HAMDEN, Conn. – The FGCU women's basketball team suffered a 66-56 defeat at the hands of Quinnipiac in its 2016-17 season opener. With the loss, the Eagles will begin their season 0-1 as the Bobcats start out 1-0. FGCU is now 11-4 all-time in season openers and will be looking for a chance to rebound on Sunday when they face Hartford.
 
"I think there's a lot we can learn from this game. The things that we've talked about in practice that we didn't do a good job of correcting now are really costing us now. I think each day you have a chance to improve and learn from your mistakes, and that's what I'll be asking of the team – just that we learn from the mistakes and we get better and eventually get to the point where we're playing the way we want to play."
 
The game, which featured seven lead changes and five ties, remained tight through the first 20 minutes. FGCU walked into the locker room up 27-26 at halftime, but was outscored 29-40 in the second half, which culminated in a Bobcats victory.
 
New additions Rosemarie Julien (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Treasure Coast HS/Chipola College) and Erica Nelson (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee Summit North HS/Johnson County CC) came up big in the game with double-digit points. Julien led the team with 16, while Erica and redshirt junior Haley Laughter (Asheville, N.C./Carolina Day School) each followed closely behind with 11.
 
The team's lone starting returner, Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wis./Cudahy HS) and transfer China Dow (Louisville, Ky./Christian Academy of Louisville/Middle Tennessee State) each pulled down a team-high six rebounds accounting for half of the Eagles' total.
 
Julien put up the first points of the game on a layup, assisted by Tytionia Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman). The Eagles pulled ahead 9-6 before Quinnipiac took control with a seven-point run.
 
In the second quarter, a three-pointer from redshirt junior Jessica Cattani (Muskego, Wis./Muskego HS) set off a seven-point streak that allowed FGCU to reclaim the advantage at 17-16. The Eagles continued to run the floor with points from Nelson and redshirt sophomore Tayler Goodall (Columbus, Ind./Columbus HS), jumping out to the team's largest lead of the night at 25-21. The Bobcats fought back, cutting their deficit to one before the teams hit the locker room with FGCU leading 27-26.
 
Quinnipiac took the court reenergized in the third, outscoring FGCU 20-to-9. Laughter started off the fourth throwing down a three to cut the Bobcats lead to seven. As the quarter went on, the Eagles came within five before the Bobcats scored 10 of the next 15 points to end the game at 66-56.
 
UP NEXT
The Eagles will have a chance to return home with a win, as they face Hartford on Sunday, Nov. 13 to cap off their first road trip of the season. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. Last season FGCU downed the Hawks 64-44 in the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
 
SMESKO
Head coach Karl Smesko earned his sixth-consecutive Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year award with a successful 2015-16 campaign and was named the espnW Mid-Major Coach of the Year. Under his direction, the team has compiled two-straight 30-win seasons with four perfect ASUN regular-season slates in the last five years. The team earned its first top-25 ranking and a third NCAA Tournament appearance as a seven seed last season where FGCU won its first ever DI NCAA Tournament game against No. 10 Oklahoma State. With 30 wins and counting this year, Smesko has guided the Eagles to 12-straight 20+ win seasons.  He maintains a record of 378-73 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.8 with a mark of 145-13 (91.7 W%) in ASUN contests and has led the team to a 81-1 record in conference play in the last five seasons.  The six-time ASUN 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 439-100 (81.5 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.