FORT MYERS, Fla. - Keri Jewett-Giles poured in 21 points along with eight assists to lead the FGCU women's basketball team (5-1) to a 97-64 win over Saint Francis (1-4) at Suncoast Credit Union Arena on Friday.
 
"I thought Keri and O'Neal were outstanding on the offensive end, and they actually played pretty good defense too," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "Ty was outstanding defensively and on the boards. She actually looked to score a little bit more today so that was encouraging."
 
Jewett-Giles (Fort Myers, Fla./Dunbar HS) finished 9-for-12 from the field, including 3-for-5 from 3-point range, while adding three steals. With her final field goal, a 3-pointer from the left wing, the senior guard reached 1,000 points in her NCAA career.
 
"It shows that she's had a very successful college career," Smesko said of Jewett-Giles reaching 1,000 points. "She's somebody that the local community can be very proud of. She's a great player. For point guards to score 1,000 points, that's pretty impressive."
 
Ashli O'Neal had her best game in the Green and Blue, pouring in a season-high 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting off the bench. She added two assists while Davion Wingate went 8-for-10 from the field with 19 points for her sixth consecutive game with at least 10 points to open the season. Another solid performance off the bench came from Tyra Cox, who had 12 points in 11 minutes on 4-for-5 shooting
 
Outside of those four players, who combined for 70 points on 28-for-39 shooting, Nasrin Ulel and Tytionia Adderly each had nine points, while Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS) had a season-high 15 rebounds. In fact, the senior forward now has double-digit boards in three of six games this year and pushed her career total to 905, which puts her 26 shy of matching Tamika Coley (931, 1993-96, UCF) for the 16th-most in ASUN history.
 
Wingate (Atlanta, Ga./Stephenson HS) now has 996 career points, which puts her on the verge of joining Jewett-Giles in the prestigious club. Meanwhile, Ulel (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta HS) has 981, and O'Neal (Wyoming, Ohio/Wyoming HS) surpassed 900 on Friday.
 
The Eagles will leave for Cancun on Monday to take part in a daunting three-game slate Nov. 28-30 against defending national runner-up Notre Dame, nationally-ranked USF and reigning Sweet 16 team South Dakota State in the Cancun Challenge.
 
Notes
Friday's game was moved to Suncoast Credit Union Arena to accommodate the FGCU volleyball team hosting the ASUN tournament at Alico Arena.
 
FGCU outscored Saint Francis 27-2 in points off turnovers.

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 529-120 (.815) 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--