DELAND, Fla. --- Kierstan Bell poured in 28 points to lead the No. 29 FGCU women's basketball team (12-2, 5-0 ASUN) to its 11th-straight victory with a 72-55 triumph over Stetson (4-6, 2-3) on the road inside the Edmunds Center Friday. The two teams will close out the weekend series on Saturday at 3 p.m.
 
"Kierstan had a huge game for us," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "I thought we played with more energy in the second half. Tyra did a great job on the boards, and Seneca made some big plays."
 
With the victory, FGCU also extended its road winning streak to 16 dating back to last year, which is the second-longest in the nation behind South Carolina's 20-game stretch. They've also won 23 straight on the road against ASUN competition and improved to 28-4 all-time against Stetson, which includes eight straight wins.
 
Bell (Alliance, Ohio/Canton McKinley HS/Ohio State) finished 10-for-24 from the field, which included a 7-for-19 performance from 3-point range, while adding six rebounds, two blocks, two assists and two steals. She bumped her season scoring average up to 22.8 per contest while notching her fourth game with at least 25 points this year, as well as her eighth with at least 20. On top of that, she now has 30 career double-digit scoring performances and has made at least 10 field goals in three of five conference contests.
 
The play of Bell was crucial for the Eagles, who trailed 9-3 in the first three minutes of the game and led by just three with 1:06 left in the third quarter. Aaliyah Stanley, who finished second on the team in scoring with 11 points, made what was perhaps the biggest shot of the game with 50 seconds left in the third as she dialed long distance to answer Stetson's Yazz Wazeerud-Din's, who made a 3-pointer that pulled her team within three on the previous possession.
 
Stanley's shot spurred 10 straight points as part of a 16-2 run for the Green and Blue that also featured five points from Seneca Hackley and 3-pointers from Emma List (Colorado Springs, Colo./Discovery Canyon Campus HS/Albany) and Tishara Morehouse to put FGCU up 63-46 with 6:21 left in the game.
 
For the second-consecutive game, the Eagles made a season-high 18 from long distance while also setting a new season-best in attempts (50). In fact, it is tied for the seventh-highest attempt total from long distance in the program's Division I era, as well as the fourth-highest against an ASUN team.
 
Tyra Cox (Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep/William & Mary) tied Stanley in scoring with 11 while producing her first career double-double with 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS/Western Nebraska CC) and Hackley each added eight points, while Hackley (Colorado Springs, Colo./Saint Mary's HS) chipped in five rebounds and a team-high three steals.
 
Stanley's (Boynton Beach, Fla./Oxbridge Academy/Eastern Michigan), meanwhile, dished out a career-high six assists while adding four rebounds and two steals. She reached double-digits in scoring for the sixth time in the past seven games, including her fourth in five conference games.
 
Notes
Bell's seven makes from long distance is a new career-high for the sophomore forward, and it fell just one shy of matching the program's single-game record. At the same time, she established a new FGCU-best for most attempts in a game, breaking the record of 16 previously held by Betsy Adams (2012), Candy Myers (2006) and Taylor Gradinjan (2016).
 
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.
 
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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 566-124 (.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 206-17 (.922) mark in ASUN regular season play and a 24-2 (.923) record in ASUN tournament play. Over the past nine-plus seasons, including this year, he has guided FGCU to a 142-5 (.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--