AKRON, Ohio - In a battle of undefeated teams, the FGCU women's basketball team took down Kent State 80-62 in the opener of the Akron Classic on Friday behind a hot-shooting first half and gritty defense. In doing so, the Eagles have started the season 3-0 for the first time since 2013-14.

Should FGCU defeat host-school Akron (1-1) on Saturday at 2:30 p.m., the Eagles would own the second best start to a season in the Division-I era behind the 2010-11 team's 14-0 start. Kent State, which won the MAC East Division title last year and was picked to finish second this year, fell to 2-1.

"We really shared the ball well in the first half," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "But, we're going to have to do a better job limiting our fouls."

In the opening half, FGCU shot 20-for-35 (57.1 percent) from the field, including a 9-for-18 performance from 3-point range as well as a 6-for-8 foul line finish. Defensively, the Eagles forced five straight turnovers to start the game on a drawn charge from Rosemarie Julien, a 5-second call, an illegal screen and two bad passes.

In all, FGCU drew five charges in the game. China Dow led the way with two, while Julien (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Treasure Coast HS), Lisa Zderadicka and Tytionia Adderly drew one apiece.

Following the first 20 minutes, FGCU racked up 17 fouls in the second half as Nasrin Ulel, Zderadicka (Vienna, Austria/HAK Korneuburg) and Erica Nelson each fouled out. On top of that, the Eagles started the half 0-for-10 from the field before finishing 9-for-27 overall and 3-for-13 from 3-point range in the half.

All three of those players, however, were large reasons FGCU won.

Ulel (Murrietta, Calif./Murrietta HS) produced 18 points, three assists and three rebounds while shooting 7-for-15 from the field (4-for-9 from 3-point range). She is now averaging a team-high 21 points per contest to open the season on 23-for-37 (62.2 percent) shooting, including a 14-for-23 (.609) start from 3-point range.

Zderadicka, a graduate transfer who led Houston Baptist in scoring last year, had her best game in an FGCU uniform by finishing with 13 points, four rebounds and two assists. She went 5-for-7 from the field and buried her first 3-pointer of the season.

Nelson (Kansas City, Mo./Lee Summit North HS) tied her season-high in scoring with nine points while adding three assists. She's now averaging four assists to start the season.

In addition to those three, Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS) continued to be a force in the paint. The sophomore finished with nine points, 10 rebounds, five steals and two assists. It was her second straight game with double digit rebounds, and she tied her career-high for steals.

Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wis./Cudahy HS) also reached double figures in scoring. The sixth-year senior finished with 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting, and she added two rebounds, one assist and one steal. She now has 922 career points, which is the 9th most in program history in the Division-I level. On top of that, her 218 3-pointers is one shy of tying Shannon Murphy (2007-11) for third most in the Division-I era.

Others to contribute offensively were Jessica Cattani, China Dow and Julien.

Cattani (Muskego, Wis./Muskego HS) buried three first-half 3-pointers to finish with nine points while Dow (Louisville, Ky./Christian Academy of Louisville) had seven points, four rebounds, three assists and one steal. Her rebound and assist totals tied her season-highs. Julien, who struggled with foul trouble all game, had five second-half points.

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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 407-82 (.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 468-109 (.811). 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.