LYNCHBURG, Va. - Kerstie Phills (Charlotte, N.C.) scored a game-high 19 points to lead the FGCU women's basketball team (21-2, 8-0) to a 74-65 win over Liberty (11-10, 4-4) on the road in the Vines Center on Saturday. It was the 10th straight win for the Eagles, who also pushed their conference winning streak to 36 straight.
 
"Liberty came out strong and played really well, shot it well," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "It was nice to see us be able to make a move early in the second half. KP hit a bunch of threes and had a great game. Ty also had a couple of second-half threes that were able to give us a lead and fortunately we were able to hold on."
 
With her team down one at halftime, Phills scored 13 of her points in the third quarter en route to finishing with a career-high five 3-point field goals. It was the most points she has scored since joining the Green and Blue last year.

The Eagles, who were the first ranked team to visit the Vines Center since 2008, finished 14-for-38 from 3-point range, tying a Vines Center record for the most made 3-point field goals. Tytionia Adderly (Jupiter, Fla.) tied her career-high for made 3-point field goals with three for the fourth time since the start of conference play.
 
Outside of Phills and Adderly, who finished with nine points, six rebounds, three steals and three assists, Nasrin Ulel (Murrieta, Calif.) had a big game. She finished second on the team in scoring with 18 points while adding six rebounds, five assists, one block and one steal.
 
Keri Jewett-Giles (Fort Myers, Fla.), who hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from near half court to finish the first half, added 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Ashli O'Neal (Wyoming, Ohio) had 12 points, four rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal.
 
Emily Lytle (19) and Ashtyn Baker (11) combined for 30 of Liberty's 65 points, while Lytle also added a game-high 10 rebounds.
 
Notes
With the victory, along with North Alabama's loss to Jacksonville, the Eagles are now three games up on everyone else in the conference except North Florida.

The Green and Blue will stay on the road to face Jacksonville on Monday at 7 p.m.
 
FGCU is 5-0 all-time against Liberty.
 
With her two 3-point field goals, Ulel is tied with Ashley Holliday (Kennesaw State, 2009-13) for 15th-place on the ASUN's career list with 205. Furthermore, she became just the sixth player in program history to score at least 1,200 points in the Green and Blue. She currently sits at 1,209.
 
FGCU's current winning streak is the program's 12th of at least 10 games since moving to the Division I level in 2007-08.
 
ASUN Standings

Pl.	Team	Overall	ASUN
­­1.	FGCU	21-2	8-0
2.	North Florida	13-8	6-2
3.	North Alabama	14-6	5-3
	Jacksonville	13-8	5-3
5.	Liberty	11-10	4-4
6.	Kennesaw State	9-10	3-5
7.	Stetson	8-12	2-5
8.	Lipscomb	5-16	2-6
9.	NJIT	3-17	0-7

 
Upcoming ASUN Schedule
Saturday, Feb. 1
Jacksonville 67, North Alabama 56
North Florida 57, Kennesaw State 33
FGCU 74, Liberty 65
Stetson 48, Lipscomb 34
Monday, Feb. 3
FGCU at Jacksonville, 7 p.m.
Kennesaw State at Liberty, 7 p.m.
North Alabama at NJIT, 7 p.m.
Stetson at North Florida, 7 p.m.
*All Times Eastern
 
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.
 
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL 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.
 
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 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 545-121 (.818) 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 194-16 (.924) mark in ASUN play. Over the past eight+ seasons, including this year, he has guided FGCU to a 130-4 (.970) 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--