FORT MYERS, Fla. - Nasrin Ulel poured in a game-high 21 points to assist her team's solid defensive effort as the FGCU women's basketball team (10-4, 1-0) notched a 68-50 win over Liberty University (4-10, 0-1) in a first-ever meeting in Alico Arena to open conference play on Saturday.

"I was really pleased with our defense in the first half," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "I thought everybody competed. Everybody was doing their job defensively. I thought that put us in a really good position."

Ulel (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta HS) produced her fourth 20 plus point game of the season. She made 3-for-6 from 3-point range and 8-for-9 from the foul line. In fact, those four performances have come over the past nine games, and she has 99 points combined in them, which equals her scoring total from her entire freshman year. The now-junior guard also doubled her previous career-high for free throws made.

Keri Jewett-Giles (13) and Destiny Washington (10) also tallied double figures. Jewett-Giles (Fort Myers, Fla./Dunbar HS) made 5-for-6 from the foul line while adding five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Washington (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North HS) fell just one rebound shy of a double-double while recording her 11th career game with one 3-pointer made.

Overall, nine players reached the scoring column. Tytionia Adderly, who recently moved into third place on the program's career rebounding list, finished with eight points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. She tied her career-high with a pair of 3-pointers, while Alyssa Blair (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie HS) also went 2-for-2 from long range.

Despite limited minutes, Kerstie Phills (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian HS) had four points and five rebounds, and Tyra Cox (Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep) added one point. Despite just 98 minutes over 11 games this year, she's reached the scoring column six times now.

Defensively, the Eagles held the visiting Flames to just 14 first-half points, including six on 3-for-16 shooting in the second quarter. That scoring output was one shy of the program record for fewest points allowed in the game's second 10 minutes since the women switched to quarters in 2015-16.

Bridgette Rettstatt (12) and K. Johnson-Graham (11) led Liberty in scoring.
 
Notes
Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS) continues to inch toward 700 career rebounds. The junior forward has 668 and trails only Sarah Hansen (887) and Whitney Knight (735) on the program's career rebounding list. On top of that, she's also just 12 rebounds shy of 400 in Alico Arena alone. In fact, nobody in program history has averaged more rebounds per game at home (9.0) than Adderly.

With her performance, Ulel moved into the program's top 20 all-time in points (662), field goals made (231) and field goals attempted (543). She now trails DyTiesha Dunson (673, 2012-16) for 19th place in the scoring column. In addition to the overall record book, she also ranks 15th, 14th and 15th in those three categories, respectively, in the Division-I era.

FGCU's 18 free throws made is a new season-high, topping the 17 made against Hawaii on Nov. 24. They snapped a two-game losing streak, trailed just once, led for all but two and a half minutes and led by as many as 31 with three and a half minutes left in the third before emptying the bench.

The Eagles, despite an 0-for-3 start in the first quarter, finished 10-for-30 from 3-point range, giving the team at least 10 3-point field goals for the 246th time in program history, including nine this year.

The Green and Blue are now 91-2 all-time at home against ASUN opponents in regular season play.

Next Up
FGCU will hit the road for three straight games - North Alabama (Jan. 8), North Florida (Jan. 12) and Kennesaw State (Jan. 19). They return home Tuesday Jan. 22 for a 7 p.m. matchup against Lipscomb.

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 506-118 (.811) overall in his career, including a 171-16 (.914) mark in ASUN play. Over the past seven + seasons, he has guided FGCU to a 107-4 (.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.
 
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.