FORT MYERS, Fla. - Tishara Morehouse poured in a team-high 25 points and Kierstan Bell notched her second consecutive double-double as the FGCU women's basketball team (3-2) came back from a pair of 10-point deficits in the first half to produce a 78-69 win over Temple (0-2) inside Alico Arena on Sunday afternoon.
 
"It was a really bad start with how many breakdowns we had," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "Temple played with a lot of energy and we really didn't match that energy early. I thought they outhustled us and outworked us, especially early in the game. We just had a lot of breakdowns. Fortunately, we were able to have a couple little runs and close it out at the end. But there's a lot of things we're going to have to do a lot better."
 
Temple jumped on top of FGCU with a 9-0 run that gave the visiting Owls a 16-6 lead just four minutes into the game. The Eagles responded behind five straight points from Bell (Alliance, Ohio/Canton McKinley HS/Ohio State) and a pair of 3-pointers from Morehouse and Aaliyah Stanley that trimmed Temple's lead to one with 2:31 left in the quarter.
 
Temple, which got a game-high 34 points from Mia Davis, scored the next nine points, pushing the margin back to 10 with 7:53 left in the half.
 
FGCU responded quickly, though, as Tyra Cox, who was playing in her first game of the season after a return from injury, rattled in a 3-pointer. Bell added an old-fashioned three-point play, and then Morehouse found Stanley (Boynton Beach, Fla./Oxbridge Academy/Eastern Michigan) for a corner 3-pointer. Bell followed by grabbing a defensive board, pushing the ball up the court and finding Emma List on the left-wing for a 3-pointer to knot the game at 29 apiece with 5:43 remaining, which completed a 12-2 run over 2:11.
 
Down the stretch in the half, the teams went back and forth before List (Colorado Springs, Colo./Discovery Canyon Campus/Albany) scored the final three points, including a free throw with less than 10 seconds left that gave the Green and Blue a 38-37 lead at the break.
 
A 10-4 run to open the third quarter, which featured six points from Andrea Cecil (Oak Harbor, Ohio/Oak Harbor HS/BGSU), made it 48-41. Temple cut it down to just two with 2:16 left in the quarter, but Stanley and Bell combined for five straight points, setting up a last-second layup from Morehouse that gave FGCU a 60-52 lead heading to the fourth.
 
The final quarter went back-and-forth, resulting in a 66-62 lead for FGCU with 4:01 left. Bell and Morehouse made back-to-back layups at that point. A couple minutes later, Morehouse drained a key 3-pointer from the right corner with 1:18 remaining after Temple had cut the deficit back down to five. Cox (Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep/William & Mary) added a beautiful layup as the Eagles led by as many as 11 down the stretch.
 
Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS/Western Nebraska CC) tallied her second game with at least 25 points on the young season while adding four rebounds, four steals and three assists. Bell tacked on 14 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and a pair of steals. The duo finished 15-for-32 from the field. List finished with 12 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two assists. Stanley totaled 11 points in 19 minutes off the bench as she reached double-figures for the second-straight time.
 
Aside from 34 points and 12 boards from Davis, Temple got a game-high 14 rebounds and seven assists from Asonah Alexander, as well as nine points and 11 rebounds from Alexa Williamson.
 
FGCU will be back in action this coming Sunday on the road at UCF in a 2 p.m. matchup.
 
Notes
Cecil tacked on six points to her career total, which gives her 931 over her NCAA career, which has spanned 96 games.
 
FGCU improved to 2-0 all-time against Temple as Sunday's matchup concluded a home-and-home series.
 
The victory also gives the Eagles 496 wins in program history. Behind 18-plus years of Coach Smesko's leadership, FGCU has compiled a 496-97 (.836) record. They also remain on pace to become the NCAA's all-time winning percentage leader by the end of the season, once they reach the years played as a Division I program requirement, as they're one of just two programs all-time with above an .800 winning percentage, joining Tennessee (.801).
 
Bell's double-double was not only her second of the season, but the fourth of her career. She also registered her 21st double-digit scoring game.
 
With their 284th all-time game with 10+ 3-point field goals as a team, FGCU has now made 2,902 from long distance inside Alico Arena, moving the program closer to the 3,000 milestone.
 
For complete coverage of the women's basketball program, follow the Eagles on Twitter and Instagram at @FGCU_WBB, on Facebook at /fgcuwbb and online at www.FGCUathletics.com. You can also sign-up to have news on FGCU women's basketball or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
 
SUSTAINING FLIGHT 
To help offset the financial impact of COVID-19, FGCU Athletics has launched the Sustaining Flight Fundraiser and Auction. The fundraising campaign will help mitigate operational revenue loss and the additional expenses incurred as a result of COVID-19 protocols. All funds raised during the campaign will go to support areas that directly impact student-athletes.
 
In lieu of hosting the annual Night at the Nest gala this year, one of FGCU's most successful fundraising events, the department hosted a virtual, online auction from Monday, Nov. 30 through Friday, Dec. 4. Fans and supporters were able to bid on exclusive memorabilia, trip packages, unique event experiences and more. For more information, visit www.fgcuathletics.com/sustainingflight. 
 
E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
 
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 maintains a record of 556-124 (.818) overall in his career (third highest winning percentage among active Division I coaches behind only UConn's Geno Auriemma and Baylor's Kim Mulkey), including a 201-17 (.922) mark in ASUN regular season play and a 24-2 (.923) record in ASUN tournament play. Over the past nine seasons, including this year, he has guided FGCU to a 137-5 (.975) record in conference play with five undefeated seasons. The 10-time ASUN Coach of the Year has guided the Green and Blue to four 30-plus win seasons over the past six years while compiling a 179-31 (.852) record. He has also guided the program to 16 consecutive 20-win seasons and 10-straight 25-win seasons.
 
#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 82 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 38 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (No. 24, 2019-20) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. 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 3.46 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 22 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall and 2020 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA. 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--