FORT MYERS, Fla. - Nasrin Ulel poured in a career-high 17 points to lead four players in double figures as the FGCU women's basketball team routed Illinois 85-61 in its season opener at Alico Arena on Sunday.

With the win, FGCU snapped a two-game losing streak to the Big Ten and is now 4-4 all-time against the conference, including a 4-0 record in Alico Arena. The scoring output was the most an FGCU team has produced against a Big Ten opponent in program history, topping 82 points against Ohio State on Nov. 29, 2014. The Eagles, who avenged a nine-point loss to Illinois on the road last year, now have wins over Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Michigan State.

"This is definitely a good win for us," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "Illinois has a lot of good players and a lot of them are returning from last year. They're really well-coached. The defensive intensity we had early kind of set the tone for us. We had a lot of players play well. I'm happy to win. (Illinois) is a team that beat us last year with the same players."

Ulel's (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta HS) previous scoring high was 14, which came against Kent State on Nov. 27 of last season. Against Illinois, the sophomore guard shot 6-for-7 from the field, including a 4-for-5 performance from 3-point range. She added two rebounds, two assists and two steals. It was her fifth career game in double digit scoring and her first since Feb. 13 of last year against Lipscomb.

"Nas had great releases on her shots, caught it with confidence," Smesko said. "I've been saying I think Nasrin is poised for a breakout season and first game against a quality opponent, she came up big for us. I look at her like a new addition to our team because she's so much improved from a year ago, it's like getting a great transfer, but she developed here."

Early on, FGCU's defense smothered Illinois as the Eagles forced a shot clock violation on the game's opening possession en route to three straight turnovers following the tip. Behind a Taylor Gradinjan 3-pointer and four straight points from Erica Nelson (Kansas City, Mo./Lee Summit North HS), the FGCU offense then opened up a 9-2 lead.

Illinois rebounded with a 10-2 run, which gave the Fighting Illini its only lead of the game with 2:23 left in the opening quarter. Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wis./Cudahy HS) responded with her second 3-pointer of the quarter on a dish from Lisa Zderadicka (Vienna, Austria/HAK Korneuburg), and Ulel followed with one of her own to help the Eagles take a 17-13 lead through one quarter.

Following that, the flood gates opened as FGCU shot 5-for-8 from 3-point range in the second quarter. Initially, Illinois pulled within two just one minute into the quarter, but Ulel buried a 3-pointer and then found Gradinjan for a layup. Tytionia Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS), who finished with seven points and game-highs in rebounds (9) and steals (3), continued the run with a layup. Ulel added another 3-pointer, and China Dow (Louisville, Ky./Christian Academy of Louisville) converted a shot in the paint to complete a 12-2 run over a two-minute stretch.

Later, another 3-pointer from Ulel and a pair of free throws from Dow with just under two seconds left gave FGCU a 42-25 lead at the break. In the first half, FGCU shot 15-for-30 from the field, including an 8-for-17 performance from 3-point range.

Ulel kept momentum on FGCU's side with a layup to open the second half. Rosemarie Julien (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Treasure Coast HS) and Gradinjan then combined for a trio of 3-pointers that gave the Eagles a 54-33 lead midway through the third quarter. 

After Illinois mounted a rally and pulled within 12, Ulel came through once again with an old-fashioned 3-point play, which started a 13-0 run - capped by a Jessica Cattani (Muskego, Wis./Muskego HS) layup at the buzzer that gave FGCU a 67-42 lead.

Dow's layup with 6:51 left in the fourth gave FGCU its largest lead at 75-45 as the Eagles cruised to its third largest margin of victory in a season opener in the Division I era. 

In addition to Ulel's 17 points, Gradinjan finished with 14 points behind a 4-for-10 performance from 3-point range. Julien added 13 points with a 3-for-3 finish from long distance, and Dow chipped in 11. In addition to Adderly's three steals, Gradinjan and Nelson each added two.

In fact, with Sunday's performance, Gradinjan eclipsed 900 career points. The sixth-year senior now has 908 and is 92 points away from becoming just the ninth player in the Division-I era to reach 1,000 career points. On top of that, she now has 215 career 3-pointers, which puts her five away from moving past Shannon Murphy (2007-11) for third most in the Division-I era.

Zderadicka added a game-high five assists along with five points in her FGCU debut after transferring from Houston Baptist. Chandler Ryan (Groveland, Ill./Morton HS) had some fun late as the sophomore, who sat out last year due to injury, scored six points in four minutes - including a four-point play.

Two others who contributed in the stat sheet included Liberty Brown (Forney, Texas/Dallas Bryan Adams HS) and Alyssa Blair (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie HS), who had one point and two rebounds, respectively. 

Overall, FGCU shot 13-for-32 (40.6 percent) from 3-point range and 16-for-21 (76.2 percent) from the foul line. They also scored 30 points in the paint, produced 24 points off turnovers and tallied 17 second chance points.

NOTES
- FGCU is now 12-4 all-time in season-openers, including an 8-3 record in the Division-I era. They've won six straight season openers at Alico Arena.
- FGCU now has 14 wins over schools from Power-5 schools, including Wake Forest (2016), Clemson (2014), Virginia Tech (2010, 2011, 2012), Michigan (2016), Michigan State (2011), Indiana (2010), Illinois (2017), Oklahoma State (2015), Auburn (2015), LSU (2012), Florida (2008) and Arizona (2015).
- The Eagles are now 9-3 against Power-5 schools at home.
- Prior to the game, the FGCU women's basketball team unveiled its new banner for winning the 2016-17 ASUN tournament championship and another for its NCAA Tournament appearance. 

FOLLOW ALONG
For up-to-the-minute information and behind-the-scenes access to the women's basketball program, follow @FGCU_WBB on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook at /FGCUWBB.

COACH SMESKO
FGCU head coach Karl Smesko rallied the 2016-17 Eagles to their seventh-straight 25-win campaign, which culminated in the team's fourth NCAA tournament appearance in six seasons of eligibility. The seven-time ASUN Coach of the Year was named the espnW Mid-Major Coach of the Year in 2015-16 following a run that witnessed the Eagles finish a best-ever 33-6. Over a five-year stretch starting in 2011-12, FGCU racked up four ASUN seasons with a perfect record and capped the run with back-to-back 30 plus win seasons. In 2014-15, the team earned its first top-25 ranking and another NCAA Tournament trip as a seven seed, where FGCU won its first ever NCAA Division I Tournament game against No. 10 Oklahoma State. With 26 wins in 2016-17, Smesko has guided the Eagles to 13-straight 20-win seasons.  He maintains a record of 405-82 (.832) at FGCU, including a 160-15 (.914) mark in ASUN play. Over the past six seasons, he has guided FGCU to a 93-3 (.969) record in conference play. Smesko earned his 400th career coaching win in 2014-15 in just 493 career games, two games faster than UConn's Geno Auriemma. He holds a career head coaching record of 466-109 (.810). 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.

IRMA RELIEF DONATIONS
In the wake of Hurricane Irma, many individuals and families throughout Southwest Florida are still in desperate need of assistance. To aid in those relief efforts, FGCU Athletics will be collecting donations at all Eagle home games for the immediate future. Donation items most needed include: non-perishable food, clothing, household items and first-aid supplies. Additionally, those unable to attend upcoming home games can drop off donations in canisters located in the Alico Arena lobby. All donations will be given to those hardest hit in Lee and Collier counties.