcome the Hartford Hawks to Alico Arena for the final nonconference contest of the season on Saturday, Jan. 2. Tipoff against the Hawks is set for 7 p.m., following the FGCU men's basketball team's contest against Eckerd at 4 p.m.
 
Hartford travels to Southwest Florida with a 4-8 record after falling to George Washington 82-51 Wednesday evening.
 
GAME NOTES: FGCU held Auburn to no made 3-pointers on 10 attempts…the Tigers scored a season-low 45 points after averaging more than 72 ppg in 12 games this season…FGCU has won its last four games, despite being outshot and outrebounded in all four games…the Eagles recorded a season low six turnovers, 17 fewer than the average of Auburn's opponents this year…Auburn stands as the second SEC team the Eagles faced this season after falling by just five points to No. 8 Mississippi State in the Puerto Rico Classic before Christmas…the Eagles have defeated at least one team from each of the Power Five conferences and have picked up 11 total wins against the BCS programs  – SEC: Auburn (Dec. 30, 2015), LSU (Dec. 28, 2012), Florida (Nov. 14, 2008); ACC: Clemson (Nov. 28, 2014) Virginia Tech (Dec. 16, 2012/Dec. 21, 2011/Nov. 25,2010), Big Ten: Michigan State (Nov. 19, 2011), Indiana (Dec. 21, 2010); Big 12: Oklahoma State (Mar. 21, 2015); Pac-12: Arizona (Dec. 20, 2015)…the Eagles are now 7-1 in end-of-year contests since the 2007-08 season.
 
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.
 
SMESKO
Head coach Karl Smesko earned his fifth-consecutive Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year award after a successful 2014-15 campaign. Under his direction, the team compiled with a Division I program best record of 31-3, including a 14-0 mark in conference action and earned its first-ever national ranking. The team earned its third NCAA Tournament appearance as a seven seed and won its first ever DI NCAA Tournament gave against No. 10 Oklahoma State. With 31 wins in the 2014-15 season, Smesko has guided the Eagles to 11-straight 20+ win seasons.  He maintains a record of 356-71 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.3 with a mark of 130-13 (91 W%) in Atlantic Sun contests and has led the team to a 67-1 record in conference play in the last four seasons.  The six-time Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year earned his 400th career win this season in just 493 career games, two games faster than UConn's Geno Auriemma and holds a career record of 417-98 (80.9 W%).  Smesko ranks among an elite list of just four active Division I coaches with a career win percentage of .800 or higher, joining Auriemma, Baylor's Kim Mulkey and Stanford's Tara VanDerveer in the esteemed group.
 
SUPPORT THE CAUSE
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.