FORT MYERS, Fla. - The North Alabama women's basketball team (19-8, 10-5) shot 51.1 percent from the field to upset No. 23 FGCU (27-3, 14-1) inside Alico Arena on Saturday afternoon.
 
The loss, which snapped a 43-game conference winning streak for FGCU dating back to February 2018, represented just the third defeat for the Eagles in 108 regular season conference games at home since 2007-08. It also ended a 16-game overall winning streak for the Green and Blue, who had not lost since Dec. 19 against LSU.
 
"North Alabama beat us. They were the better team today," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "They played with great energy and great passion. I think it's good in a way we got to play a game at that kind of competitive level going into the (ASUN) tournament so we understand what we're going to have to adjust, what we're going to have to do to be successful in the tournament. We did a lot of things pretty well. We had 74 shots to their 47, but the quality of our shots was probably the thing that was the most disappointing."
 
As a team, FGCU finished 19-for-74 (.257) from the field, which included a 7-for-35 (.200) performance from long distance. Keri Jewett-Giles (Fort Myers, Fla./Dunbar HS) led the Eagles in scoring with 19 points while adding a game-high seven steals. She surpassed Adrianne McNally (1,415, 2006-10) for the fourth-most NCAA points scored by a player to finish her career in the Green and Blue and now sits at 1,429.
 
Davion Wingate (Atlanta, Ga./Stephenson HS) added 13 points while Kerstie Phills had 11 points and seven rebounds. Tytionia Adderly led all players with 18 rebounds while adding six points and three assists.
 
Both teams went back-and-forth early in the opening quarter before North Alabama took an 18-16 lead through one. The visiting Lions then opened up a 30-20 lead with 5:22 left in the first half before the Eagles went on a 9-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Phills (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian HS), although North Alabama led by three at the break.
 
Despite tying it twice, FGCU was unable to seize a lead in the third quarter as Adderly's two free throws pulled the Eagles within one in the closing seconds. After North Alabama pushed their lead to four in the first two minutes of the final quarter, FGCU went on a 7-0 run with Phills making another 3-pointer to give the Green and Blue its first lead since the first quarter.
 
From there, however, FGCU missed its next 13 shots and committed two turnovers while going scoreless before Ashli O'Neal (Wyoming, Ohio/Wyoming HS) made a 3-pointer just before the buzzer. Six of those shots came as the Eagles were within one possession.
 
With her 18 rebounds, Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS) moved into sole possession of second place all-time on the ASUN career list, surpassing Mercer's Andrea Congreaves (1,141, 1989-93). She now only trails Georgia Southern's Phylette Blake (1,242, 1985-89).
 
With her 13 points, Wingate eclipsed the 1,300 plateau for her career - joining Jewett-Giles and Nasrin Ulel (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta HS) on the list. It also makes FGCU just the second school to accomplish that feat nationally (Oregon).
 
The Eagles fell to 6-1 all-time against North Alabama. They will conclude the regular season against Jacksonville on Monday at 7 p.m. in Alico Arena before opening the ASUN tournament against Lipscomb on March 7 at 7 p.m.
 
ASUN Standings

Pl.	Team	Overall	ASUN
­­1.	FGCU	27-3	14-1
2.	North Alabama	19-8	10-5
	Jacksonville	18-10	10-5
	Liberty	17-11	10-5
5.	North Florida	14-14	7-8
6.	Kennesaw State	13-14	6-9
7.	Stetson	12-16	6-9
8.	Lipscomb	7-22	4-12
9.	NJIT	4-24	1-14

 
Upcoming ASUN Schedule
Saturday
Kennesaw State 85, NJIT 62
North Alabama 61, FGCU 55
Jacksonville 71, Stetson 57
Liberty 79, Lipscomb 70
Monday
Jacksonville at FGCU, 7 p.m.
Liberty at Kennesaw State, 7 p.m.
North Florida at Stetson, 7 p.m.
NJIT at North Alabama, 7 p.m.


 
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 551-122 (.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 200-17 (.922) mark in ASUN play. Over the past eight+ seasons, including this year, he has guided FGCU to a 136-5 (.9765) 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.
 
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--