KENNESAW, Ga. – Thanks to an outstanding second half performance, the FGCU women's basketball team (14-6, 3-0 ASUN) garnered its eighth-straight win with a 75-56 victory over KSU (2-15, 1-2 ASUN).
 
After ending the first half knotted up with the Owls at 30, FGCU went on an impressive 22-7 run in the third quarter to secure the win. The second half of games have been particularly productive for the Eagles in conference play this season, as they've averaged 37.7 points in the first half compared to 45.3 in the second.  
 
"We went on a nice run in the third quarter," said head coach Karl Smesko. "We defended better and rebounded better in the third quarter, and that helped us get out in transition and get a couple of baskets that took us from a tied game to a 10-point lead."
 
"I give them a lot of credit, In that first half especially, they were very aggressive. They were competing for every ball and they were beating us to a lot of those balls. I thought in the second half we did a better job competing for things and it led to some transition buckets for us."
 
True freshman Tytionia Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman) gave her best performance as an Eagle thus far, posting FGCU's first double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Adderly also added three assists and two steals in the contest.
 
"I thought Tytionia was outstanding," Smesko said. "I thought she provided the toughness for us inside. She did a tremendous job on the boards and then she found some opportunities to contribute scoring-wise. That was definitely the bright spot for me, seeing how well she played today."
 
Rosemarie Julien (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Treasure Coast HS/Chipola College), who was named ASUN Newcomer of the Week today for the third time, tied with Haley Laughter (Asheville, N.C./Carolina Day School) for a team-leading 13 points. The winner of four ASUN weekly awards this season, Julien contributed defensively with a career-high six boards and two steals.
 
Erica Nelson (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee Summit North HS/Johnson County CC) also reached double-figure points with 11 on the afternoon, while Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wis./Cudahy HS) contributed 9 points by draining three triples.
 
The Eagles started the game on a 5-0 run before KSU got on the board with a layup. After five straight scores from Kennesaw State, China Dow (Louisville, Ky./Christian Academy of Louisville/Middle Tennessee State) knocked down the Eagles first three-pointer of the afternoon, giving FGCU an 8-5 lead. With four minutes to play in the quarter, the Owls took their first lead of the game with an 8-2 run. Laughter tied things up at 13 with a three, but four Eagles turnovers in the last three minutes of the period allowed KSU to take a 20-13 advantage as the quarter came to a close.
 
FGCU came strong out of the gate in the second quarter, scoring nine straight points to recapture the lead at 22-20 on a layup from Adderly. The teams swap scores, tying it up four more times before the quarter comes to a close with FGCU and KSU knotted up at 30.
 
KSU converted three freebies to start off the second half after an early foul by Nelson. From there, FGCU went on a 19-1 tear highlighted by threes from Gradinjan and Nelson. The Eagles only allowed three more Kennesaw State points in the quarter, giving themselves a comfortable 15-point lead heading into the fourth.
 
Kennesaw State and FGCU traded three pointers at the start of the fourth quarter. A layup plus one from Adderly sparked an eight-point run that gave the Eagles their largest lead of the day at 63-42. The Owls continued to battle, capturing nine points broken up by a Laughter three-pointer. FGCU took six of the next 11 points as time expired, solidifying a 19-point victory.
 
The Eagles have now won 40-straight regular season ASUN contests, with their last loss taking place on Feb. 1, 2014 against Northern Kentucky. As it stands, FGCU is just four wins away from tying its all-time record of 44 consecutive conference victories.
 
UP NEXT
FGCU will return to the Nest next weekend for contests against NJIT and USC Upstate. The Eagles face the Highlanders on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 4 p.m. as part of a double header with men's basketball, before squaring off with the Spartans on Monday, Jan. 23 at 7 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 393-79 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.2 with a mark of 148-13 (91.9 W%) in ASUN contests and has led the team to an 84-1 (98.8) record in conference play in the last five seasons.  The six-time ASUN Coach of the Year earned his 400th career win in 2014-15 in just 493 career games, two games faster than UConn's Geno Auriemma, and holds a career record of 454-106 (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 raise awareness.