Box Score ESTERO, Fla. – After a hard-fought battle, the FGCU women's basketball team fell 79-66 to Big Ten competitor Ohio State in its first game of the Gulf Coast Showcase. With the loss, the Eagles move to 2-3 on the season while the Buckeyes climb to 4-1.
 
"I have some mixed emotions right now," said head coach Karl Smesko. I'm disappointed because we didn't work together as well as we probably should've, but then at the same time, I thought we did some things well. We're moving in a positive direction."
 
While the Eagles finished the game on the wrong side of the scoreboard, FGCU was able to force 11 Ohio State turnovers, while committing just six of their own. The Green and Blue took advantage of the opportunities they created, scoring 11 points off turnovers compared to the Buckeyes two.
 
As a unit, FGCU threw down 12 three-pointers and saw seven different Eagles knock one down from behind the arc.
 
The team's lone returning starter Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wis./Cudahy HS) finished the game with a team-high 13 points. Matching Gradinjan was freshman Nasrin Ulel (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta HS), who entered the game in the third quarter for the first meaningful minutes of her collegiate career. Ulel racked up 13 points of her own in just 12 minutes of action, draining three three-pointers and going 4-for-4 from the foul-line.
 
Rosemarie Julien (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Treasure Coast HS/Chipola College) added nine points for FGCU, including 4-of-4 free throws. The FGCU transfer is now a perfect 15-for-15 on the season from the charity line.
 
Things remained tight through the first half of the game. The Eagles held Ohio State's most potent offensive weapon, Kelsey Mitchell to just eight points in the first two quarters. The Buckeyes managed a 41.9 percent clip from the floor, but knocked down just 2-of-11 from the perimeter, while FGCU drained five threes in the first half.
 
After six lead changes, Ohio State clawed their way to a four-point advantage with 1:28 left in the second quarter, but it was the Eagles who captured the final score of the half when Mikala McGhee (St. Louis, Mo./Pattonville HS/George Mason/Missouri State) converted a steal by China Dow (Louisville, Ky./Christian Academy of Louisville/Middle Tennessee State) into three points for FGCU. The teams hit the locker rooms at the end of the half with the Buckeyes leading 36-35.
 
Ohio State recaptured momentum, starting the second half with an 11-2 run. Things continued to slide for FGCU after an injury to Gradinjan left the Eagles' sharpshooter visibly shaken. Ulel subbed in and provided a boost off the bench draining three threes in just under two minutes. Gradinjan was able to return, but not before FGCU fell behind by six.
 
Unlike the earlier, Mitchell couldn't be contained in the game's final 20 minutes. The Ohio State junior more than doubled her first half score with 19 points in the second half. The Eagles continued to fight, but struggled with their shooting as they fell behind. FGCU shot just 28.1 percent from the floor in the second half before time ran out.
 
UP NEXT
The Green and Blue will have another chance to snag a win at Germain Arena when they face George Washington on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 1:30 p.m. for day two of the Gulf Coast Showcase.
 
GULF COAST SHOWCASE RESULTS: DAY 1
Baylor 84, Kent State 42
DePaul 77, WKU 69
Ohio State 79, FGCU 66
Syracuse 74, GW 71
 
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 380-76 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.3 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 441-103 (81.1 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.