FORT MYERS, Fla. - The duo of Davion Wingate (30) and Nasrin Ulel (27) combined to outscore the entire opposition as the FGCU women's basketball team (13-2) produced a decisive 78-56 win over Duke (7-5) inside Alico Arena on Sunday to conclude the non-conference portion of the schedule.
 
The Eagles, who are currently tied with Florida State (13-0) for the most victories in the nation, will open ASUN play next Saturday at 4 p.m. against Lipscomb in Alico Arena. It was the team's second win over an ACC opponent this year (Notre Dame), and FGCU improved to 2-1 against Power 5 teams on the season.
 
"We're excited to get a big win over a good team," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "I thought their length and athleticism had us a little out of sorts early. We did a better job of moving the ball and attacking once the second quarter came. I thought the biggest part of the game was the beginning of the third quarter when we came out and made a bunch of plays. Davion went off, hit a bunch of threes, and we did a good job finding her when she was open. It was a great team effort."
 
In addition to Wingate and Ulel, Ashli O'Neal added 12 points along with a season and game-high four steals as the trio combined for 69 of FGCU's 78 points. Tytionia Adderly had a career-high 10 assists to go along with nine rebounds. O'Neal (Wyoming, Ohio/Wyoming HS), who missed the team's win over Temple, returned to register her fourth double-figure scoring output of the season. Her previous season-high in steals was three against Johnson and Wales.
 
Wingate (Atlanta, Ga./Stephenson HS) became the first player in program history to record back-to-back games with at least 30 points. She made 10 field goals for the second consecutive game and increased her 3-point field goal percentage on the season to .507 (37-for-73), which ranks among the top five in the nation.
 
Meanwhile, Ulel (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta HS) continued a hot stretch that has seen her produce two 20-plus point performances over the past four games. She finished 9-for-14 overall from the field, including 4-for-7 from 3-point range, and is now averaging 17.8 points since Dec. 17.
 
Duke's Haley Gorecki (19) and Kyra Lambert (10), who combined for 29 points, each made a 3-pointer as the Blue Devils jumped out to 8-3 and 10-6 leads to open the game. Following that hot start, though, FGCU's defense held them to a 1-for-15 finish from 3-point range over the game's final 37 minutes.
 
Meanwhile, after opening 3-for-15 from the field as a team over the first 10 minutes, FGCU went 18-for-30 combined over the next two quarters as the duo of Ulel and Wingate took over.
 
Ulel shot 5-for-5 from the field, including 3-for-3 from 3-point range, while scoring 17 of her 20 first-half points in the second quarter alone. O'Neal also scored seven of her 12 points in the frame. Wingate then scored 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting (4-for-7 from 3-point range) in the third quarter to help FGCU stretch a seven-point halftime lead to 17 entering the fourth.
 
Notes
FGCU is now 7-10 all-time against the ACC, which signifies their most wins against any Power 5 conference.
 
Following her nine rebounds, Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS) is now nine shy of becoming the first player in program history, including just the third active NCAA Division I player, to record 1,000 in her career.
 
Wingate now has 56 career double-digit scoring games, which the most among any player on the roster, and she also tallied her 15th career-game with 20 or more points, which is also a team-best. Impressively, it was also her fifth such performance of the season, including her third with 25 or more.
 
As a team, the Eagles made 11 3-pointers, which increased their nation-best total to 190. It was the team's 10th game this year with double-digits.


 
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 537-121 (.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--