LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Competing for the first time since Dec. 21, the FGCU women's basketball team (8-2, 1-0) overcame a sluggish start to pull out an 81-58 win over Bellarmine University (0-8, 0-3) to open conference play on Saturday afternoon in Freedom Hall. It was the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
 
The victory extended several streaks for the Eagles, who have now won 21 straight ASUN road games, 14 games on the road overall and seven in a row overall dating back to the team's win over Davidson in late November. FGCU, which hasn't lost a road regular season conference game outside the state of Florida since Feb. 1, 2014, will conclude the two-game series at the Knights, who just joined the ASUN in July, on Sunday at 2 p.m.
 
"There were definitely some things we didn't do as well as we would have liked," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "We forgot some plays and actions and things of that nature. Overall, though, I was pleased with our performance considering it was the first time we've played since before Christmas."
 
Tishara Morehouse led all scorers with 25 points, while Kierstan Bell produced her fourth-straight double-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals. In doing so, Bell broke Whitney Knight's program record for consecutive double-doubles. Tyra Cox (12) and Aaliyah Stanley (11) also reached double-figures in points, while Emma List had seven points, a career-high seven steals and six assists.
 
"Emma played great today," Smesko said. "She had seven steals, and she helped force a few more. She made so many defensive plays and led us in assists. I thought she did a great job with effort and hustle. TK and Kierstan had really good offensive outings, as well."
 
After a slow start that saw FGCU shoot just 5-for-16 from the field in the first quarter, including a 2-for-9 performance from 3-point range, the Eagles got going in the second quarter behind 8-for-13 shooting and scoring from six different players - led by five points from Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS/Western Nebraska CC). Bell also grabbed five of her 10 boards in the second frame while swatting three shots in the first half.
 
The Eagles pushed their lead to 18 with 2:53 left in the first half, but a late push from Bellarmine made it a 13-point lead at the break.
 
FGCU then got 13 of its 18 third-quarter points from the combination of Morehouse (7) and Cox (6), while List (Colorado Springs, Colo./Discovery Canyon Campus/Albany) dished out four of her six assists in those 10 minutes. Following that, the Green and Blue opened the fourth quarter 6-for-6 from the field, pushing its lead to 26 with 6:16 left. Morehouse and Bell each scored five points during that run as the Eagles never trailed by fewer than 21 the rest of the way.
 
Bell (Alliance, Ohio/Canton McKinley HS/Ohio State) picked up her 10th rebound on the offensive glass with two minutes left to extend her double-double streak.
 
In the second and fourth quarters combined, FGCU shot 17-for-30 from the field. Individually, Morehouse notched her third 25-point effort of the season and her fourth-straight game with double-digit scoring. Bell finished within just four points of her fourth-straight 20-10 performance, while Cox (4) and Stanley (3) extended their double-digit scoring streaks. In fact, Cox (Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep/William & Mary) recorded a new career-high with four 3-pointers.
 
NOTES
FGCU's 14-game road winning streak is the second longest in the nation behind South Carolina's 19-game streak.
 
Bell has produced six double-doubles in seven games played. She tied Whitney Knight (6, 2014-15) and Sarah Hansen (6, 2013-14) for the second-highest single-season double-double total in the program's Division I era history. Knight and Hansen each hold the record of eight, which they set in 2015-16 and 2012-13, respectively.
 
The Eagles improved to 202-17 all-time against ASUN teams in regular season play, including a 138-5 record in such games since 2011-12.
 
Andrea Cecil (Oak Harbor, Ohio/Oak Harbor HS/BGSU) didn't score, but she had three rebounds, two assists and a block. She remains at 960 career points.
 
Alyssa Blair (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie HS) scored five points while playing in her 97th career game with FGCU as she looks to join just 15 others in the program's Division I era 100-game club.
 
The Green and Blue finished 13-for-38 from long distance on Saturday, which represents the eighth time in 10 games the team has had double-digit makes from long distance. It is also the 288th such game in program history.
 
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.
 
SUSTAINING FLIGHT 
To help offset the financial impact of COVID-19, FGCU Athletics has launched the Sustaining Flight Fundraiser and Auction. The fundraising campaign will help mitigate operational revenue loss and the additional expenses incurred as a result of COVID-19 protocols. All funds raised during the campaign will go to support areas that directly impact student-athletes.For more information, visit www.fgcuathletics.com/sustainingflight. 
 
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 maintains a record of 562-124 (.819) overall in his career (third highest winning percentage among active Division I coaches behind only UConn's Geno Auriemma and Baylor's Kim Mulkey), including a 202-17 (.922) mark in ASUN regular season play and a 24-2 (.923) record in ASUN tournament play. Over the past nine seasons, including this year, he has guided FGCU to a 138-5 (.975) record in conference play with five undefeated seasons. The 10-time ASUN Coach of the Year has guided the Green and Blue to four 30-plus win seasons over the past six years. He has also guided the program to 16 consecutive 20-win seasons and 10-straight 25-win seasons.
 
#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 82 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 38 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 (No. 24, 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 3.46 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 22 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall and 2020 Spring semesters each 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--