FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's basketball team earned its 13th-straight victory Saturday afternoon at Alico Arena with a 75-50 win over the University of North Florida. With the win, the Eagles stay perfect in Atlantic Sun Conference play with an 8-0 record and improve to 20-4 on the season, while the Ospreys fall to 6-17 and 2-6 in league play.
 
The Green and Blue used its signature long-range shot to take control early in the game and went up 24-8 after just one quarter. The Eagle defense stifled UNF's offensive advances in the first half and never relinquished a double-figure lead. The Ospreys fought back with a 12-2 run in the fourth quarter but the Eagles fended off the attack and held on for a 25-point victory for its 67th-straight A-Sun win in front of the home crowd.
 
"I thought we played really well early on," said head coach Karl Smesko. "We moved the ball well, got it to open players and in the first quarter especially, we played well at both ends of the floor. That got us to a comfortable lead, but I give North Florida a lot of credit. They executed at a really high level, especially in the second half."
 
FGCU shot 45.3 percent on the day, just above the Osprey's 42.9 percent clip. The Eagles knocked down 14 shots from 3-point range at a success rate of 36.8 percent, while the visiting team made six long-range shots and shot 50 percent from distance. The Eagles outrebounded the Ospreys 35-31 and forced 19 turnovers, while recording just seven miscues themselves. Through the 40-minute contest, the Green and Blue scored 23 points on UNF turnovers and added 18 points on second-chance opportunities with 30 points in the paint.
 
Whitney Knight (Winston-Salem, N.C./R.J. Reynolds High School) led the team with 13 points. Knight added five rebounds, two blocks and three steals for another all-around effort. Stephanie Haas (Avon Lake, Ohio/Magnificat High School) and Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wisc./Cudahy High School) also contributed double figures for FGCU with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Haas went 4-for-6 from the paint and added a long-range shot with three assists in 19 minutes on the court. Gradinjan matched Knight with three 3-pointers to help FGCU to 14 long-range makes. Kaneisha Atwater (Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce-Westwood High School/VCU) pulled down a team-best six rebounds for FGCU and added nine points.
 
In all, FGCU saw 10 different scorers with eight players making at least one shot from beyond-the-arc. The team also saw nine different players record at least one rebound and eight players with an assist.
 
The Eagles used long-range shooting to take a heavy lead right out of the gates as Gradinjan and Knight combined for three-straight buckets to give FGCU a 9-0 advantage and force UNF into a timeout four minutes in. After trading empty possessions, Gradinjan drove baseline for a layup to increase the advantage to 11-0 and give FGCU control of the afternoon contest. The Ospreys cut the Eagle run with a layup before Gradinjan and Haas scored five-straight for the Green and Blue. The teams traded baskets with a quicker pace in the final two minutes of the first quarter, but after 10 minutes of play, the Eagles held a 24-8 advantage with six 3-pointers.
 
The Ospreys started the second quarter with five-straight points but FGCU responded to keep the lead in double figures. Both team's scoring slowed in the second stanza but baskets from Haley Laughter (Asheville, N.C./Carolina Country Day School) and Atwater helped FGCU keep control. DyTiesha Dunson (Albany, Ga./Westover High School) knocked down a long-range shot at the buzzer to bring the score to 37-20 at the break.
 
The Eagles shot over 50 percent in the third quarter and forced another five UNF turnovers to extend the lead to 25 points. The Green and Blue saw a well-rounded effort with good ball movement as seven different players scored in the third stanza.
 
With 10 minutes remaining, the Ospreys created an offensive surge. UNF compiled a nine-point run out of the break and pulled within 15 points midway through the fourth quarter. The Eagles responded quickly to the threat with a nine-point run of their own that included points from Dunson, Jaime Gluesing (Solon, Ohio/Solon High School), Haas and Atwater. The home team added buckets from Tayler Goodall (Columbus, Ind./Columbus North High School) and Sydnei McCaskill (Orlando, Fla./Dr. Phillips High School/Georgia) in the final minutes to cruise to a 25-point win at home.
 
With the win, the Eagles record their 12th-straight 20-win season, all under Smesko. The team has won at least 20 games in all but one season in program history with three 30-win campaigns.
 
FGCU will play three-straight road games in the next nine days as the Atlantic Sun Conference slate continues. The Eagles travel to Jacksonville Wednesday, Feb. 10 for a 7 p.m. matchup with Jacksonville University. The teams faced off Thursday in a battle for first place, which saw the Eagles earn a 58-39 victory. The Dolphins fell to Stetson 66-61 Saturday afternoon and now stand at 6-2 in conference play. The Eagles will travel to NJIT and USC Upstate over the weekend before returning to Alico Arena on Saturday, Feb. 20.
 
Game Notes: FGCU won its 13th-straight game of the season and is undefeated in A-Sun action since Feb. 1, 2014…the team picked up its 67th-straight win at Alico Arena against an A-Sun foe…the team is now 17-2 all-time against UNF with 13-straight wins…with two blocks against UNF, Whitney Knight maintains the second position all-time in the Atlantic Sun Conference record books at 276 career blocks…DyTiesha Dunson ranks second all-time in the FGCU record books with 378 career assists (complete records available here).
 
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
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 365-71 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.7 with a mark of 139-13 (91.4 W%) in Atlantic Sun contests and has led the team to a 73-1 record in conference play in the last five 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 426-98 (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.