LOUDONVILLE, N.Y.. - China Dow and Rosemarie Julien recorded double-doubles, while Taylor Gradinjan scored all 17 of her points in the second half as the FGCU women's basketball team outscored Siena 27-11 in the final quarter to produce a 63-50 win on the road Monday.

"I thought Siena was really aggressive," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "They had most of the energy and outplayed us for three quarters. Fortunately, we took it up a notch in the fourth quarter and we were able to knock down some shots."

With the win, FGCU remains undefeated at 5-0 and continues the program's second best start to a season in the Division-I era. Next up for the Eagles is a matchup against #20 DePaul on Thursday in the opening round of the Play4Kay Shootout in Las Vegas.

"The road trip continues," Smesko said. "Now we're going to be playing some great teams, some great competition out in Vegas. We're looking forward to heading out there."

Dow (Louisville, Ky./Christian Academy of Louisville), who scored 15 of the team's 24 points in the first half, finished with a season-high 20 points, a career-high 12 rebounds, a season-high three steals and two assists. She went 8-for-13 from the field and 3-for-4 from 3-point range. It was her third game this year with double digit points, and five of her rebounds came on the offensive end. On top of that, she set new season-highs for field goals made, field goals attempted and 3-point field goals made. Most importantly, Dow scored five straight points in the second half to break a 42-all tie and swing the game toward FGCU.

Meanwhile, Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wis./Cudahy HS) scored all 17 of her points in the game's final 14 plus minutes. Her first basket, a 3-pointer with 4:09 left in the third, came just after Siena had taken a 10-point lead - its largest of the game. FGCU had also not made a field goal in the quarter until that basket. In fact, the Eagles were 0-for-7 from the field up to that point.

Gradinjan later hit another 3-pointer as time expired in the quarter to pull the Eagles within three, and she was responsible for the game-tying basket on a coast-to-coast, fast-break layup just under two minutes into the fourth. Overall, she finished 4-for-10 from 3-point range and added two rebounds, two steals and an assist. She now has 955 points as she attempts to become just the ninth player in program history in the Division-I era with 1,000 career points. She already sits in third place in career 3-pointers with 226.

"China was outstanding tonight," Smesko said. "She really kept us in it for the first three quarters, and Gradinjan knocked down some big threes in the fourth quarter to give us a little bit of a cushion, but give Siena credit. They gave us all they could handle."

Julien (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Treasure Coast HS) also scored all of her points in the second half as she finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds. It was her second double-double of the season, and half of her rebounds came on the offensive glass. Her biggest basket came just after Siena had pushed its lead back to six in the opening minute of the fourth when she took a pass from Erica Nelson and buried a 3-pointer to start an 11-0 run that gave FGCU the lead for good. 

The game was Julien's third this year with at least 10 points. Her other double-double came in the win over FIU on Nov. 15. She has made at least one 3-pointer in all five games at a 40 percent clip.

Lisa Zderadicka (Vienna, Austria/HAK Korneuburg), who banked in a 3-pointer from straight on following Gradinjan's rally-starting 3-pointer in the third quarter, finished fourth on the team with eight points while adding three rebounds, a team-high four assists and a steal.

Outside of those four, Nelson (Kansas City, Mo./Lee Summit North HS) and Tytionia Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS) combined for the team's other eight points. Nelson had five points, two steals and one assist, while Adderly had three points and five rebounds.

Nasrin Ulel (Murrietta, Calif./Murrietta HS), who was held scoreless for the first time this season, contributed with three rebounds, two steals and one block. Jessica Cattani (Muskego, Wis./Muskego HS) chipped in with one rebound, one assist and one steal.

Monday's game saw FGCU score just 24 points in the first 20 minutes - its lowest output in any half this season. It was also the first time they've won a game in which they didn't score first, but it was the second game in which they won after trailing at the half.

Interestingly enough, Siena also came into Monday's game having outscored its opponents 72-50 in the final quarter before FGCU outscored them by 16 in the final 10 minutes.

FGCU is now 2-0 all-time against Siena. The Eagles won 66-42 in Fort Myers on Dec. 9 of last season. 

Siena's Kollyns Scarbrough, who came in to the game averaging 22.7 points and 10 rebounds, was held to less than half that. Although she finished 5-for-6 from the field, she fouled out with just 11 points and five rebounds. Nobody else reached double figures for Siena as FGCU held them to a 10-for-27 shooting performance in the second half, including a 2-for-11 tally from 3-point range.

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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 409-82 (.833) 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 470-109 (.812). 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.