HOUSTON, Texas - Tytionia Adderly and Ashli O'Neal combined for 31 points to lead FGCU women's basketball team (9-1) to its sixth-straight victory in a 57-45 win over Houston (4-5) on the road in the Fertitta Center on Wednesday afternoon.
 
The 9-1 start is the second-best in the program's Division I era behind a 14-0 beginning for the 2010-11 team. It was the first time the Eagles have played Houston on the road, and they improved to 2-0 in the all-time series.
 
"Ty was outstanding, and Ashli gave us a big spark off the bench," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "Keri also really helped us on the boards today. Defensively, I thought we did a pretty good job for most of the game. Offensively, we were a little stagnant, but our defense kept us in it."
 
Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS) matched her season-high on 7-for-12 shooting while adding seven rebounds, two steals and one assist, while O'Neal (Wyoming, Ohio/Wyoming HS) shot 3-for-7 from long distance and made all four of her free throw attempts.
 
Davion Wingate added 11 points and a career-high three blocks, while Keri Jewett-Giles had nine points and seven rebounds, which tied Adderly for the team high.
 
The Green and Blue never trailed in the game, getting a go-ahead 3-pointer from Adderly with 7:46 left in the opening quarter as the senior tallied seven of her team's first nine points. The Cougars were able to tie the game for a second time at 11 apiece, but O'Neal and Kerstie Phills (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian HS) hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give FGCU a four-point cushion through one.
 
Wingate (Atlanta, Ga./Stephenson HS) scored four points during a 6-0 run that give the Eagles a 26-16 lead with 5:53 left in the half. She later teamed with O'Neal on a 5-0 run that stretched the margin to 15 with 53 seconds left before FGCU went into the break with a 33-20 lead.
 
The Cougars were able to cut their deficit down to nine with 3:37 left in the third quarter, but a 7-2 run by the Eagles pushed the lead back up to 14.
 
O'Neal then scored the final five points of the frame and tacked on four more to open up the fourth, which gave her team a game-high 16-point lead with 6:39 left. The Eagles lead never dipped below 11 the rest of the way.
 
FGCU will now return home for three straight, beginning with a 7 p.m. tilt against Florida Memorial on Dec. 9. Following that, they'll host Central Connecticut State on Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. before a big showdown with No. 25 LSU on Dec. 19 inside Alico Arena.
 
Notes
With her seven rebounds, Adderly has 947 in her career, which moves her past Kristy Brown (Stetson, 2001-05, 941) for 14th-most in ASUN history. Next up is Kat Sungy (Jacksonville, 1999-2003, 956). She is looking to become one of only 12 players in conference history to reach 1,000 career rebounds.
 
O'Neal pushed her career scoring total to 940, which puts her 60 shy of becoming the fourth player on this year's team to reach 1,000 in an NCAA career.
 
Lisa Zderadicka, who played for the Eagles over the past two years and led the team to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, was in attendance at the game.

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 532-120 (.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--