FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's basketball team (19-7, 8-1 ASUN) ran away with a 69-46 victory over North Florida (8-16, 1-8 ASUN) after outscoring the Ospreys 29-9 in the third quarter with .750 shooting percentage. With the win, FGCU remains a perfect 13-0 at home this season.
 
The Eagles have not fallen in a regular-season ASUN game at Alico Arena since Jan. 8, 2009. That's 74-straight conference wins at home over a span of seven-plus years.
 
"I thought the start of the third quarter was excellent," said head coach Karl Smesko. "We struggled shooting the ball in the first half. At the start of the second half, we hit three-straight shots and had a little 8-0 run. They called a timeout, but we were able to keep it going in the third quarter and separate from North Florida. I thought we gave a good defensive effort in the first three quarters. Even when we weren't shooting the ball well, we were able to hold onto a lead because we were forcing turnovers and limiting their shots."
 
Despite leaving the game early with an injury, Rosemarie Julien (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Treasure Coast HS/Chipola College) led the Eagles offense with 13 points, including a pair of triples. She's scored at least one long-range shot in her last four games.
 
Jordin Alexander (Fisher, Ind./ Hamilton Southeastern HS/Brown) had another outstanding defensive game, tying a career high with five steals. Alexander now combines for 10 steals in the last two games. The Indiana-native added 10 points offensively.
 
China Dow (Louisville, Ky./Christian Academy of Louisville/Middle Tennessee State) and Tytionia Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman) also caused problems for the Ospreys' shooters. The duo combined for seven steals and 10 rebounds on the night. In total, the Eagles forced 26 UNF turnovers, which includes 19 steals.
 
In the absence of starting guard Erica Nelson (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee Summit North HS/Johnson County CC), Jessica Cattani (Muskego, Wis./Muskego HS) saw increased playing time and took advantage of it, shooting 4-of-8 from the field for 10 points.
 
The Eagles struggled with their shots throughout the first half, going just 10-of-29 from the floor and 2-of-15 from three. Despite a .345 shooting percentage, FGCU battled its way to a 26-19 lead before intermission with its signature shutdown defense.
 
When play resumed, the Eagles offense took off, turning a seven-point lead into a 21-point lead with 14-straight points in the first four minutes of the quarter. FGCU scored six three-pointers from five different players in the quarter, including three-straight triples from Cattani, Haley Laughter (Asheville, N.C./Carolina Day School) and Mikala McGhee (St. Louis, Mo./Pattonville HS/George Mason/Missouri State) in the final two minutes of the period.
 
With a 55-28 lead, the Eagles subbed out the majority of their starters early in the fourth. FGCU worked its way to a 31-point advantage, before UNF ended the game at 69-46 with a 13-5 run.
 
UP NEXT
The Green and Blue face Kennesaw State on Saturday, Feb. 11 as part of a double-header with the men's team. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
 
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 398-80 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.3 with a mark of 153-14 (91.6 W%) in ASUN contests and has led the team to an 89-2 (97.8) 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 459-107 (81.1 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.