FORT MYERS, Fla. - Anja Marinkovic provided 16 big points off the bench, while Tytionia Adderly pulled down a single-game record 21 rebounds as the No. 24 FGCU women's basketball team (24-2, 11-0) pulled out a come-from-behind 67-54 win over Stetson inside Alico Arena on Monday night.
 
"We got off to a really slow start, especially offensively," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "I thought when we brought Anja in was the big spark. She hit a bunch of threes in a short period of time. She was running the floor hard, creating space for people. She got an opportunity tonight and made the most of it. She was huge for us. Other than that, we didn't shoot it great tonight, but Ty played great defense and was an exceptional rebounder, so we got some extra possessions and some extra shots. We just didn't shoot it very well."
 
As a team, FGCU missed the first nine shots from the field before Keri Jewett-Giles (Fort Myers, Fla.) made a 3-pointer with 5:25 left, but the drought resumed as the Eagles finished 2-for-20 from the field and trailed 15-9 through the first 10 minutes.
 
Enter Marinkovic (Sombor, Serbia), who made three consecutive shots from long distance over a two-minute stretch to highlight a 14-0 run that gave the Green and Blue a 23-17 lead with 4:22 left in the half. She added a steal and a fast break layup a short time later to make it 27-21, and after Stetson trimmed its deficit to just two with less than 10 seconds left, the junior guard buried a fast break 3-pointer to give FGCU a 30-25 lead at the break.
 
The Eagles scored the first three points of the second half, but Stetson answered with a 10-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Kimia Carter, to take a 35-33 lead with 5:33 left in the third. Jewett-Giles immediately responded with a layup on the next possession, and Marinkovic tacked on a reverse layup for the lead.
 
The Hatters took the lead back (40-39) with 2:31 left in the quarter on a Jamiya Turner layup, but Tyra Cox (Orlando, Fla.) hit a pair of clutch 3-pointers, including one at the buzzer, sandwiched around a second-chance layup by Adderly (Jupiter, Fla.), as the Eagles took a 47-42 lead into the final quarter.

After falling behind by one on the Turner layup, FGCU completed an 18-2 run that allowed them to open up a 57-42 lead with 6:21 left. From there, the Eagles never led by fewer than double-digits and pushed its lead to as many as 16 following a free throw from Emma List (Colorado Springs, Colo.) in the final minute.
 
Jewett-Giles finished with a game-high 21 points while finishing 7-for-7 from the foul line and adding three rebounds, two assists and two steals. It was her sixth 20-point effort in conference play, her 10th such performance of the season and the 17th of her career.
 
Marinkovic tallied 16 on 6-for-7 shooting, including 4-for-5 from long distance, over 15 minutes off the bench, while Nasrin Ulel (Murrieta, Calif.) tacked on 14 points, seven rebounds and two assists.
 
FGCU, which snapped Stetson's three-game winning streak and became the first team nationally to reach 24 wins, pushed its overall winning streak to 13 straight and has won 39 consecutive games against conference teams. They are 27-4 all-time against Stetson, which is the Green and Blue's most wins against any ASUN team.
 
The Eagles now need either one more win or another loss by either Jacksonville, North Florida or Liberty to clinch a top four seed and a home quarterfinal game in the ASUN tournament.

Notes
Jewett-Giles now has 849 career points, surpassing Chelsea Lyles (839, 2008-10) for the second-most by a two-year transfer in program history. The only player left ahead of her is Rosemarie Julien, who had 862 from 2016-18.

Adderly joined Kerstie Phills (Charlotte, N.C.), who had one 20-rebound game in her time at Wagner, as one of two players on this year's roster with at least one such performance in her career. After tallying 19 rebounds on Saturday to break her own Division I era single-game record, her 21 rebounds on Monday tied Robyn Swain for the program's overall record - although Swain's total came in 2003 when FGCU was an NAIA program.

The Eagles, behind a 10-for-35 performance from long distance on Monday, reached 300 3-pointers on the season exactly. It is the program's 11th consecutive season reaching that benchmark.

The team's 13-game winning streak is one shy of tying for the program's seventh-longest in the Division I era. Monday's victory was their 200th Division I victory inside Alico Arena.
 
Ulel surpassed Kaneisha Atwater (457, 2013-16) for the third-most career field goals in program history on Monday. She has 458, while she only needs eight more points to become the fourth player in program history to reach 1,300. On top of that, she needs just two more 3-pointers to pass Shannon Murphy (219, 2007-11) for the fourth-most 3-pointers in program history.

Adderly passed Albena Branzova (FIU, 1991-95, 1,092) for ninth place on the ASUN's career rebounds list. She now has 1,106, and she's just 36 shy of jumping all the way up to second place as only 30 rebounds separate second through eighth place.
 

ASUN Record Book - Total Career Rebounds
Place	Name	School	Years	Total
1.	Phylette Blake	Ga. Southern	1985-89	1,242
2.	Andrea Congreaves	Mercer	1989-93	1,141
3.	Deneka Knowles	S'eastern LA	1993-96	1,127
4.	Brittany Starling	USC Upstate	2012-16	1,119
5.	Siarre Evans	ETSU	2006-10	1,116
6.	April Cromartie	Campbell	1998-2002	1,113
7.	Felecia Autry	Campbell	1994-98	1,112
8.	Sametria Gideon	Kennesaw St.	2009-13	1,111
9.	Tytionia Adderly	FGCU	2016-present	1,106
10.	Albena Branzova	FIU	1991-95	1,092

 
ASUN Standings

Pl.	Team	Overall	ASUN
­­1.	FGCU	24-2	11-0
2.	North Alabama	17-6	8-3
3.	Jacksonville	14-10	6-5
	North Florida	13-11	6-5
	Liberty	13-11	6-5
6.	Kennesaw State	10-11	4-6
	Stetson	10-13	4-6
8.	Lipscomb	5-19	2-9
9.	NJIT	4-19	1-9

 
ASUN Results
Monday, Feb. 10
Liberty 61, Jacksonville 56
NJIT 60, North Florida 56
FGCU 67, Stetson 54
North Alabama 91, Lipscomb 58
 
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 548-121 (.819) 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 197-16 (.925) mark in ASUN play. Over the past eight+ seasons, including this year, he has guided FGCU to a 133-4 (.971) 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--