LORETTO, Pa. - Nasrin Ulel scored a game-high 26 points, and Chandler Ryan hit several key 3-pointers down the stretch as the FGCU women's basketball team (6-2) held off Saint Francis (Pa.) (2-5) in an 83-69 win on the road in DeGol Arena on Wednesday.

"I thought it was a little bit of an uneven performance," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "We had some really good stretches. At the same time, we had some lapses and Saint Francis kept coming at us and would make some runs on us to make it a tight game in the fourth quarter. Fortunately, Chandler hit some big shots and Nas had some really good plays. And Ty's work on the boards was really a difference maker for us."

Saint Francis had just trimmed its deficit to five on a Jess Kovatch 3-pointer with 6:16 left in the fourth when Ryan (Groveland, Ill./Morton HS) drew a charge on a play where the hosts could have cut it to a one possession game. In doing so, it ignited her offensively as the redshirt sophomore scored 12 points, while Ulel (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta HS) added a pair of layups in a 16-2 run that put the game away.

"One thing I like about Chandler is even though she was missing early, it didn't faze her," Smesko said. "She knows if she's open, she should shoot it, and she did a good job with that tonight."

In addition to producing her second 20 plus point effort over the past three games, Ulel added six rebounds and three assists while finishing 8-for-22 from the field. She attempted 15 3-point field goals, which was one shy of matching the program's single-game record. Keri Jewett-Giles added 18 points, a game-high four steals, three assists and three rebounds. Ryan finished with 15 points - all from 3-point range.

Tytionia Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS) pulled down a season-high 14 rebounds while tying a career-high in assists (5) and scoring five points. Destiny Washington-Mabon (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North HS) tied her season-high with nine points while adding six rebounds and a game-high three blocks.

Kerstie Phills made some key plays, as well, before finishing with seven points, three rebounds and two blocks. After previously making a single 3-pointer eight times in her career, she recorded a pair of long distance makes for the first time. Lisa Zderadicka (Vienna, Austria/HAK Korneuburg), who was the seventh player to reach the scoring column, finished with a game-high six assists and three rebounds.

FGCU led by four through the opening quarter and stretched it to as many as 11 in the second quarter on a 3-pointer from Ulel with 2:47 left. The Eagles then opened the second half on a 12-0 run that featured five points from Jewett-Giles (Fort Myers, Fla./Dunbar HS). Ulel converted a layup to conclude the run and give her team a 53-35 lead with 3:28 left in the quarter.

Saint Francis then went on a 13-4 run, but Ulel made a pair of free throws with 0.7 seconds left in the quarter to keep the advantage in double digits. Phills (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian HS) had a big 3-pointer and a block early in the final quarter before Saint Francis trimmed it to five, setting up the final six minutes of action.

As a team, the Eagles assisted on 21 of 29 field goals and finished 18-for-52 from 3-point range. It was a season-high for made shots from long distance, and it was the 11th time in program history the team has recorded that many in a game. In fact, four of those have come since the start of the 2017-18 season, and they finished three attempts short of matching the team's single-game record in that category.
 
FGCU, which improved to 2-0 all-time against Saint Francis with the victory, will look to push its winning streak to five when they host Johnson and Wales (Fla.) on Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. It represents the first of four games for the Eagles in Alico Arena over a seven-day stretch.
 
WE'VE GOT YOUR SEAT
Experience FGCU basketball this season. The following ticket opportunities are on sale now:
Punch Pass
- Three entries for $15 or seven entries for $30. Remaining Punch Pass games: Men vs Colgate and Keiser; Women vs Johnson and Wales, Abilene Christian, Coppin State, and UAB. Purchase online HERE or call 239-590-7145.
Single Game Tickets
- Single game tickets are available for all remaining home games. Discounts are available for current or former military and youth ages 3-15. Purchase online HERE or call 239-590-7145.
Group Sales
- Bring your group of 20 or more to an FGCU men's or women's basketball game. All group tickets include a $5 game day discount at The Boardwalk restaurant and in game group recognition. For more information on group outings, click HERE or call 239-590-7145.
Young Alumni
FGCU alumni from the classes of 2014-18 save 30-70 percent off of Priority 4 or 5 GA tickets. Click HERE to fill out an interest form, or call 239-590-7145 to learn more.

COACH SMESKO
FGCU head coach Karl Smesko led the 2017-18 Eagles to another historic season. The Green and Blue finished 31-5 overall and 13-1 in ASUN play, capturing the program's eighth ASUN regular season championship and fifth ASUN tournament championship. The team finished the season ranked 25th in the final USA Today Coaches Poll, recaptured the NCAA record for most 3-point field goals made in a season with 431 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in seven seasons, where the Eagles knocked off 5th-seeded and No. 15 ranked Missouri in the opening round. It was the team's second tournament win over the past three appearances. Over the course of the season, FGCU knocked off three ranked teams - No. 15 Missouri, No. 20 Kentucky and No. 21 DePaul.

Over the past four seasons, Smesko has guided FGCU to three 30 plus win seasons while recording a 121-23 (.840) record overall. The now eight-time ASUN Coach of the Year rallied the 2016-17 team to its seventh straight 25-win campaign, culminating in an ASUN tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance. In 2015-16, he was named the espnW mid-major coach of the year following a run that witnessed the Eagles claim a WNIT runner-up finish and a Division-I program best ever 33-6 record. In 2014-15, the team achieved its first-ever top-25 ranking and made another trip to the NCAA Tournament, where the Eagles earned a No. 7 seed and won the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament game, toppling No. 10 seed Oklahoma State.

Including the 2017-18 campaign, Smesko has guided the Eagles to 14-straight 20-win seasons and eight-straight 25-win seasons. He maintains a record of 502-116 (.812) overall in his career, including a 170-16 (.914) mark in ASUN play. Over the past seven seasons, he has guided FGCU to a 106-4 (.964) record in conference play with four undefeated seasons. Smesko earned his 400th career coaching win in 2014-15 in just 493 career games, two games faster than UConn's Geno Auriemma. Entering 2016-17, he ranked 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. Over the past year, first-year NCAA Division-I head coaches Nancy Fahey (Illinois) and Bart Brooks (Belmont) pushed the list to six.

FOLLOW ALONG
For up-to-the-minute information and behind-the-scenes access to the women's basketball program, follow @FGCU_WBB on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook at /FGCUWBB.

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 contribute, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help.