FORT MYERS, Fla. - Davion Wingate poured in a game and career-high 29 points to lead the FGCU women's basketball team (3-0) to a 72-50 win over UCF in Alico Arena on Wednesday.
 
With the victory, the Eagles have now won 19 consecutive regular season games dating back to the beginning of conference play last year, and they are 3-0 to start a season for the fourth time in the program's Division I era. They will travel to New Jersey on Sunday to battle Princeton at 1 p.m. in another battle of mid-major powers.
 
"This is a quality win against a quality team, so we're really excited that we played well and got the win," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "I thought we did a good job on the boards. (UCF) had a big size advantage, but I thought we were physical and rebounded. I thought we had a lot of really good performances. Davion was someone who kept us in the game early with her production. Overall, we're really happy to beat a quality opponent."
 
Wingate (Atlanta, Ga./Stephenson HS) finished 10-for-15 from the field, including a 7-for-11 performance from 3-point range, while adding five rebounds, three assists and two steals. She became just the 10th player in the program's Division I era to record at least one career 29-point effort, and she finished only one made 3-point field goal shy of tying FGCU's single-game record.

"It just felt fun out there," Wingate said. 

The Eagles got off to a slow start, missing the first five shots as a team and allowing UCF to take a 4-0 lead through the first two plus minutes. The fifth miss, however, was put back for a layup by Wingate, who scored eight straight points over a one-minute stretch and helped the Eagles take a 16-8 lead with just under five minutes left in the quarter. UCF responded, however, with an 11-0 run to close the quarter and take a three-point lead.
 
Kerstie Phills then combined with Wingate for 18 of FGCU's 24 points in the second quarter after Phills (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian HS) ended a five-minute scoring drought for the Eagles with a layup on the opening possession.
 
The lone two baskets in the quarter by players other than Phills or Wingate came on a desperation, shot clock buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Tytionia Adderly and a 3-pointer from Nasrin Ulel in the final minute as the Green and Blue closed the half on a 12-2 run to open up a 40-30 lead.
 
A left-corner 3-pointer from Tyra Cox (Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep) in the final minute of the third quarter pushed FGCU's lead to 21. The defense then held UCF to just seven points over the final 10 minutes as the Eagles led by as many as 24 on two occasions.
 
Phills and Keri Jewett-Giles each added 13 points for FGCU, while Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS) contributed a game-high 13 rebounds along with five assists. In fact, Jewett-Giles (Fort Myers, Fla./Dunbar HS) had a team-high six assists, while Nasrin Ulel (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta HS) had eight points, six rebounds and five assists.
 
Notes
This was the first time in seven years that FGCU and UCF had met, and the Eagles improved to 4-1 all-time in the series.
 
The other three teams to start a season 3-0 or better are the 2017-18 (6-0), 2013-14 (3-0) and 2010-11 (14-0) squads.
 
Adderly continues her push to become the program's all-time rebounds leader. The senior has 28 this year and 874 for her career, which is only 14 shy of surpassing Sarah Hansen (887, 2010-14) for the record. She is also attempting to become the first player in program history with 1,000 rebounds, which would also make her only the 12th in ASUN history to achieve that milestone. On Wednesday, she surpassed Lamilia Ford (Stetson, 1993-96, 873) for 20th. Next up is Jessica Bobbitt (Belmont, 2005-09, 878).
 
Wingate is now 13-for-20 (.650) combined from 3-point range through three games this year. She has 66 points in 69 minutes played overall.
 
The Eagles continue to have several players nearing 1,000 points in their NCAA career: Ulel (958), Jewett-Giles (950), Wingate (944) and Ashli O'Neal (872).
 
FGCU assisted on 21 of 24 field goals. As a team, they're 49-for-129 (.380) as a team from 3-point range, including a season-best percentage (.410, 16-for-39) on Wednesday.
 
With her eight points against UCF, Ulel tied Candy Myers (521, 2003-06) for the 10th-most career points in Alico Arena history.


 
TICKET INFORMATION
Season and mini-plan packages for the 2019-20 FGCU women's basketball team are now on sale. More information can be accessed by visiting FGCUTickets.com. To purchase tickets, or for additional inquiries, call the FGCU Ticket Office at 239-590-7145 Monday-Friday from 9 AM-5 PM.

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 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.

COACH SMESKO
FGCU head coach Karl Smesko led the 2018-19 Eagles to the program's fifth undefeated conference regular season since 2011-12, as well as the ninth consecutive season with at least 25 victories. The Green and Blue finished 28-5 overall and 16-0 in ASUN play, capturing the team's ninth ASUN regular season championship and sixth ASUN tournament championship. The team finished the season receiving votes in the final AP Poll and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in eight seasons before falling to host No. 19 Miami in the first round. It was the team's 12th-straight postseason appearance in 12 years of Division-I existence - the only program to ever do such.

Over the past five seasons, Smesko has guided FGCU to three 30-plus win seasons while recording a 149-28 (.841) record overall. That win total ranks eighth-best in the nation over that stretch - the most among all mid-majors and ahead of programs such as Oregon State and Stanford.

Including 2018-19, Smesko has also guided the Eagles to 15-straight 20-win seasons. He maintains a record of 527-119 (.816) overall in his career (third highest winning percentage among active D1 coaches behind only UConn's Geno Auriemma and Baylor's Kim Mulkey), including a 186-16 (.921) mark in ASUN play. Over the past eight seasons (including 2018-19), he has guided FGCU to a 124-4 (.969) record in conference play with five undefeated seasons. The now nine-time ASUN Coach of the Year earned his 400th career coaching win in 2014-15 in just 493 career games, two games faster than Auriemma.

#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April 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 raise awareness.

ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 80 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 12 seasons at the Division-I level. Additionally, in just eight seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 36 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including both men's and women's soccer again in 2018. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.35 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2018 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for twenty consecutive semesters. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 - being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.

--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--