FORT MYERS, Fla. – With help from a 16-point run to open the second half, the FGCU women's basketball team earned a strong 61-48 win against Stetson University Saturday evening at Alico Arena. With the victory, the Eagles open Atlantic Sun Conference play at 1-0 and move to 13-4 overall. The Hatters fall to 9-6 with a 0-1 league record.
 
The teams traded the advantage three times in the first half, with neither team leading by more than five points and went into the break tied at 24. Sparked by back-to-back corner threes from seniors Kaneisha Atwater (Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce Westwood High School/VCU) and Whitney Knight (Winston-Salem, N.C./R.J. Reynolds High School), the Eagles produced a 16-0 run to open the third quarter and held Stetson scoreless for nearly seven minutes. The Green and Blue held the Hatters to a 9.1 percent shooting clip and outscored the visiting team 19-5 in the third quarter to go into the final stanza with a 43-29 advantage.  Stetson increased its offensive production in the final 10 minutes but FGCU maintained control and finished the pivotal A-Sun matchup with a 61-48 victory.
 
"I thought we came out with good aggressiveness to start the third quarter and that was really the difference," noted head coach Karl Smesko. "We had an aggressive, attacking mentality and we got some good shots early in the quarter. After the run, we were able to keep them from getting back in it and I thought our defense was consistent throughout to help us on that end."
 
As a team, FGCU shot 40 percent in the league opener with seven made 3-pointers. The home team held Stetson to a 36.2 percent clip from the floor but allowed eight long-range makes for the Hatters. The Eagles outrebounded Stetson 31-28 and forced 14 turnovers for 16 points on the night with just eight miscues of their own en route to the team's sixth-straight win.
 
Individually, Knight led all players with 16 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals. The reigning A-Sun Player of the Year contributed four field goals and went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line to lead the Eagles to a season high 93.3 percent from the stripe with 14 makes on 15 attempts. Atwater and Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wisc./Cudahy High School) each added 11 points for FGCU with Atwater pacing the team with eight rebounds.
 
Sophomore Haley Laughter (Asheville, N.C./Carolina Country Day) kicked things off for the Eagles with a 3-pointer from the right side on the team's opening possession but the Hatters responded after a series of empty chances. Stetson made back-to-back layups midway through the first quarter to take a 4-3 edge before the teams traded the lead three times in the remaining minutes of the period.
 
The Hatters used a long-range 3-pointer with three minutes to go in the quarter to pull ahead four points and maintained a slight advantage through the end of the quarter by forcing five FGCU turnovers.
 
A Stetson jump shot to open the second quarter extended the Hatter lead to five points but a 3-pointer from Gradinjan, a steal from Knight and a baseline drive by DyTiesha Dunson (Albany, Ga./Westover High School) tied the game at 14. Stetson again responded to the Eagle offense with a five-point run of its own to claim a 19-14 lead at the midpoint of the second quarter.
 
Jaime Gluesing (Solon, Ohio/Solon High School) put away a pair of free throws to bring the FGCU deficit to three points at 19-16 and Gradinjan regained possession for the Eagles as she drew a charge at the rim. Gradinjan went on to tie the game at 19 on another 3-pointer with 3:30 left in the half.
 
Stetson responded to the FGCU offensive pressure with a long-range shot to reclaim the lead but Gradinjan again knocked down a 3-pointer to match Stetson's score at 22. FGCU allowed the Hatters to a baseline drive to take a 24-22 lead before holding Stetson scoreless in the final two minutes of the half.
 
With the half's final possession, Knight found a cutting Gradinjan with a pass from outside the arc. Gradinjan dropped in a layup with three seconds on the clock to bring the score to 24-24 as time expired.
 
FGCU was outshot 34.8 percent to 39.1 percent in the first half but outrebounded the Hatters 15-13 over the 20-minute span. FGCU recorded seven turnovers compared to the Hatters' five as the teams battled for the lead.
 
The Eagles forced a Hatter turnover on the second half's opening possession and immediately sparked an offensive run. Atwater and Knight combined for back-to-back corner 3-pointers, while forcing another Stetson turnover and forced the Hatters into a timeout just 90 seconds into the third quarter. After the breather, Knight converted two free throws and followed with a shot from the top of the arc before Gluesing scored five-straight on a traditional 3-point play and another layup. With Gluesing's layup six minutes into the half, the Eagles extended the run to 16 points and held a 40-24 advantage.
 
FGCU stopped all Hatter offensive opportunities in the first seven and a half minutes of the third quarter by forcing four early turnovers and holding Stetson to a 0-for-7 shooting performance. The Hatters cut the FGCU run with a 3-pointer with 3:40 on the clock and added two free throws late in the quarter but were unable to stop the Eagle momentum as the home team went into the final quarter with a 43-29 lead.
 
Gradinjan led the Eagles with 11 points in the third quarter as the Eagles outscored Stetson 19-5 with 14 points on six Stetson turnovers.
 
FGCU and Stetson both increased their offensive output in the final period and combined for 37 points over the 10-minute span but the Eagles maintained the double-figure lead until the final whistle and finished with a 13-point advantage.
 
With the win, the Eagles begin A-Sun play at 1-0 for the seventh-consecutive season. The team continues the conference slate next Saturday, Jan. 16 with a 4 p.m. contest against USC Upstate and welcomes the league's newest member, NJIT, to Alico Arena for a 7 p.m. tilt on Monday, Jan. 18.
 
Game Notes: Jamie Gluesing matched her season high with eight points in her first game back after missing the Hartford game with illness…with six assists, Dunson moves to second on the all-time assist list at 341 assists (complete records available here)…the Eagles are now 17-3 all-time against Stetson with six-straight wins…FGCU has won 62 straight A-Sun home games and holds a 71-1 record in A-Sun play at Alico Arena…the 93.3 percent free-throw shooting stands as the team's highest mark since a 66-50 win over UNF on Feb. 4, 2013.
 
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.
 
TICKET SALES
Season tickets for the 2015-16 season are still available. Ticket packages range from $133 for general admission to $366 for club-level seating. A complete breakdown is below. Fans can secure their season tickets by calling the FGCU Ticket Office at 239-590-7145 Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or by emailing tickets@fgcu.edu.
 
For reserved seating, membership to the Eagles Club may be required depending on priority level. The Eagles Club is the official booster organization for FGCU Athletics which provides financial support for each of the Eagles' 15 Division-I programs. For a detailed seating map and additional ticket information, visit FGCUAthletics.com/Tickets.
 
Priority 1: $266
Priority 2: $166
General Admission: $133
 
Faculty and staff members as well as alumni association members interested in season tickets receive a 20 percent discount on packages. Combination packages with the FGCU men's basketball team are also available through the Ticket Office.
 
Single-game tickets for all FGCU women's basketball games are on sale.  Fans can purchase tickets online at FGCUAthletics.com, over the phone at 239-590-7145 or in person at the Alico Arena Box Office.
 
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 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 game 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 358-71 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.4 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 six-time Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year earned his 400th career win last season in just 493 career games, two games faster than UConn's Geno Auriemma, and holds a career record of 419-98 (80.8 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.