GREELEY Colo. – After 50 hard-fought minutes, the FGCU women's basketball team (2-2) fell in double-overtime to Northern Colorado (2-1) by a score of 77-74. The last time the Eagles faced a 2OT situation was when they dropped a 90-83 heartbreaker to Ohio State after two time extensions on Nov. 29, 2014.
 
The Green and Blue couldn't get going offensively in the first quarter, but stepped up their game in the second with a 10-3 run that allowed them to leave the court at halftime trailing by just one point. Although the Bears maintained the lead for the entire second quarter, the Eagles never fell more than seven points behind, which allowed them to tied up the game at 59-all by outscoring Northern Colorado 22-15 in the final period of regulation. From there, an all-out brawl ensued, as the teams fought for tough points through two five-minute overtime periods. With 18 seconds left in 2OT, the Bears put up a pair of layups that sealed the game in favor of UNC.
 
"We're obviously really disappointed with how the game ended," said head coach Karl Smesko. "Northern Colorado played with great intensity and hit some really big shots."
 
Despite the outcome of the game, several Eagles had notable performances. Freshman Tytionia Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman) was a force to be reckoned with in the game, leading the team with a career-high 22 points and finishing one rebound away from a double-double.
 
Fellow newcomer Erica Nelson (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee Summit North HS/Johnson County CC) also produced double digit-scores with three three-pointers and a foul shot for a total of 10 points. The 5-foot-8 guard also lead the team with a pair of blocks.
 
After collecting an astounding 17 steals earlier this week against FIU, FGCU swiped 13 against the Bears today. Seven different Eagles tallied at least one steal in the game.
 
The first quarter started out as a defensive gridlock until Northern Colorado strung together seven quick points in the final two minutes of the period. The Bears continued to run the floor, going up by as many as 12 points in the second before a three-pointer from Jessica Cattani (Muskego, Wis./Muskego HS) set off a 10-3 run for FGCU, giving the Eagles the lead at 23-22. Northern Colorado regained a 26-25 lead, but appeared to be out of rhythm when the teams took to the locker rooms for halftime. While it was a positive quarter for FGCU in terms of the scoreboard, the Green and Blue took a hit losing Haley Laughter (Asheville, N.C./Carolina Day School) to injury before the end of the half.
 
FGCU trailed throughout the early stages of the second half, but kept things close, giving themselves a chance to pull ahead in fourth quarter. Mikala McGhee (St. Louis, Mo./Pattonville HS/George Mason/Missouri State), China Dow (Louisville, Ky./Christian Academy of Louisville/Middle Tennessee State) and Adderly combined for six-straight points to put FGCU back within one. It looked like the Eagles might sneak away with a victory when Dow hit a jumper in the final 27 seconds of the quarter to give FGCU a 59-56 lead, but the Bears tied things up sneaking in a three at the buzzer to bring the game into overtime.
 
Points were hard to come by for both teams in the first overtime period. The Bears took a late 65-63 lead with a jumper from Savannah Scott, but with 21 seconds to spare, Cattani came up big with a layup under the basket to take the game into 2OT. When play resumed, the Eagles took a three-point lead, but gave the Bears too many opportunities to come back with a string of missed free throws. With 18 seconds remaining, the Bears posted back-to-back layups that put Northern Colorado up by three as time expired.
 
UP NEXT
The Eagles will have a week off before facing some of their toughest competition of the season at the Gulf Coast Showcase. The three-day event, which will include defending national runner-up Syracuse, two-time national champion Baylor and Ohio State in the eight-team field, will begin the day after Thanksgiving and run from Friday- Sunday, Nov. 25-27 at Germain Arena, just a few miles from FGCU's beach-lined campus.
 
The Eagles will open up tournament play on Friday, Nov. 25 with a 5 p.m. game against Big Ten powerhouse Ohio State, which ended the season with a #10 ranking. The men's basketball team hosts Long Beach State at Alico Arena later that night at 8 p.m.
 
SMESKO
Head coach Karl Smesko earned his sixth-consecutive ASUN 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 in 2014-15 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 380-75 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.5 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 441-102 (81.2 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.