FORT MYERS, Fla. - Keri Jewett-Giles and Tytionia Adderly each produced double-doubles to help the No. 25 FGCU women's basketball team (15-2, 2-0 ASUN) grind out a tough conference win over Liberty (8-7, 1-1) inside Alico Arena on Monday.
 
"It was definitely a tough game," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "Liberty played great, and we were fortunate. Keri made some huge plays for us. Liberty is a great rebounding team, and she was in there as a guard getting 10 rebounds. That was fantastic. She made some big plays down the stretch, and then Ty was really good. She played great defense. She rebounded. Those two really stepped it up for a notch for us, especially Keri when Ty had to go out for a bit. That 3-point play toward the end was a really big play."
 
With the win, the Eagles snapped a six-game winning streak for the visiting Flames. Meanwhile, FGCU pushed its conference winning streak to 30, which is the fourth-longest in the nation. It was the first time since a Jan. 12, 2019 win over North Florida that FGCU had two players record double-doubles (Destiny Washington and Lisa Zderadicka). The Green and Blue will now hit the road for three straight, beginning with a 1 p.m. tilt on Saturday at Stetson.
 
"There's a lot we can take from (this game) and learn," Smesko said. "Hopefully that's what we do because this is the strongest the conference has been since I've been in it. There's more good players and more good teams than at any other time. We're going to have to raise our level."
 
FGCU remains tied for the most wins in the nation with 15, and their 30-game conference winning streak trails only UConn (137), Baylor (43) and Mercer (34) nationally. They are now 101-2 all-time in ASUN regular season play against conference teams since joining the league in 2007-08.
 
Entering the matchup, FGCU looked to use its speed and 3-point shooting while battling the size that Liberty presented, and the game took a wild turn. The visiting Flames made more shots from long distance (7-5) than the nation-leading Eagles, and FGCU out-rebounded Liberty 40-37 while matching their season-high for blocks with four. The Green and Blue also had a negative assist to turnover ratio (13 to 16) for just the fourth time this year.
 
The difference in the game came at the foul line, where a 9-for-9 performance from Jewett-Giles led FGCU to a 17-for-18 finish, while Liberty finished 6-for-15 overall - including 6-for-14 in the final quarter alone. On the flip side, FGCU went 12-for-13 from the charity stripe in the final 10 minutes.
 
Jewett-Giles (Fort Myers, Fla./Dunbar HS) led all players with 22 points while pulling down a career-high 10 rebounds. She added six assists, four steals and a block while finishing 6-for-11 from the field, and she now has at least one game with double-digits in points, rebounds, assists and steals in her NCAA career.
 
Meanwhile, Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS) overcame an injury that forced her to sit out several minutes in the final quarter to finish with 14 points, a game-high 13 rebounds, four steals and two assists. She matched her career-high in made 3-pointers with three and tallied her second consecutive double-double, which was also the 13th of her career.
 
Despite an uncharacteristic 1-for-5 finish from long distance, Davion Wingate produced 14 points along with four assists and three rebounds while finishing 5-of-11 from the field overall.
 
Both teams combined for just 20 points in the first quarter as FGCU held a 12-8 advantage. A layup from Kerstie Phills (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian HS), who finished with eight points and three rebounds, with 5:32 left in the half allowed the Eagles to double-up the Flames 20-10, but the visitors scored the next eight points. Behind back-to-back 3-pointers from Wingate (Atlanta, Ga./Stephenson HS) and Adderly, the Green and Blue took a 28-22 lead into the break.
 
The visitors trimmed their deficit to two twice in the third quarter, including with 3:07 left following a jumper from Bridgette Rettstatt, but Jewett-Giles dialed up long distance on the other end to spur an 8-0 run. Wingate then scored the final five points of the frame with an old-fashioned 3-point play and an alley-oop layup on an out-of-bounds play in the final seconds to give FGCU a 46-37 lead through 30 minutes.
 
A pair of free throws from Adderly gave the Eagles an 11-point lead with 9:25 left, but Liberty scored the game's next eight points largely due to Retstatt. At that point, Adderly exited with her injury and Asia Todd had a chance to tie the game for the Flames, but a 3-pointer was no good. The two teams then traded points, which led to a two-point margin for FGCU with 4:26 left.
 
From there, the Eagles went on a mini-run to push the lead to six, but Todd cut it in half with a 3-pointer. Jewett-Giles then crashed the paint for a layup and finished the three-point play with 2:22 left.
 
At that point, Adderly re-entered and, despite another 3-pointer from Todd, Jewett-Giles made all four of her foul shot attempts in the final two minutes to seal the game.
 
Notes
The Eagles won despite finishing a season-worst 5-for-33 from 3-point range. It was their lowest total made and percentage of the year. On the flip side, the 17 made free throws was the second-highest total in a game this season, and their .944 percentage ranks No. 1.
 
Ashli O'Neal (Wyoming, Ohio/Wyoming HS) finished with four points. She is now 18 shy of joining the 1,000 point club in her NCAA career.
 
David Moulton made his first women's radio broadcast of the season with his newly formed gig. He will be traveling to Stetson to cover the game on Saturday and for fans unable to attend, you can join the action on Fox Sports Radio by tuning into 94.1 FM WFSX, 1240 AM WNOG – Fort Myers, 103.3 FM - Cape Coral/Fort Myers or 105.9 FM – Naples/Bonita Springs.
 
The games will also be available on mobile devices via the TuneIn App and online through www.FoxSportsFM.com. Each broadcast will feature a pregame show and a postgame show giving fans expert insight into that day's contest. Jewett-Giles and Coach Smesko joined Moulton post-game on Monday.


 
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 539-121 (.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 188-16 (.921) mark in ASUN play. Over the past eight+ seasons (including 2019-20), 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--