FORT MYERS, Fla. - Rosemarie Julien and Jessica Cattani combined for 36 points, while Taylor Gradinjan and Lisa Zderadicka made two key plays late to help the FGCU women's basketball team defeat Harvard 65-56 in the Hilton Garden Inn Classic at Alico Arena on Wednesday.
With the outcome, FGCU is now 11-3 overall this year entering Thursday's 7 p.m. matchup with SIU Edwardsville (3-7), who fell 59-58 to Akron in the opener on Wednesday. Harvard is now 5-5 overall.
"This was a really competitive game," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "I give Harvard credit. They pounded us on the boards. They just wouldn't go away. Anytime we got a lead they came right back at us."
With FGCU down 52-48 with 4:24 left, Julien (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Treasure Coast HS) converted a layup, and then Cattani (Muskego, Wis./Muskego HS) drained her career-high tying fourth 3-pointer to put the Eagles up one.
The teams then traded points with Zderadicka (Vienna, Austria/HAK Korneuburg) finishing a fast break layup to give FGCU a 57-56 lead with 1:37 left. On the ensuing possession, a loose ball was ruled out of bounds off the Eagles. After an official review, the call was reversed.
Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wis./Cudahy HS) took advantage by drilling a 3-pointer from the left wing with 58 seconds left for a four point lead. On the next possession, Zderadicka swiped a pass and converted another fast break layup to push the lead to six.
Zderadicka and Julien then made three of four from the foul line in the final 30 seconds to finish off the win.
"It all came down to plays in the last minute essentially," Smesko said. "Gradinjan hits a big three. Lisa makes a big steal and gets a layup, and Rose and Lisa were able to knock down the foul shots to make the game look like it wasn't as close as it really was."
Julien, who uncharacteristically had just three points in the team's loss to Chattanooga on Sunday, bounced back by finishing with a game-high 22 points, six rebounds, three assists and one block. She finished 8-for-12 from the field and tallied her fifth game of 20 or more points this season.
Cattani, meanwhile, continued her offensive surge. The redshirt senior recorded 14 points, two rebounds, two steals and a block. It was her third consecutive game with double figures after five straight games without scoring, and it marks the first time in her career she has scored 10 or more in three straight. She is averaging 15.7 points during that stretch and shooting 10-for-18 from 3-point range.
Prior to her critical 3-pointer, Gradinjan was 1-for-10 from 3-point range. She finished with six points, two rebounds and one assist. Defensively, though, she played a key role in guarding Harvard's size advantage in the post after the departure of Tytionia Adderly after just a few minutes.
Gradinjan's initial 3-pointer, which came with 8:33 left in the third quarter, gave the Eagles their second 10-point lead of the game. Harvard, though, went on a 9-0 run and eventually took a 42-40 lead with 48 seconds left in the quarter. A 3-pointer from China Dow, though, gave FGCU a one-point lead heading to the fourth.
Zderadicka scored seven of her eight points late while adding three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Erica Nelson (Kansas City, Mo./Lee Summit North HS) contributed five points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal. Nasrin Ulel (Murrietta, Calif./Murrietta HS) added three points, four rebounds, three assists and a season-high three steals.
Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS) entered the game having produced a career-high four straight double-digit rebounding efforts. She tallied two points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal in just three minutes before departing due to illness. Without her, the Eagles were outrebounded 56-33 and outscored 36-22 in the paint.
One player who helped out in Adderly's absence, despite battling injuries herself, was Dow (Louisville, Ky./Christian Academy of Louisville), who had five points, a team-high nine rebounds, a team-high four assists and two steals.
Notes
Wednesday's game marked the 500th in program history. FGCU is now 415-85 (.830).
Despite shooting just 26 percent from 3-point range, FGCU finished 10-for-38 to record its 10th game with double digit makes from long range this year.
With just 10 turnovers, the Eagles also tied its second best game in that category this year. They also forced 20 turnovers by Harvard, which led to a 15-5 advantage in points going the other way. FGCU's bench also outscored Harvard 27-11.
With Wednesday's victory, FGCU is now 5-3 against teams that made either the NCAA Tournament or WNIT last year. Next up in that group is South Dakota State, the nation's No. 2 ranked mid-major team according to CollegeInsider.com, on Dec. 29. The Eagles are No. 3 in that poll.
Thursday's game against SIU Edwardsville will mark the second of seven consecutive home games for FGCU.
Gradinjan, who eclipsed 250 career 3-pointer (251) on Wednesday, also moved past Katie Meador (422, 2012-16) for seventh most rebounds in program history. She now has 424. She also passed Kaneisha Atwater (3,160, 2013-16) for the eighth most minutes in program history.
FGCU is now 3-0 all-time against Harvard. The other wins came on Jan. 2, 2015 (68-58) and Dec. 5, 2015 (74-65). It was the second win in Alico Arena.
FOLLOW ALONG
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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 415-85 (.830) 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 476-112 (.809). 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.
