FORT MYERS, Fla. - Jessica Cattani and Rosemarie Julien combined for 11 3-pointers as the FGCU women's basketball team (25-4, 11-1 ASUN) rolled to an 88-52 win over Lipscomb in Alico Arena tonight on Senior Night.

With the win, FGCU moved within one victory of clinching home court throughout the ASUN Championship. They can do that, and clinch at least a share of the program's eighth regular season ASUN championship, against Kennesaw State on Monday at 7 p.m. in the team's regular season home finale.

With its 25th win, FGCU becomes the third team in NCAA Division-I women's basketball to record at least that many in eight straight seasons. They were one of only six schools to do it in seven straight, and they have now joined UConn and Baylor who have already extended the streak this year. The others are Notre Dame (24 wins), Stanford (19 wins) and James Madison (17 wins). The Eagles are currently tied with UConn for the second most wins in the nation behind Mississippi State (27).

Cattani (Muskego, Wis./Muskego HS), who entered the game leading the ASUN in 3-point field goal percentage at .436, tied her career-high in 3-point field goals with six - for the second consecutive game. She produced a game-high 20 points in her first start of the season while adding a career-high eight rebounds, three assists and one steal. Overall, she made her first five 3-pointers and finished 6-for-10 from long distance. The scoring output was the most against a Division-I opponent this year for the senior.

Cattani now has 47 3-pointers this year, which is five more than she had all of last year in 10 fewer attempts. She recorded a new season-high in attempts against Lipscomb, and her previous career-high in rebounds was six - set against St. Thomas on Dec. 21 of last year. She also tied a season-high in minutes against Lipscomb with 26, and it was her eighth game with at least 10 points this year.

Julien (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Treasure Coast HS) finished second on the team with 17 points along with four rebounds and two assists. She went 5-for-12 from the field, all from 3-point range, and made both of her free throws. It was her second straight game with 17 points, and she has double figures in 21 of 29 games this season. Furthermore, she finished just one shy of matching her career-high for 3-point field goals made and extended her lead over Kelsey Jacobson (.819, 163-for-199) for the career record in free throw percentage. Following Saturday, she is now 126-for-153 (.824) and has produced 768 points in just under two seasons.

Taylor Gradinjan finished third on the team with 12 points on 4-for-9 shooting from 3-point range. She added two rebounds, two assists and two steals. It was her 13th double-digit scoring effort and the ninth time she made at least four from long range in a game this year. The sixth-year senior, who overcame two ACL injuries to begin her career, became the program's all-time leader in games played by breaking a tie with Jaime Gluesing (140, 2012-16). She also made her 119th start, which broke a tie with Adrianne McNally (118, 2006-10) for second most all-time behind Sarah Hansen (131, 2009-14).

The aforementioned trio combined to shoot 15-for-31 from 3-point range. In fact, FGCU finished 20-for-48 (.417) as a team and now have 344 this season - the fourth most in a single season in program history and only 33 shy of passing the 2015-16 team for the most in program history. They have a solid chance of moving up to second place on Monday by passing the 2013-14 team (347) and the 2010-11 team (350).

The 48 attempts is tied for the seventh most attempts in a single game in program history and is the sixth most against a Division-I opponent all-time. Impressively, the 20 made 3-pointers is two shy of the team's season-high of 22 set earlier this year against Abilene Christian. However, it is tied for the third most in program history against a Division-I opponent.

"It was a fast paced game, a lot of scoring in the first quarter," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "I think we gave up five 3-pointers in the first quarter. Fortunately, we were shooting the ball well, too. Then, I thought our defense after the first quarter got a lot better. We had fewer miscommunications, so we didn't give up quite as many 3-pointers. We played with good discipline."

Nasrin Ulel (Murrietta, Calif./Murrietta HS) produced eight of her 10 points in the second half while chipping in three rebounds, one assist and one steal. She went 3-for-6 from the field, including 2-for-5 from 3-point range. China Dow and Chandler Ryan each chipped in nine points, while Tytionia Adderly continued her torrid stretch with her fourth straight game of double digit rebounds.

Dow (Louisville, Ky./Christian Academy of Louisville) tallied nine points, nine rebounds (four offensive), two assists and two steals. She inched closer to reaching 1,000 points in her NCAA career and now sits at 968, including 624 in the Green and Blue. Furthermore, she is averaging a career-high 11.1 points per contest this year. Ryan (Groveland, Ill./Morton HS) did her damage in just eight minutes off the bench in the second half on 3-for-5 shooting. It was her fifth game this year with at least three, and she's now shooting .400 from long range on the season.

Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS), meanwhile, grabbed 14 rebounds (five offensive) over 22 minutes while adding five points and two assists. While recording 10 or more for the fourth straight game, the conference's leader in offensive rebounds now has four straight games with at least five on that end. In fact, it was her 14th game this year with at least that many. The sophomore also eclipsed 500 career rebounds with the performance and is on pace to become the program's first player with 1,000. In terms of offensive rebounds, she pushed her career total to 210, just 27 shy of passing Robyn Swain (236, 2002-04) for the third most in program history.

As a team, FGCU finished with 23 assists - the fourth straight game with at least 18, including a program record 31 against USC Upstate on Feb. 10. Lisa Zderadicka (Vienna, Austria/HAK Korneuburg) finished with six assists, just one shy of her season-high, after seeing added minutes following an injury to starting point guard Erica Nelson. She added four points, one steal and one rebound in 27 minutes. Nelson (Kansas City, Mo./Lee Summit North HS) had two assists and one rebound in seven minutes before exiting.

Alyssa Blair (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie HS) was the ninth and final FGCU player in the scoring column as the freshman recorded a layup in the final quarter. 

FGCU improved to 25-0 this year when forcing at least 15 turnovers. They forced 16 and scored 17 points off those and led by as many as 38 in the game's final minute. Loren Cagle, who led Lipscomb with 20 points in the first matchup between the two teams earlier this year, was held to 10 points on 4-for-13 shooting. She was the only player to reach double figures for the Bisons.

GRADINJAN'S RECORDS

Gradinjan now has 1,175 career points in her 141 games, which moves her within 11 of passing Shannon Murphy (1,185, 2007-11) for the sixth most in program history. She is now 404-for-1008 from the field in her career. She moved past Shannon Murphy (402, 2007-11) for sixth all-time in made field goals, and eclipsed Shannon Murphy (1,000, 2007-11) for fifth most attempts on Saturday. In terms of 3-point field goals, she remains third all-time in made and attempted. She is 11 shy of passing Whitney Knight (294, 2011-16) for second most made and her 775 attempts is 17 shy of Whitney Knight (791, 2011-16) in second place.

Aside from her games played and started totals mentioned earlier, Gradinjan has now played 3,582 minutes. She passed Shannon Murphy (3,581, 2007-11) for third place all-time on Saturday and is just 40 shy of passing DyTiesha Dunson (3,621, 2012-16) for second. Sarah Hansen (3,877, 2009-14) sits in first place. She also has 474 career rebounds, which keeps her in eighth place all-time behind Adderly's 501.

NOTES

FGCU remains the nation's leader in 3-point field goals attempted (976) and made (344).

The Eagles are now 11-1 in ASUN play, which is one ahead of Jacksonville (10-2) with two games left. Due to their season sweep of the Dolphins, FGCU can clinch home court throughout the ASUN Championship with a win over Kennesaw State on Monday along with at least a share of the regular season title. They can win it outright by winning the final two games, including the regular season finale on the road against Stetson.

FGCU is now 22-0 all-time against Lipscomb, including a 12-0 record in Alico Arena. In fact, the Green and Blue are now 14-0 at home overall this year.

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 429-86 (.833) at FGCU, including a 167-16 (.913) mark in ASUN play. Over the past six + seasons, he has guided FGCU to a 103-4 (.963) 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 490-113 (.813). 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.