FORT MYERS, Fla. - The FGCU women's basketball team (15-4, 6-0 ASUN) used another strong defensive effort to produce its 13th-straight conference victory with an 80-48 win over North Florida (7-11, 2-5) in Alico Arena on Sunday.

"I thought it was a really good performance," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "We got off to a slow start offensively, but our defense was excellent. So, even though we had a slow start, we were able to get a little bit of a lead early just because we were executing on the defensive side of the ball."

With the victory, FGCU is now 176-16 all-time against ASUN teams, including a 114-4 record since 2011-12. In regular season play, they've won 19 of the past 20 against conference teams including its current 13-game streak. At home, they're 93-2 all-time against ASUN teams and have won 86 of the past 87 in Alico Arena.
 
Furthermore, the Green and Blue improved to 24-3 all time, including 14-0 at home, against North Florida. They haven't allowed more than 54 points in any of those Alico Arena matchups, and they have won 20 of the past 21 in the series.

Early on, Keri Jewett-Giles scored five straight and eight of the first 10 points for the Eagles, who combined with North Florida to shoot 1-for-11 to open the game. Defensively, though, they held the Ospreys scoreless for the game's first 7:49 before taking a 14-7 lead through one. The second quarter featured a pair of 3-point field goals from Chandler Ryan as FGCU took a 17-point lead midway through the game.

At the half, FGCU had more points from the 3-point line (18) than UNF did as a team (17), and they forced 12 turnovers, which led to a 12-0 advantage in points going the other way.

Nasrin Ulel then opened the second half with a pair of 3-pointers as the Green and Blue shot 10-for-15 in the third quarter alone, including 6-for-9 from 3-point range, to outscore UNF 30-12 in the frame and take a 64-29 lead.

Overall, FGCU outscored UNF 28-5 in points off turnovers, including 27-0 through three quarters. They forced a total of 23 turnovers on 11 steals, and they're now giving up just 50.3 points per game over the past six contests.

"We've definitely improved dramatically on the defensive end," Smesko said. "To start the season, we were not very good. It started with a lot of communication errors, not getting back on defense and then we really didn't guard a lot with the right technique. We've spent some time on it. The players have put forth a great effort to improve on the defensive side of the ball, and we look like a much different team on that side of the ball than we did a month ago."

Jewett-Giles (Fort Myers, Fla./Dunbar HS) tallied a team-high 16 points with a season-high seven assists. Ryan (Groveland, Ill./Morton HS) added 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the 3-point line, while Ulel (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta HS) added 13. Tytionia Adderly was the fourth player in double-figures with 10, along with a team-high seven rebounds. Lisa Zderadicka added eight points and three assists.

FGCU now has a quick turnaround with a 7 p.m. matchup on the road against NJIT on Tuesday.

Notes
With her eight points, Zderadicka (Vienna, Austria/HAK Korneuburg) now has 966 points in her NCAA career, while Destiny Washington (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North HS) is up to 924. Two more are also on pace to reach 1,000 as Jewett-Giles is up to 750, while Ulel has 722.

The Eagles entered the game ranked among the nation's top 25 in scoring margin (21st), scoring offense (22nd), turnover margin (25th).

Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS) eclipsed 500 career points and now sits at 508, while her seven rebounds give her 711 in the Green and Blue - just 25 shy of moving past Whitney Knight (735, 2011-16) for second-most in program history.

Ulel's 722 points in the Green and Blue is 14th-most in the program's Division-I era, just 28 short of passing China Dow (749, 2016-18) for 13th.
 
WE'VE GOT YOUR SEAT
Experience FGCU basketball this season. The following ticket opportunities are on sale now:
Group Sales
Bring your group of 20 or more to an FGCU men's or women's basketball game. All group tickets include an FGCU hat ($15 value), a $5 game day discount at The Boardwalk restaurant, in-game group recognition and more. For more information on group outings, click 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.

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 511-118 (.812) overall in his career, including a 176-16 (.917) mark in ASUN play. Over the past seven + seasons, he has guided FGCU to a 114-4 (.967) 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 2018-19, 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
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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.
 
SUPPORT THE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PROGRAM
Do you enjoy watching or following the FGCU women's basketball program? Would you like to play a role in the growth of the program and help take it to heights never before experienced? If so, you can reach out to Director of Advancement, Matt Ring, about opportunities to make an impact on the experiences of our student-athletes. He can be reached by email at mring@fgcu.edu or by office phone at 239-745-4434.