FORT MYERS, Fla. – With a trip to the ASUN Finals on the line, the No. 2 FGCU women's basketball team (25-8, 12-2 ASUN) gave an outstanding performance to defeat No. 3 Jacksonville (23-8, 11-3 ASUN), 68-64 at Alico Arena on Wednesday night. Knocking off the reigning ASUN champs was particularly satisfying for the Eagles, whose 2015-16 conference tournament run came to an end when the Dolphins topped FGCU by two in the final three seconds of last year's championship game.
 
The win will advance the Eagles to their sixth-straight ASUN Championship, though this time they'll have to travel. FGCU is slated to face No. 1 Stetson this Sunday in Deland, Fla. to battle for an NCAA tournament berth. Tip off is scheduled for 3 p.m.
 
"Overall, today is a really exciting day for our program," said head coach Karl Smesko. "It's great to get back to the championship game and have a chance to get back to the NCAA tournament if we can beat a very good team."
 
"Obviously, it was a very tough game tonight. That's how it is every time we play Jacksonville. Fortunately, we were able to get a lead at the end of the first half and extend it a little at the beginning of the second half. Erica (Nelson) had probably her best game of the year for us today. She was a big part of the game plan, but not only did she score, she moved the ball to shooters on penetration, found the open kid, and the fouls that she drew were critical to get them into foul trouble. Then Jordi (Alexander) made some really big plays for us down the stretch. Ty (Adderly) got to the boards. (Taylor) Gradinjan got to the foul line. You know, Rose (Julien) was guarding an all-conference guard, and she went 1-for-7 from the field with five turnovers, so her defensive effort was exceptional."
 
Nelson (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee Summit North HS/Johnson County CC) undoubtedly gave one of her best performances as an Eagle with a career-high 27 points. Although she knocked down 3-of-4 triples, her biggest play of the game may have been when she drew a fifth foul on JU's Brandi Buie, and converted both free throws to give FGCU a two-possession lead with two minutes remaining.
 
Alexander (Fisher, Ind./ Hamilton Southeastern HS/Brown) is another Eagle who came in clutch from the charity line tonight. Up by three with just eight seconds to go, the senior transfer ended the game by converting 1-of-2 from the line to give FGCU a four-point advantage. Alexander, who owns the team's best free throw percentage 81.0, finished the game with 10 points and three rebounds.
 
"We wanted to get it in her hands to shoot the free throws," Smesko said. "We have a lot of trust in Jordi. The second half of this year, Jordi has just been outstanding. She's given us such exceptional play on both sides of the floor. She's come through for us on a number of occasions and tonight is no exception. The duo of Erica and Jordi playing together – they both had huge nights and it helped us advance."
 
As usual, Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman) came up big for the Eagles on the defensive end, snagging a team-high 13 rebounds and four steals. After getting out-rebounded in both of the teams previous meetings, the Eagles out-rebounds Jacksonville 33 to 25 on the night.
 
Julien (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Treasure Coast HS/Chipola College) of course held Buie to 1-of-7 shooting with five turnovers, but she also contributed on the offensive end with 12 points and a team-high four assists. 
 
As a unit, FGCU shot 46.8 percent from the floor against a Jacksonville defense that's holding competitors to an average of 38.1 percent.
 
Jacksonville jumped ahead of FGCU to start the game, and though the Eagles were able to briefly tie it up at 8-all, the Dolphins finished first quarter with a four-point lead.
 
The teams swapped points back-and-forth to start the second until a huge Nelson triple from the top of the key got FGCU going from the perimeter. The Eagles followed up with threes from Haley Laughter (Asheville, N.C./Carolina Day School), Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wis./Cudahy HS) and a second from Nelson, which brought FGCU from a four-point deficit to a 13-point advantage by halftime.
 
The Eagles continued to roll, working their way up to a 19-point lead halfway through the third quarter with a three-pointer from Julien. But after a layup from Adderly, the Dolphins went on a 15-2 run that extended into the fourth quarter, cutting FGCU's advantage to three.
 
With six minutes remaining in the fourth, Nelson's free throws kept the Dolphins at an arm's length. The junior guard followed up with a triple, giving FGCU a 56-48 buffer. The teams split the next 12 points evenly, before five-straight points from Jacksonville's Sherranda Reddick brought the Dolphins back within one possession. With 1:48 remaining, FGCU hung onto its lead until free throws from Alexander put the game away.
 
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 403-81 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.3 with a mark of 159-15 (91.4 W%) in ASUN contests and has led the team to a 93-3 (96.9 W%) record in conference play in the last six 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 464-108 (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.