SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The FGCU women's basketball team (23-4, 9-1 ASUN) dished out a Division-I era program record 31 assists in an 88-44 win over USC Upstate on the road in the G.B. Hodge Center on Saturday.

With the victory, the Eagles also clinched a home quarterfinal game in the ASUN Championship. They'll look to move closer to clinching home court advantage throughout the tournament during a matchup at NJIT on Monday at 7 p.m. 

"We hit a few 3-pointers early to get the lead," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "I'm just happy how we came out in the third quarter, extended the lead and got everybody into the game. They were playing an aggressive zone. For the most part, we did a good job taking care of the ball and playing good defense. We're excited about the result today."

Not only did the Eagles tally a record 31 assists, but they did so on 32 field goals. The previous record was 30 on Jan. 29, 2009. All but two players recorded at least one assist, while Erica Nelson had a career-high eight. She previously had seven on four occasions, most recently in the team's win over North Florida this past Tuesday. Tytionia Adderly also tied a career-high with five dimes. It tied her mark set on Jan. 22 of this season against Lipscomb.

Offensively, Taylor Gradinjan tied a career-high with six 3-pointers and finished with a season and game-high 22 points. She topped her previous high of 18 vs Abilene Christian on Dec. 3 of this season and fell just one short of her career-high (23 vs Southern Mississippi, Dec. 6, 2014). It was the third time in her career she has made six from long range. Overall, she finished 7-for-11 from the field (6-for-10 from 3-point range) and 2-for-2 from the foul line while adding two assists, two rebounds and one steal.

Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS), meanwhile, had 16 points, 13 rebounds (five offensive), a team-high three steals and a team-high two blocks in addition to her career-best five assists. It was her eighth career double-double and second in the past four games. It was her 24th career double-digit rebounding game and her fourth over the past five games.

Nasrin Ulel (Murrietta, Calif./Murrietta HS) added 10 points, seven rebounds, one steal and one assist. Five of her career-high tying rebound total came on the offensive glass. She now has 15 career games with 10 or more points, including 11 this year.

In addition to those three, every other player in the lineup scored at least one point and had one rebound. Rosemarie Julien had nine points, Jessica Cattani had eight and Chandler Ryan had six. Nelson (Kansas City, Mo./Lee Summit North HS) and China Dow chipped in five apiece, while Lisa Zderadicka, Alyssa Blair (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie HS) and Samantha Kisiel (Evergreen, Colo./Evergreen HS) each had two. Sheahen Dowling (Chicago, Ill./Trinity HS) had one point on a pair of free throw attempts.

Julien (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Treasure Coast HS) also had seven rebounds while adding three assists and a steal. Dow (Louisville, Ky./Christian Academy of Louisville) had five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Zderadicka (Vienna, Austria/HAK Korneuburg) finished third on the team with four assists, while Julien and Dow were fourth with their three apiece.

As a team, FGCU finished 17-for-43 (39.5 percent) from 3-point range. The 17 makes is tied for seventh most in a game in program history, and the attempt total is tied for the third most this year behind the Abilene Christian (45) and Lipscomb (44) games. It was the eighth time this year they've had at least 40 attempts in a game.

The team's +17 rebounding margin is the fourth best in a game this year. In the two games Adderly missed against North Florida and Jacksonville on Feb. 1 and 3, the team was out rebounded by 21. They've flipped that into a +19 margin in her first two games back.

Defensively, the Eagles forced 20 turnovers, and they're now 23-0 this year when forcing at least 15.

Gradinjan, who entered the game ranked seventh in the nation in 3-point field goals in a career, now has 1,158 career points over 139 games, which moves her closer to Shannon Murphy (1,185, 2007-11) for sixth most points in program history. She is also now 398-for-990 from the field in her career. Her total made is seventh all-time and just 5 shy of passing Shannon Murphy (402, 2007-11) for sixth, and she is now sixth all-time in attempts after passing Kelsey Jacobson (988, 2008-12). She is 10 attempts shy of becoming only the sixth player in program history with at least 1,000 and 11 shy of passing Shannon Murphy (1,000, 2007-11) for fifth most in program history. Gradinjan's 279 career 3-pointers are 16 shy of passing Whitney Knight (294, 2011-16) for second most in program history.

In addition to her offensive production, Gradinjan also continued her march up some other career statistical categories including minutes, games started, games played and rebounds. The sixth-year senior, who played just a handful of games her true freshman year before suffering her first of two ACL injuries, played in her 139th career game vs USC Upstate and tied Stephanie Haas (139, 2012-16) for second most all-time. She is now one short of tying Jaime Gluesing (140, 2012-16) for the most in program history. On top of that, she remains the most experienced active Division-I player, two games ahead of UConn's Gabby Williams entering Saturday.

In addition to that, Gradinjan has now played 3,531 minutes. She is just two away from eclipsing Adrianne McNally (3,532, 2006-10) for fourth most in program history. In terms of games started, she has 117, which is two shy of passing Adrianne McNally (118, 2006-10) for second most all-time.

In terms of career rebounds, Gradinjan has some company on the current roster with Adderly. She has 470 now, but only had two against USC Upstate. Adderly, meanwhile, is now up to 471 after another big performance. The duo is seventh and eighth all-time in total rebounds. Adderly remains on pace to become the program's first to 1,000 career rebounds. Sarah Hansen (887, 2009-14) is the all-time leader, and Adderly is 38 away from passing Kaneisha Atwater's (508, 2013-16) sixth place total.

Adderly also moved up another list against USC Upstate as her five offensive rebounds pushed her career total to 195 and moved her past Katie Meador (193, 2012-16) and Kate Schrader (194, 2005-07) and into fourth place all-time. Next up is Robyn Swain (236, 2002-04).

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.

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. Including this year, Smesko has guided the Eagles to 14-straight 20-win seasons. He maintains a record of 427-86 (.832) at FGCU, including a 166-16 (.912) mark in ASUN play. Over the past six + seasons, he has guided FGCU to a 102-4 (.962) 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. He holds a career head coaching record of 488-113 (.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.

WATCH PARTY
Miller's Ale House in Gulf Coast Town Center will serve as the official watch party destination for all remaining women's and men's basketball road games for the 2017-18 season. The establishment has invested in HD streaming equipment, giving fans the opportunity to watch in outstanding quality on ESPN3, while offering discounts during the game.
 
Dirty Birds will get 20 percent off their order by showing the Wings Up App promo photo. Those with an FGCU or Eagles Club ID will receive 10 percent off their bill. Those who bring an FGCU Basketball ticket stub will receive $5 off their $25 bill (or higher). Additionally, those simply wearing FGCU gear will receive $5 zingers.