NASHVILLE, Tenn. -
Tytionia Adderly registered a season-high 28 points on a career-high seven 3-pointers to lead the No. 22 FGCU women's basketball team (25-2, 12-0) to a come-from-behind 78-45 win over Lipscomb (5-20, 2-10) on the road Saturday.
"I thought Lipscomb came out and played a great first half," FGCU head coach
Karl Smesko said. "Their pace was really good. We made defensive mistakes, and they made us pay for all of them. It made us play at a different level in the second half. I'm glad that we raised our energy and execution levels, and we were able to play the second half the way we are capable of playing."
With the victory, the Eagles clinched at least a share of their third consecutive ASUN regular season championship. FGCU has won 14 straight overall and 40 in a row against conference opponents, and they'll get their first chance to win the regular season title outright and claim the top seed in the ASUN tournament on the road Monday at Kennesaw State.
Furthermore, the Green and Blue also clinched the program's 10th-straight season with at least 25 wins, and they improved to 27-0 all-time against Lipscomb.
Adderly (Jupiter, Fla.) began to resuscitate an offense that started the game 1-for-14 from the field and trailed 17-5 by splashing a 3-pointer from the right wing with 13 seconds left in the opening quarter. She went on to add eight more to open the second quarter en route to 11 straight points all by herself to pull the Eagles within one.
After Lipscomb pushed its lead back up to six,
Nasrin Ulel (Murrieta, Calif.) hit a 3-pointer and Adderly scored five more to help FGCU take a 30-29 lead into the half.
The Eagles, who outscored the Bisons 22-12 on 5-for-10 shooting from long distance in the second quarter, produced a 13-2 advantage in points off turnovers in the half. Adderly finished with 17 points and etched a new career-high in made 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes alone.
The Green and Blue proceeded to open the second half with 16 consecutive points, highlighted by seven from
Davion Wingate (Atlanta, Ga.), and pushed their lead to as many as 18 in the quarter on a 3-pointer from
Tyra Cox (Orlando, Fla.) in the final seconds.
In the final frame, FGCU tacked on six of the team's 17 3-pointers as
Emma List (Colorado Springs, Colo.),
Anja Marinkovic (Sombor, Serbia) and
Tanner Bryant (Washington Court House, Ohio) all joined the action from long distance.
In addition to her 28 points, Adderly also added a team-high eight rebounds, while
Keri Jewett-Giles (Fort Myers, Fla.) had 13 points, four assists and three steals. Ulel chipped in a game-high five assists, and Cox had a game-high four steals in 15 minutes off the bench.
Notes
Ulel tied her current assistant coach
Shannon Murphy (219, 2007-11) for 12th-place on the ASUN's career list in Saturday's win. It also represents the fourth-most in program history.
With her eight rebounds, Adderly moved up to sixth-place on the ASUN's all-time list with 1,114. She passed Sametria Gideon (Kennesaw State, 1,111, 2009-13), Felecia Autry (Campbell, 1994-98, 1,112) and April Cromartie (Campbell, 1998-2002, 1,113) on Saturday. She now needs six more to move up to fourth place.
The Eagles extended their streak of consecutive seasons with at least 12 wins in conference play to 13, which includes every season they've been in the ASUN. In fact, over that span, all other members who have been in the conference since then have tallied a total of seven combined such seasons.
By clinching at least a share of the ASUN regular season championship, FGCU becomes the first team in ASUN women's basketball history (past or present) to win 10 regular season conference titles. They were previously tied with FIU at nine, and they can make it 10-for-10 in outright championships on Monday at Kennesaw State.
Wingate's seven points against Lipscomb allowed her to tie Kelsey Jacobson (1,263, 2008-12) for the eighth-most NCAA points scored by a player to wear the Green and Blue. Ulel needs three more to reach 1,300 and become the fourth player in the program's Division I era to reach that milestone.
Jewett-Giles, who remains in fifth-place on the aforementioned list with 1,369 points, tied Rosemarie Julien (862, 2016-18) for the most points ever scored by a two-year transfer in program history. She produced her 25th double-digit scoring effort of the season against Lipscomb.
Adderly's 20-plus point effort was the fifth of her career, including her second this year. She needs two more steals to surpass Courtney Chihil (199, 2008-12) for third-place on the program's career list.
FGCU 14-game winning streak ties the 2010-11 team for the seventh-longest in the program's Division I era.
ASUN Standings
| Pl. |
Team |
Overall |
ASUN |
| 1. |
FGCU |
25-2 |
12-0 |
| 2. |
North Alabama |
17-7 |
8-4 |
| 3. |
Liberty |
14-11 |
7-5 |
|
North Florida |
14-11 |
7-5 |
| 5. |
Jacksonville |
14-10 |
6-5 |
| 6. |
Kennesaw State |
12-11 |
5-6 |
| 7. |
Stetson |
10-14 |
4-7 |
| 8. |
Lipscomb |
5-20 |
2-10 |
| 9. |
NJIT |
4-20 |
1-10 |
Saturday's Results
North Florida 67, North Alabama 65
Kennesaw State 70, Stetson 67
Liberty 66, NJIT 48
FGCU 78, Lipscomb 45
For complete coverage of the women's basketball program, follow the Eagles on
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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 549-121 (.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 198-16 (.925) mark in ASUN play. Over the past eight+ seasons, including this year, he has guided FGCU to a 134-4 (.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.
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