JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Nasrin Ulel (Murrieta, Calif.) produced a career-high 36 points to tie the program's single-game scoring record and lead the No. 24 FGCU women's basketball team (22-2, 9-0 ASUN) to an 81-68 win over Jacksonville (13-9, 5-4) on the road in Historic Swisher Gymnasium on Monday.
 
The Green and Blue pushed their winning streak to 11 straight overall and 37 in a row in conference play. They are 26-3 all-time against Jacksonville and 15-2 as a ranked Division I team. 
 
"We beat a really good team," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "Jacksonville is really aggressive and forces a lot of turnovers. They're hard to guard off the dribble, and they have some quick, athletic kids. I thought in the first half, we moved the ball really well. We got a lot of good shots, which gave us a good lead. We didn't finish very strong in the fourth quarter, but give Jacksonville credit for fighting all the way to the end."
 
Ulel finished 11-for-16 from the field, including 5-for-9 from the 3-point line. She also made 9-of-10 from the foul line while adding seven rebounds, two blocks and one steal. In the first half alone, she had 22 points, and she had 34 through three quarters. In doing so, she tied Rosemarie Julien's single-game record of 36 set at Stetson on Jan. 7, 2017.
 
"Nas had it going," Smesko said. "She got hot. We didn't hit many threes in the first half or shoot a very good percentage, but she had several. Then, she was able to get to the rim, and she was able to get to the foul line. They had good defenders on her, but she was just really, really good tonight."
 
The Eagles jumped out to 12-0 lead while holding Jacksonville scoreless for the game's first four and a half minutes. Ulel and Ashli O'Neal (Wyoming, Ohio) each had nine points in the opening quarter, while a trio of players drew charges over the first 13 minutes.
 
Despite struggling from 3-point range, FGCU shot 14-for-19 from inside long distance in the first half as both teams shot above 50 percent from the field. Ulel capped an 8-0 run early in the second quarter with a 3-pointer that gave the Eagles a 39-21 lead with 7:34 left in the half. Toward the end of the third quarter, she took an inbounds pass from Tytionia Adderly (Jupiter, Fla.) and finished a layup to push her point total to 34.
 
In the final quarter, FGCU shot just 2-for-10 and had only five points after scoring at least 24 in each of the first three quarters. Despite that, Ulel made a layup with 1:50 left in the game on her only shot attempt of the quarter, and she added four key rebounds in the frame.
 
Outside of Ulel, Keri Jewett-Giles (Fort Myers, Fla.) added 16 points, five steals, four rebounds and four assists on 7-for-16 shooting. O'Neal added 11 points over 25 minutes, while Adderly had a game-high 11 rebounds (six offensive) along with five assists, four points and two blocks.

FGCU will be back home on Saturday against North Florida at 4 p.m.
 
Notes
Ulel is the third Eagle to score at least 30 points in a game this year, joining Jewett-Giles and Davion Wingate (Atlanta, Ga.). Furthermore, with her five 3-pointers, she pushed her career total to 210 and sits in 13th-place on the ASUN's all-time career list after surpassing three players on Monday.
 
Updated ASUN Standings

Pl.	Team	Overall	ASUN
­­1.	FGCU	22-2	9-0
2.	North Alabama	15-6	6-3
	North Florida	13-9	6-3
4.	Jacksonville	13-9	5-4
	Liberty	12-10	5-4
6.	Stetson	10-12	4-5
7.	Kennesaw State	9-11	3-6
8.	Lipscomb	5-17	2-7
9.	NJIT	3-18	0-8

 
ASUN Results
Monday, Feb. 3
FGCU 81, Jacksonville 68
North Alabama 57, NJIT 55
Stetson 60, North Florida 52
Liberty 76, Kennesaw State 66
 
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 546-121 (.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 195-16 (.924) mark in ASUN play. Over the past eight+ seasons, including this year, he has guided FGCU to a 131-4 (.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.
 
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