ATLANTA - The duo of
Keri Jewett-Giles and
Davion Wingate registered a pair of 25-point performances to help lead the No. 22 FGCU women's basketball team (26-2, 13-0) to an 89-64 win over Kennesaw State (12-12, 5-7) on the road Monday. In doing so, the Eagles clinched the program's 10th ASUN regular season championship in outright fashion, which breaks a tie with FIU for the most in conference history, and the No. 1 seed in the ASUN tournament.
"I thought we got off to a great start," FGCU head coach
Karl Smesko said. "We really moved the ball well and shot it exceptionally, which helped us get off to a good lead in the first quarter. Keri was exceptional, and Davion was very explosive offensively. Overall, it was a very good offensive performance."
FGCU, which is now 19-2 all-time as a ranked Division I program (including 10-0 this year), became the first team nationally to reach 26 victories while stretching its overall win streak to 15, which is the seventh streak of at least that length in the program's Division I era. They have also won 41 straight against conference opponents, improved to 27-2 all-time against Kennesaw State and are now 135-4 against conference competition in the regular season since becoming a full-fledged Division I program in 2011-12.
In terms of championships, it is the program's third straight regular season title and 10th overall dating back to the first in 2009. Having also already clinched the program's 10th-consecutive season with at least 25 wins, the Green and Blue will host an ASUN quarterfinal inside Alico Arena on March 7.
After scoring just 17 points combined in the previous two first quarters against Lipscomb and Stetson, the Eagles produced 3-pointers from
Wingate (Atlanta, Ga./Stephenson HS) and
Nasrin Ulel on their first two possessions on Monday en route to opening up a 23-3 lead over the host Owls in the game's first six-and-a-half minutes. From there, FGCU cruised.
Playing in front of a hometown crowd, Wingate scored nine points in that opening quarter as FGCU shot 7-for-10 from 3-point range as a team over the first 10 minutes. She finished with 17 of her 25 in the first half alone, while moving past Kelsey Jacobson (1,263, 2008-12) for the eighth-most NCAA points scored by a player to wear the Green and Blue. In fact, she needs just 12 more to become the third player on this year's roster with 1,300 in a career.
Jewett-Giles (Fort Myers, Fla./Dunbar HS) recorded 16 of her points in the first half on 8-for-9 shooting. In fact, the Eagles went 21-for-31 (.677) from the field in the game's first 20 minutes and, with her first point of the game, Jewett-Giles surpassed Rosemarie Julien (862, 2016-18) for the most points by a two-year transfer in program history. She now has 887 in just under two seasons in Fort Myers, and she pushed her tally of 20-point performances in conference play up to seven this year.
In addition to their big offensive performances, Jewett-Giles and Wingate each added six rebounds while combining to shoot 21-for-32 from the field.
Ulel (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta HS) chipped in 15 points on an efficient 5-for-9 finish from the field, while
Kerstie Phills (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian HS) added 10 points.
Ulel moved into 11th and 12th-place, respectively, in conference history in 3-point field goals made and attempted on Monday. She is now tied with Kaneisha Atwater (1,312, 2013-16) for the third-most career points by an FGCU player in the Division I era.
Outside of those four,
Tytionia Adderly tied her career-high with 10 assists while adding eight rebounds, six points and a game-high four steals. In doing so, she not only moved into third place on the program's career steals list, but she is now fourth in conference history in career rebounds with 1,122, and she became the first women's basketball player all-time in the ASUN with 800 points, 1,000 rebounds, 300 assists and 200 steals in a career.
"Ty is just a really special player," Smesko said. "She's a good ball handler. She's a good passer, and she's one of the best rebounders in the country. She's just having an exceptional season."
Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS) needs six more rebounds to elevate into third place all-time in the ASUN.
Notes
With North Alabama's loss on Monday, FGCU sits five games ahead of everyone else in the conference, while there will be a highly-contested battle for the 2-7 seeds in the conference tournament.
ASUN Standings
| Pl. |
Team |
Overall |
ASUN |
| 1. |
FGCU |
26-2 |
13-0 |
| 2. |
North Alabama |
17-8 |
8-5 |
| 3. |
Jacksonville |
15-10 |
7-5 |
|
Liberty |
14-11 |
7-5 |
| 5. |
North Florida |
14-12 |
7-6 |
| 6. |
Kennesaw State |
12-12 |
5-7 |
| 7. |
Stetson |
11-14 |
5-7 |
| 8. |
Lipscomb |
6-20 |
3-10 |
| 9. |
NJIT |
4-21 |
1-11 |
Monday's ASUN Results
Jacksonville 69, North Florida 60
Stetson 69, North Alabama 60
FGCU 89, Kennesaw State 64
Lipscomb 68, NJIT 66
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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 550-121 (.820) 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 199-16 (.926) mark in ASUN play. Over the past eight+ seasons, including this year, he has guided FGCU to a 135-4 (.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 81 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 12-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just eight-plus 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 women's basketball (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 3.35 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2018 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for twenty-one consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall semester 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.
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