FORT MYERS, Fla. – Backed by four double-digit scorers, the FGCU women's basketball team defeated Bethune-Cookman Friday night in the first round of the WNIT. The Eagles earned the 78-51 victory at Alico Arena to move to 29-5 on the season, while the Wildcats' run ends at 18-13.
 
With the win, the Eagles advance to the WNIT's Second Round for the fourth time in program history. The Green and Blue will host the ACC's Wake Forest Monday, Mar. 21 in a 7 p.m. tipoff at Alico Arena.
 
Bethune-Cookman won the tipoff and scored right away to hold the early advantage but the Eagles responded with a 12-2 run to claim the lead. Scoring slowed in the second quarter but the Eagles maintained control and took a 29-23 lead into the break. Whitney Knight (Winston-Salem, N.C./R.J. Reynolds High School) sparked the team to another 12-4 run to open the second half as FGCU increased the lead to 14 points by the midpoint of the third quarter. The Eagles sank 11-of-15 3-pointers in the second half to push the lead to a game-high 28-points and held the lead through the final whistle.
 
"I thought we played an excellent game," said head coach Karl Smesko. "Bethune-Cookman is probably one of the most improved teams in the nation this year and they've been playing really well lately. Other than the end of the second quarter, I thought we played great basketball."
 
Knight led all players with 21 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. The Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year added four assists, four steals and a five blocks in 33 minutes on the court. Katie Meador (Salem, Ill./Salem Community High School) scored a career-high 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field, while Haley Laughter (Asheville, N.C./Carolina Day School) and Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wisc./Cudahy High School) contributed 12 and 10 points, respectively. DyTiesha Dunson (Albany, Ga./Westover High School) dished out a career-best 12 assists on the night en route to setting FGCU's all-time record at 426 career assists.
 
As a unit, the Eagles shot 44.6 percent on the night with a 44.1 percent clip from 3-point range. FGCU limited B-CU to a 35.7 percent mark with a 2-for-11 performance from 3-point range. The Eagles were outrebounded 41-36 but held an 8-16 advantage in turnovers with a season-high 24 assists, seven blocks and seven steals.
 
After the Wildcats took a quick 4-0 lead, Meador sparked the Eagles to a 12-2 run to claim control. The Green and Blue went ahead 12-6 with back-to-back layups by Meador and never relinquished the lead. FGCU shot 42 percent in the first quarter with 10 points on turnovers and held a 22-10 advantage at the first break in the action.
 
Scoring slowed for the Eagles in the second quarter as Bethune-Cookman mounted a comeback. The Wildcats outscored FGCU 13-7 in the 10-minute span and brought the score to 29-23 at halftime.
 
Knight started the second half with a long-range shot to reclaim control for the Green and Blue and followed with a layup on the team's next possession. After allowing the visiting team to four points, Knight scored another five points to help FGCU to a 14-point lead in the first three minutes of the half. The teams traded buckets in the remaining time but the Eagles entered the final 10 minutes with a 56-41 advantage.
 
The Eagles started the final quarter with an 11-0 run with points from Stephanie Haas (Avon Lake, Ohio/Magnificat High School) and Laughter. The duo combined for three long-range shots in the first five minutes to push the score to 67-41.
 
FGCU added 3-pointers from Laughter, Meador and Sydnei McCaskill (Orlando, Fla./Dr. Phillips High School/Georgia) in the final five minutes as the Eagles outscored B-CU 22-10 in the fourth quarter and took the 27-point victory.
 
The Eagles are back in action after a quick turnaround for the second round of the 2016 WNIT. FGCU will host Wake Forest Monday night at 7 p.m. The Demon Deacons are 17-15 on the season after defeating Charlotte 72-69 in the WNIT's First Round Thursday evening. Wake Forest went 6-10 in ACC play this season and earned notable wins over LSU, La Salle, Jacksonville and Richmond in nonconference action.
 
General-admission tickets to see the Eagles take on the Deacons are just $10 and are available via FGCUTickets.com or through the FGCU Ticket Office. FGCU students with a valid Eagle ID are admitted free of charge, while students from other institutions are $5. Complete information can be found at FGCUTickets.com.
 
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 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 last season last season. 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 28 wins and counting this year, Smesko has guided the Eagles to 12-straight 20+ win seasons.  He maintains a record of 374-72 at FGCU for a win percentage of 84.0 with a mark of 145-13 (91.7 W%) in Atlantic Sun contests and has led the team to a 81-1 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 435-99 (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 raise awareness.