ESTERO, Fla. – After a shaky first half, the FGCU women's basketball team was unable to overcome a 22-point deficit and fell 77-64 to Kent State in its final game of the Gulf Coast Showcase at Germain Arena. The Eagles end the weekend with a record of 2-5, while Kent State heads back to Ohio at 3-4.
"We need more consistent performances," said head coach
Karl Smesko. "Hopefully we'll learn from it and make fewer mistakes next time. We're disappointed in our play, but we understood there would be some growing pains. Right now it just seems like they're at a maximum."
The Green and Blue went just 8-of-30 from the floor in the first two quarters, but elevated their play in the second half with a 45.2 percent clip. As a team, the Eagles totaled 26 points in the fourth quarter – the most they've scored in a single quarter through the entire tournament. Unfortunately, FGCU wasn't able to get enough stops to put the game back within reach, which squandered its chances of a comeback.
Despite the loss, four Eagles reached double-digit points today.
Jessica Cattani (Muskego, Wis./Muskego HS) led the pack with a career-high 15, while
Nasrin Ulel (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta HS), Rosemarie Julien (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Treasure Coast HS/Chipola College) and
China Dow (Louisville, Ky./Christian Academy of Louisville/Middle Tennessee State) collected 14, 13 and 10 respectively. 42 of the Eagle's 64 points came off the bench.
After committing 20 turnovers yesterday against George Washington, FGCU finished with just 11 today. The Eagles forced nine from the Golden Flashes, including seven steals and captured 15 points off turnovers.
Mikala McGhee (St. Louis, Mo./Pattonville HS/George Mason/Missouri State) pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, but as a unit, FGCU finished with just 26 boards compared to Kent State's 47. The Eagles gave up 14 offensive rebounds, allowing the Golden Flashes to collect 18 second-chance points.
FGCU was first on the board in the game with a three-pointer from Gradinjan, but wasn't able to maintain its lead after back-to-back triples from Kent State's Naddiyah Cross and Jordan Korinek. The Eagles continued to slide through the first and second quarters, trailing by as many as 19.
Kent State increased its lead to a game-high 22 near the middle of the third quarter, but FGCU responded with five-straight points from Julien and Cattani. The run gave the Eagles a spark that carried into the fourth quarter. The Green and Blue knocked down three threes in the first two and a half minutes of the fourth to cut the Golden Flashes lead to 12. FGCU came within nine after a triple from Ulel, but with only 1:13 left to play, the Eagles fell short before they had a real shot at a comeback.
UP NEXT
The Eagles return to the comfort of the Nest on Sunday, Dec. 4 for a 1 p.m. game against local foe Ave Maria. Tickets can be purchased online at FGCUTickets.com or by calling the FGCU Ticket Office at 239-590-7145.
GULF COAST SHOWCASE DAY 3
Kent State 77, FGCU 64
GW 64, WKU 49
Syracuse vs. DePaul 5:00 PM
Baylor vs. Ohio State 7:30 PM
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 380-78 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.0 with a mark of 145-13 (91.7 W%) in ASUN contests and has led the team to an 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 441-105 (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.
