TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The No. 7-seeded FGCU women's basketball team's record-setting season came to a close Monday night at the Tucker Center in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament as the Eagles fell to host and No. 2-seeded Florida State, 65-47. For the Eagles, the 2014-15 season ends with a record of 31-3, while Florida State advances to the Sweet Sixteen with a record of 31-4.
 
With a 7-for-10 start from the floor, Florida State raced to a 17-2 lead in the opening minutes of action. Although the Eagles were able to trim the deficit to seven points late in the first half, the Seminoles held the Green and Blue to a 0-for-12 start in the second half and extended the lead to a game-high 24 points in the final minutes.  The loss ends a season that saw the Green and Blue compile a 26-game win streak, earn the program's first Division I top-25 standing and enter the top-15 in the official RPI in addition to the team's first DI NCAA Tournament win.
 
"They blitzed us pretty good at the very beginning," explained head coach Karl Smesko after the loss. "They knocked down a lot of shots and we turned it over the first few possessions. In the first four minutes, we had a lot of wasted possessions. We dug ourselves a little bit of a hole, but I'm proud of how we came back for the rest of the half and how we put ourselves in a position to compete in the second half. Florida State is really good and unfortunately, to beat a team as good as Florida State is, on their home court, you are going to have to shoot the three at a high percentage, you are going to have to finish your layups at a high percentage and unfortunately, when we got those types of shots, it wasn't our day to make it. Florida State is just too good to leave that many points out on the floor."
 
The Eagles shot just 30.9 percent on the night, with FSU converting at a clip of 46.3 percent. Both teams produced 3-point shooting percentages below 30 percent, with FGCU surpassing the home team 7-5 in 3-point makes. The Seminoles outrebounded the Eagles 46-23, but FGCU forced 17 FSU turnovers with only 11 of its own. The Eagles added 11 assists and edged the Seminoles with seven steals and four blocks on the night.
 
Redshirt Freshman Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wisc./Cudahy High School) paced all players with 12 points on the night with two made shots from the perimeter. The Atlantic Sun Player of the Year – Whitney Knight (Winston-Salem, N.C./R.J. Reynolds High School) added nine points with four rebounds and four blocks, while Kaneisha Atwater (Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce Westwood High School/VCU) and senior Jenna Cobb (New Holland, Ohio/Miami Trace High School/Butler) each contributed eight points for FGCU.
 
Despite four players averaging double figures in the team's 31-win season, the Seminoles saw just two players score over 10 points and did not allow any players to score more than 12. In all, 10 FSU players contributed to the point total, with 25 points scored off the bench.
 
Florida State scored on its first possession and quickly took hold of the game with five made baskets on its first seven possessions. The home team converted its first three long-range shots and took a 17-2 lead just five minutes into the game.  
 
After allowing the Seminoles to take the largest lead an opponent has built all season at 15 points, Knight and Gradinjan converted back-to-back 3-pointers to bring the deficit back to single digits. FSU added two points on its next possession but Gradinjan again knocked down a three to keep the Eagles within reach.
 
DyTiesha Dunson (Albany, Ga./Westover High School) put up layups on consecutive possessions midway through the half to bring the score to 26-17 in favor of FSU but the Seminoles quickly responded to any chance the Eagles created.
 
The home team converted shots at a rate of 54.6 percent in the first half to maintain the advantage but the contest saw a momentum swing in the final minutes of the first half as baskets from Cobb and Atwater cut the deficit to just seven points. The swing was short lived as FSU against knocked down a 3-pointer with under three minutes on the clock and held the Eagles scoreless for three minutes as time wound down. 
 
Gradinjan ended the half for FGCU with an offensive rebound and layup and brought the score to 36-28 at the break.
 
Florida State carried its momentum into the second stanza and exploded for another run to break open the lead. FGCU was held scoreless on its first 12 field-goal attempts, only scoring from the free throw line in the first nine minutes as FSU extended the lead to 51-31. With 11:30 on the clock, Atwater broke through the defense to add to the FGCU point total but again, the FSU offense responded quickly.
 
With an 8-0 run near the eight-minute mark, Florida State moved the lead to a game-high 24 points and never looked back. FGCU cut the deficit with five points in the final minute of action but could not overcome the size and athleticism of the second-seeded Seminoles and ultimately fell 65-47 at the Tucker Center.
 
The Eagles return four starters and 11 of 13 players who saw action Monday night, including the team's top-three scorers in Knight, Atwater and Stephanie Haas (Avon Lake, Ohio/Magnificat High School). Seniors Cobb and Anthi Chatzigiakoumi (Athens, Greece/General Senior High School of Kallithea) combined for eight points and three rebounds in their final game in Green and Blue.
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 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 347-66 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.9 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 406-94.  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.
 
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