JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Nasrin Ulel led four players in double-figures with 16 points as the No. 25 FGCU women's basketball team (17-2, 4-0 ASUN) defeated North Florida (9-8, 2-2) on Monday in UNF Arena for the team's sixth-straight win.
 
With the victory, the Eagles become the first team to reach 17 wins nationally and pushed the program's ASUN winning streak to 32 in a row, which is the third-longest in the nation. They also improve to 13-2 as a ranked Division I team and 25-3 in the all-time series with the Ospreys.
 
"That was an important win," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "We had a very good first quarter, which allowed us to set the tone, and we did a good job taking care of the ball."
 
Ulel (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta HS), who scored seven of her 10 first quarter points in the final three minutes as the Eagles closed the frame on an 11-0 run, finished 6-for-12 from the field for her game-high scoring total. She added six rebounds, a game-high four assists and a steal.
 
With her two 3-pointers, the Golden State native is now two shy of becoming just the fifth player in the program's Division I era to produce 200 in a career, and she surpassed Stephanie Haas (414, 2012-16) for the fifth-most overall field goals made in a career on Monday, pushing her total to 417.
 
Before Ulel's offensive output, Ashli O'Neal provided a spark off the bench for FGCU in the opening quarter. She drew a charge shortly after entering before finishing with seven points, two assists, two rebounds and two steals during a 21-4 run to close the quarter. O'Neal (Wyoming, Ohio/Wyoming HS) is now 11 points shy of reaching 1,000 career points.
 
After starting 0-for-3 from the field, Davion Wingate produced a steal with 1:36 left in the first half, which sparked her offensively as the senior scored seven points in the final 90 seconds to give FGCU an 18-point lead at the break after North Florida had trimmed its deficit to single digits with 2:34 left.

Wingate (Atlanta, Ga./Stephenson HS) wound up finishing second on the team in scoring with 14, while adding four rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. She made 6-of-11 from the field, including 2-of-4 from long distance.
 
FGCU held a 20-0 advantage in points off turnovers and scored 26 of the game's 28 points in the paint over the first 20 minutes. The Eagles also held UNF's second-leading scorer, Jazz Bond, scoreless with an 0-for-4 start from the field and just four rebounds in 17 minutes of action during the half. Meanwhile, the Green and Blue produced points from seven different players.

The Ospreys opened the second half on a 7-3 run and trimmed the deficit to 14 over the first 3:30 while FGCU went 1-for-5 from the field and tallied the first of only five turnovers for the whole game during that stretch.
 
Ulel would help her team come out of the funk in a big way, though, as the senior guard connected on a pair of free throws to start a 21-0 run. Tanner Bryant (Washington Court House, Ohio/Miami Trace HS) followed with a driving layup on the left side, Kerstie Phills converted back-to-back 3-pointers and Wingate scored five straight.
 
Keri Jewett-Giles, who finished with 11 points, then made a jumper with 24 seconds left in the quarter to complete the run and give the Eagles a 65-30 lead as FGCU emptied the bench and cruised to the win. Phills (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian HS) chipped in 10 points overall while shooting 4-for-6 from the field and making two of her three attempts from long distance.
 
Jewett-Giles (Fort Myers, Fla./Dunbar HS) added eight rebounds (two shy of her career-high), two assists and one steal. It was her fifth-straight game with at least five boards, and she's averaging eight over the past three outings. Furthermore, she eclipsed 700 points in her FGCU career on Monday and now has 710.
 
Tytionia Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS), who was limited to just 15 minutes due to foul trouble and the scoring margin, registered five points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists. She is just six rebounds shy of passing Kayla Gordon (Jacksonville, 1,031, 2014-18) for 10th place on the ASUN's all-time rebounding list.
 
With the win, FGCU is now set up for a first-place showdown with North Alabama (13-3, 4-0) on the road Saturday in Florence, Ala. at 2 p.m. ET. The Eagles will then return home for a pair of games.

Updated ASUN Standings

Pl.	Team	Overall	ASUN
­­T-1.	FGCU	17-2	4-0
	North Alabama	13-3	4-0
T-3.	Liberty	9-8	2-2
	North Florida	9-8	2-2
T-5	Stetson	7-9	1-2
	Jacksonville	9-7	1-2
	Kennesaw State	7-7	1-2
	NJIT	3-13	1-2
9.	Lipscomb	4-13	1-3

 
Monday's ASUN Results
Monday, Jan. 13
Jacksonville 88, NJIT 67
North Alabama 76, Liberty 71 (OT)
FGCU 72, North Florida 50
Kennesaw State 74, Lipscomb 66

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, he has also guided the Eagles to 15-straight 20-win seasons.
 
Smesko maintains a record of 541-121 (.817) 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 190-16 (.922) mark in ASUN play. Over the past eight+ seasons, including this year, he has guided FGCU to a 126-4 (.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--