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chandler ryan vs ksu recap 03-13-19
Tessa Mortensen
48
KSU KSU 9-22
77
Winner FGCU FGCU 27-4
KSU KSU
9-22
48
Final
77
FGCU FGCU
27-4
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
KSU KSU 12 12 11 13 48
FGCU FGCU 16 24 22 15 77

Next Game:

Liberty

3/17/2019 | 3 PM

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Full Schedule
Mar. 17 (Sun) / 3 PM
 Liberty
History

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Nicholas Huenefeld (@niklaustradamus)

Balanced Scoring Sends @FGCU_WBB Past KSU, To 8th-Straight ASUN Title Game

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FORT MYERS, Fla. - An eighth-straight ASUN championship game appearance is on the horizon for the 30th-ranked and top-seeded FGCU women's basketball team (27-4) after a dominating 77-48 semifinal win over 7th-seeded Kennesaw State (9-22) on Wednesday in Alico Arena.

"I give Kennesaw a lot of credit," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "They were very aggressive and played great the first 15 minutes - it was very tight. I thought a big part of the game was the end of the first half when we were able to make a run and extend the lead to double figures. The next biggest part was when we came out of halftime. We were able to extend the lead and force them to call a timeout before the end of the media. I liked our response to a tight game, and we had a number of players who played well."

With the victory, the Eagles pushed their winning streak to 18-straight, which is the fourth-longest in the nation, and they advance to host 3rd-seeded Liberty (16-15) in Sunday's 3 p.m. championship game with the winner earning the ASUN's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Green and Blue are 21-2 all-time in the conference tournament and has made the title game in each year of eligibility since 2011-12. They will be looking for the program's sixth tournament title, while the Flames will be looking for back-to-back conference titles after winning the Big South last year.

Nasrin Ulel scored a team-high 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting for FGCU, while Davion Wingate chipped in 13 points and a season-high six assists in her first start in the Green and Blue. Kerstie Phills finished just one shy of her season-high with 12 points off the bench, while Tytionia Adderly had eight points, a game-high 13 rebounds (10 offensive) and four assists.

In all, seven players had at least eight points for the Eagles, who also got nine points off the bench from Chandler Ryan on 3-for-5 shooting from long distance.

The game's first key moment came when Keri Jewett-Giles (Fort Myers, Fla./Dunbar HS) made the first of two 3-pointers to give FGCU an 11-10 lead with 1:55 left. Kennesaw State's Kamiyah Street had just scored two of her game-high 19 points to give her team its second lead of the opening quarter, and the long distance make gave the Eagles a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

Moments later, with FGCU having started 4-for-16 from the field, Phills (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian HS) finished a bucket in the paint, and Ryan (Groveland, Ill./Morton HS) followed with a 3-pointer as the Eagles took a four-point lead through one.

Street and Kennesaw State didn't back down from there as the conference's leading scorer in regular season play hit a jumper to pull her team within one (19-18) with 6:30 left in the half. From there, however, the Eagles went on a 10-0 run that included four points from Ulel (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta HS) and a pair of 3-pointers from Ryan and Phills.

The Green and Blue made five 3-pointers over the final six minutes and then Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS) made a buzzer-beating, second-chance layup at the end of the half to push the margin to 16.

The Eagles put away any hope of a comeback by scoring nine of the first 11 points of the second half as well as 15 of the first 19 to take a 55-28 lead midway through the quarter. They led by as many as 33 on two occasions in the final quarter.

FGCU outscored Kennesaw State 19-0 in the first half alone in second-chance points en route to a 26-2 advantage overall. Defensively, they forced 22 turnovers, which led to a 25-9 advantage and the bench held a 24-8 scoring margin.

Moving Up The Charts
With her 16-point performance, Ulel eclipsed 900 career points and sits in 10th-place in the program's Division-I era with 908. Her 467 points this year is seventh-most in a single-season in the same period, just three shy of passing Delia De La Torre (469, 2007-08) and 10 short of eclipsing Rose Julien's 476 points in 2017-18. With another average game in the ASUN final, she could surpass Kaneisha Atwater (482, 2014-15) for fourth-most. Only three players in the Division-I era have had 500 plus points in a season.

Adderly now has 825 career rebounds, which is 63 short of snatching Sarah Hansen's (887, 2010-14) career record. With her 10 boards on the offensive glass Wednesday, she now has 334 in her career, which moves her past Hansen (329, 2010-14) for the program record. Her 10 offensive-rebound performance was the second of her career. She tied her career-high set at NJIT on Feb. 12 of her sophomore year.

Notes
Liberty defeated North Florida 65-51 in the other semifinal on Wednesday. The Eagles defeated the Flames twice this season, but FGCU narrowly escaped Lynchburg with a 65-64 win on Feb. 9.

Destiny Washington (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North HS) returned to the lineup after missing the quarterfinal game due to injury. She had eight points, eight rebounds, four steals, three assists and the team's lone block. Her theft total is tied for the second-most in program history in an ASUN tournament game.
 
Wingate (Atlanta, Ga./Stephenson HS) registered her third-consecutive double-digit scoring performance, and she's now averaging 15.3 PPG over the past three contests on 15-for-29 shooting overall, including 10-for-16 from 3-point range.

ASUN Tournament Notes
The No. 1 seed is now 65-14 (.823) all-time in ASUN tournament history. The top seed has advanced to the championship game in 27 of 33 all-time ASUN Championships, including each of the past eight seasons. The last time it didn't happen was in 2011 when No. 2 Stetson took down No. 5 Jacksonville. Interestingly, that was the last year prior to FGCU gaining Division-I postseason eligibility.

Since gaining Division-I postseason eligibility in 2011-12, FGCU has won five of the seven ASUN Championship titles (2011-12, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2016-17, 2017-18). In the lone two years they didn't win, they still advanced to the championship game (2012-13 and 2015-16). With last year's title win, the Eagles broke the all-time ASUN record for most postseason tournament titles, breaking a tie with Stetson.

FGCU is one of four active ASUN members to win the conference tournament along with Stetson (1988-89, 2004-05, 2010-11, 2012-13), Jacksonville (2015-16) and Lipscomb (2003-04).

Here's a look at how each current ASUN team has fared in the tournament's history, sorted by total wins. The number in parentheses represents overall appearances.

Stetson - 28-28 (32)
FGCU - 21-2 (8)
Jacksonville - 16-15 (16)
North Florida - 5-9 (9)
Lipscomb - 5-10 (11)
Kennesaw State - 3-10 (10)
Liberty - 2-0 (1)
North Alabama - 0-1 (1)
NJIT - 0-4 (4)

FGCU's ASUN Tournament Single-Game Record Book
Points
31 - Dow, China @ Stetson, 03/12/17
31 - Iamstrong, Joyce @ Macon, Ga. vs. Stetson, 03/09/13
30 - Dow, China vs. Lipscomb, 03/07/18
27 - Nelson, Erica vs. Jacksonville, 03/08/17
23 - Iamstrong, Joyce @ Kennesaw State, 03/06/13
22 - Cobb, Jenna vs. Mercer, 03/15/14
22 - Iamstrong, Joyce @ Macon, Ga. vs. North Florida, 03/08/13
22 - Hansen, Sarah @ Macon, Ga. ETSU, 02/29/12
21 - Knight, Whitney vs. Northern Kentucky, 03/15/15
20 - Gradinjan, Taylor vs. NJIT, 03/02/18
20 - Cobb, Jenna vs. Jacksonville, 03/11/15
 
Field Goals Made
12 - Iamstrong, Joyce @ Macon, Ga. vs. Stetson, 03/09/13
11 - Dow, China vs. Lipscomb, 03/07/18
11 - Dow, China @ Stetson, 03/12/17
9 - Cobb, Jenna vs. Jacksonville, 03/11/15
9 - Iamstrong, Joyce @ Macon, Ga. vs. North Florida, 03/08/13
9 - Hansen, Sarah @ Macon, Ga. vs. ETSU, 02/29/12
8 - Nelson, Erica vs. Jacksonville, 03/08/17
8 - Knight, Whitney vs. Northern Kentucky, 03/15/15
8 - Iamstrong, Joyce @ Kennesaw State, 03/06/13
 
3-Point Field Goals Made
8 - Dow, China vs. Lipscomb, 03/07/18
6 - Gradinjan, Taylor vs. NJIT, 03/02/18
6 - Iamstrong, Joyce @ Macon, Ga. vs. Stetson, 03/09/13
5 - Ulel, Nasrin vs. Lipscomb, 03/07/18
5 - Moore, Amanda vs. Lipscomb, 03/11/14
5 - Cobb, Jenna vs. Stetson, 03/16/14
4 - Jewett-Giles, Keri vs NJIT, 03/08/19
4 - Hansen, Sarah @ Macon, Ga. vs. Stetson, 03/03/12
4 - Gradinjan, Taylor vs. Lipscomb, 03/07/18
4 - Dow, China @ Stetson, 03/12/17
4 - Iamstrong, Joyce @ Kennesaw State, 03/06/13
4 - Iamstrong, Joyce @ Macon, Ga. vs. North Florida, 03/08/13
4 - Jacobson, Kelsey @ Macon, Ga. vs. Kennesaw State, 03/02/12
 
Free Throws Made
10 - Chihil, Courtney @ Macon, Ga. vs. ETSU, 02/29/12
8 - Nelson, Erica vs. Jacksonville, 03/08/17
6 - Julien, Rosemarie vs. NJIT, 03/02/18
6 - Julien, Rosemarie vs. Jacksonville, 03/11/18
6 - Nelson, Erica vs. North Florida, 03/03/17
6 - Gradinjan, Taylor vs. Jacksonville, 03/08/17
6 - Atwater, Kaneisha vs. Lipscomb, 03/11/14
6 - Hansen, Sarah @ Macon, Ga. Kennesaw State, 03/02/12
5 - Dow, China @ Stetson, 03/12/17
5 - Atwater, Kaneisha vs. Northern Kentucky, 03/15/15
5 - Atwater, Kaneisha vs. Stetson, 03/16/14
 
Field Goal Percentage (8 made)
1.000 (9-for-9) - Iamstrong, Joyce @ Macon, Ga. vs. North Florida, 03/08/13
.733 (11-for-15) - Dow, China vs. Lipscomb, 03/07/18
.615 (8-for-13) - Nelson, Erica vs. Jacksonville, 03/08/17
.611 (11-for-18) - Dow, China @ Stetson, 03/12/17
.571 (12-for-27) - Iamstrong, Joyce .571 @ Macon, Ga. vs. Stetson, 03/09/13
 
Most Assists
9 - Alexander, Jordin @ Stetson, 03/12/17
8 - Kennedy, Brittany @ Macon, Ga. vs North Florida, 03/08/13
7 - Nelson, Erica vs. NJIT, 03/02/18
7 - Kennedy, Brittany @ Macon, Ga. vs. ETSU, 02/29/12
6 - Wingate, Davion vs Kennesaw State, 03/13/19
6 - Ryan, Chandler vs. Lipscomb, 03/07/18
6 - Nelson. Erica vs. Lipscomb, 03/07/18
6 - Dunson, DyTiesha vs. North Florida, 03/06/15
6 - Dunson, DyTiesha vs. Stetson, 03/16/14
6 - Kennedy, Brittany @ Kennesaw State, 03/06/13
6 - Chihil, Courtney @ Macon, Ga. vs Stetson, 03/03/12
 
Most Rebounds
14 - Adderly, Tytionia vs NJIT, 03/05/19
13 - Adderly, Tytionia vs. Kennesaw State, 03/13/19
13 - Adderly, Tytionia vs. NJIT, 03/02/18
13 - Adderly, Tytionia vs. Jacksonville, 03/08/17
13 - Atwater, Kaneisha vs. Northern Kentucky, 03/15/15
12 - Adderly, Tytionia vs. North Florida, 03/03/17
11 - Atwater, Kaneisha vs. Stetson, 03/16/14
10 - Dow, China @ Stetson, 03/12/17
9 - Alexander, Jordin @ Stetson, 03/12/17
 
Most Steals
5 - Adams, Betsy @ Kennesaw State, 03/06/13
4 - Washington, Destiny vs Kennesaw State, 03/13/19
4 - Zderadicka, Lisa vs. NJIT, 03/02/18
4 - Julien, Rosemarie vs. NJIT, 03/02/18
4 - Adderly, Tytionia vs. Jacksonville, 03/08/17
4 - Cobb, Jenna vs. Jacksonville, 03/11/15
4 - Haas, Stephanie @ Kennesaw State, 03/06/13
 
Most Blocks 
Knight, Whitney 4 vs. Jacksonville, 03/11/15
Hansen, Sarah 4 @ Macon, Ga. vs ETSU, 02/29/12
Hansen, Sarah 3 vs. Lipscomb, 03/11/14
 
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 nine-time ASUN Coach of the Year (including 2018-19) 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 2018-19, Smesko has guided the Eagles to 15-straight 20-win seasons and nine-straight 25-win seasons. He maintains a record of 523-118 (.816) overall in his career, 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. Smesko earned his 400th career coaching win in 2014-15 in just 493 career games, two games faster than UConn's Geno Auriemma. Entering 2018-19, 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. Second-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.
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Players Mentioned

Tytionia Adderly

#42 Tytionia Adderly

F
5' 10"
Junior
Keri Jewett-Giles

#3 Keri Jewett-Giles

G
5' 6"
Redshirt Junior
Kerstie Phills

#13 Kerstie Phills

G
5' 9"
Redshirt Sophomore
Chandler Ryan

#4 Chandler Ryan

G
5' 7"
Redshirt Sophomore
Nasrin Ulel

#31 Nasrin Ulel

G/F
5' 9"
Junior
Davion Wingate

#0 Davion Wingate

G
5' 6"
Redshirt Junior
Destiny Washington

#22 Destiny Washington

G/F
5' 10"
Redshirt Senior

Players Mentioned

Tytionia Adderly

#42 Tytionia Adderly

5' 10"
Junior
F
Keri Jewett-Giles

#3 Keri Jewett-Giles

5' 6"
Redshirt Junior
G
Kerstie Phills

#13 Kerstie Phills

5' 9"
Redshirt Sophomore
G
Chandler Ryan

#4 Chandler Ryan

5' 7"
Redshirt Sophomore
G
Nasrin Ulel

#31 Nasrin Ulel

5' 9"
Junior
G/F
Davion Wingate

#0 Davion Wingate

5' 6"
Redshirt Junior
G
Destiny Washington

#22 Destiny Washington

5' 10"
Redshirt Senior
G/F