FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's basketball team won its fifth-straight on Monday night in its final non-conference contest of the season, by taking down Savannah State 89-40. With the victory, the Eagles begin league play with a record of 11-6 and remain a perfect 9-0 at home, while the Tigers slide to 2-10.
 
The Green and Blue shot .508 from the floor, topping the .500 mark for the second time this year. With 13 three-pointers and 10 steals on the night, FGCU now has 10 games with double-figure treys and eight with double-figure steals. Defensively, the Eagles forced more than 20 turnovers for the seventh time this season.
 
"I was really pleased with how we came out in the first quarter," said head coach Karl Smesko. "We had good intensity, made some plays and moved the ball. The second quarter was a little shaky, but we came out in the third quarter and really took control of the game. I thought Erica (Nelson) played a really good game today. Nas (Ulel) came off the bench and gave us some really good minutes, and Jordin (Alexander) has been playing better every game, getting into her rhythm and getting comfortable with what we do. When I look at the stats sheet, everybody who played scored a basket, everybody got a rebound, so everybody is contributing in different areas. That's what we've been looking for."
 
Putting points on the board was definitely a team effort for FGCU tonight, as three Eagles reached double-digit scores and 10 Eagles put up at least five points. Nelson (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee Summit North HS/Johnson County CC) led the pack with 12 points, including 5-of-6 makes from the floor. Jessica Cattani (Muskego, Wis./Muskego HS) and Ulel (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta HS) trailed closely behind with 11 points each.
 
Mikala McGhee (St. Louis, Mo./Pattonville HS/George Mason/Missouri State) tied her career-high with nine points and added five rebounds, while Tytionia Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman) secured a team-high 10 boards and finished just three points shy of her first double-double.
 
The first quarter set the pace for what was about to be a long night for Savannah State. The teams split the first 12 points of the game until a three-pointer from Cattani began a 13-0 run for FGCU. The Tigers scraped for four more points before the end of the quarter, while FGCU scored seven, highlighted by a fast-break from Rosemarie Julien (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Treasure Coast HS/Chipola College) where she was fouled for a three-point play.
 
In the second quarter, FGCU increased its 15-point lead to 19 before hitting a slump. The Eagles scored just 14 points compared to 25 in the first, but managed to hold Savannah State to just 11 by taking away opportunities with offensive rebounds. The teams ended the half with FGCU leading 39-21.
 
The third quarter belonged to FGCU as the Green and Blue went on a 20-4 run that featured eight points from Nelson and threes from Cattani, Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wis./Cudahy HS) and Haley Laughter (Asheville, N.C./Carolina Day School). The Tigers were held to just six points as the Eagles finished the quarter with baskets from McGhee, Adderly and Ulel to take a 40-point lead.
 
Savannah State cut the gap to 36 in the fourth quarter before back-to-back triples for Ulel and Tayler Goodall (Columbus, Ind./Columbus HS) shifted momentum back in favor of the Eagles. As the clock wound down, McGhee and Sydnei McCaskill (Orlando, Fla./Dr. Phillips) added threes of their own, giving eight Eagles a three pointer and all 12 a basket in the 89-40 win.
 
UP NEXT
The Green and Blue begin ASUN play at the end of the week with a 1 PM contest against Stetson on Saturday, Jan. 7.
 
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 390-79 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.1 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 in 2014-15 in just 493 career games, two games faster than UConn's Geno Auriemma, and holds a career record of 451-106 (80.9 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.