FORT MYERS, Fla. – Backed by a tremendous defensive effort, the No. 20/21 FGCU women's basketball team earned a trip to the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship with a 62-42 win over No. 4 Jacksonville in Wednesday night's semifinal. With the win, the Eagles – who entered Wednesday's game with an official RPI of 14 – move to 29-2 on the season with a 24-game win streak, while Jacksonville's season ends at 12-17.
 
In addition to the semifinal victory, FGCU also sealed its third NCAA Tournament appearance in four seasons in an unlikely situation in the other A-Sun semifinal. No. 3 Northern Kentucky defeated No. 2 Stetson in DeLand by one point at 53-52 to earn its first trip to the A-Sun final. With NKU still in the Division I transition period, and therefor ineligible for NCAA postseason play, the league's automatic bid is awarded to the regular season champion if the Norse win a conference tournament championship in any sport.
 
The Eagles' win was fueled by defensive pressure against the Dolphins. FGCU forced 27 turnovers – the most of any opponent all season – and scored 38 points on Jacksonville miscues.  The Green and Blue grabbed 12 steals and swatted six shots, while holding JU to zeroes in both categories.  Jacksonville becomes the only FGCU foe to record no steals through a contest this season.
 
FGCU recorded just nine turnovers on the night and dished out 14 assists. The team shot 41 percent from the floor with 11 3-pointers, while holding JU to 37.2 percent overall. The Dolphins outrebounded the Eagles, 44-26, but were held to just 43 shots on the night compared to FGCU's 61.
 
"It's definitely a good win for us," said head coach Karl Smesko. "I thought we did a good job defensively, especially against their best scorers. For the first half, we did a great job on them defensively. Offensively, we were not as sharp as we would like to be. They dared us to shoot and we did not shoot it well. Our activity level was not as good and we did not work together as well as we're going to need to. There are some things to clean up before Sunday, but I'm proud of the team and the fact that we're back in a conference tournament championship. We are very much looking forward to Sunday."
 
Senior Jenna Cobb (New Holland, Ohio/Miami Trace High School/Butler) paced all players with a season-high 20 points and six rebounds. Cobb went 9-for-13 from the field and grabbed four steals with three assists for her second-straight double-figure performance. Kaneisha Atwater (Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce-Westwood High School/VCU) and Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wisc./Cudahy High School) each added 11 points with three long-range makes in the 20-point victory.
 
Cobb got things started quickly for the Eagles with back-to-back layups in the opening minute of action. With a 4-2 lead, Whitney Knight (Winston-Salem, N.C./R.J. Reynolds High School) added five-straight points to give the team its first strong lead of the game at 9-2 just five minutes in.
 
Jacksonville responded with five-quick points of its own as FGCU struggled to knock down shots from 3-point range but Anthi Chatzigiakoumi (Athens, Greece/General Senior High School of Kallithea) cut the long-range dry spell for the home team and pushed the team ahead five points again.
 
The Eagle defensive continued to force turnovers at a high rate and held the Dolphins to just 10 points through the midpoint of the first half. Atwater and Gradinjan combined to move the score to 17-10 at the eight-minute mark before JU scored its final field goal of the half with 7:37 on the clock.
 
Sparked by back-to-back layups, both assisted by Atwater, FGCU went on a 14-2 run over the next six minutes, halting the JU offensive in its tracks. The visitors sank a single free throw on two separate occasions to increase their point total but buckets from Cobb, Chatzigiakoumi and Stephanie Haas (Avon Lake, Ohio/Magnificat High School) extended the FGCU lead to 31-14 at the break.
 
The teams traded baskets to open the second half before Cobb, Knight and Gradinjan combined for a seven-point run to push the lead beyond 20 points. Jacksonville cut it back to 43-24 near the 14-minute mark but was never able to get within reach as FGCU maintained a heavy advantage.
 
Junior Jaime Gluesing (Solon, Ohio/Solon High School) knocked down back-to-back long-range shots near the midpoint of the second stanza to move the score to 52-28 as the Eagle defense continued to stifle Jacksonville. The Dolphins scored double their first-half points in the second half but were unable to overcome the high number of turnovers and ultimately succumbed to a 62-42 FGCU victory. 
 
With the win, the Green and Blue advances to the A-Sun final for their fourth time in four years of postseason eligibility and will host No. 3 Northern Kentucky in the A-Sun Championship Sunday afternoon at Alico Arena. The Green and Blue defeated the Norse by an average margin of over 24 points in two meetings this season but NKU stands as the lone blemish on the A-Sun schedule in the last four seasons for FGCU as the Norse defeated FGCU 63-43 last February. The A-Sun Championship is slated for 2:30 p.m. and can be viewed live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.
 
Tickets for the A-Sun Championship game is on sale online at FGCUAthletics.com, over the phone at 239-590-7145 or in person at the Alico Arena Box Office.
 
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 fifth-consecutive Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year award after a successful 2014-15 campaign. Under his direction, the team has produced a record of 29-2, including a 14-0 mark in conference action and earned its first-ever national ranking. With 29 wins already in the 2014-15 season, Smesko has guided the Eagles to 11-straight 20+ win seasons.  He maintains a record of 343-66 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.8 with a mark of 132-13 (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 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.
 
IT'S AWESOME, BABY
Dick Vitale held a book signing in the Alico Arena Auxiliary Gym on Feb. 25, but it's not too late for fans to still purchase autographed copies of his latest book: "It's Awesome Baby! 75 Years of Memories and a Lifetime of Opinions on the Game I Love" by clicking here or by calling 239-590-7060. All proceeds from the book will be donated to The V Foundation for children battling pediatric cancer.
 
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 visitwww.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.