SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Behind 16 points and nine rebounds from graduate student Kerstie Phills (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian/Wagner), the #25 FGCU women's basketball team picked up its second win in two days in Puerto Rico, defeating Saint Louis, 73-65.

The Eagles remain undefeated on the season at 7-0 while the Billikens fall to 1-5.

"We still have a lot of room for growth, but it was nice to get two wins this weekend," said head coach Karl Smesko. "Kerstie Phills and Emma List both stepped up and had excellent games today."

Phills shot 6-for-10 from the field, including 3-for-5 from downtown to lead the Green and Blue with 16 points. Junior Kierstan Bell (Alliance, Ohio/Canton McKinley/Ohio State), the nation's leading scorer, battled foul trouble early in the game but still put up 14 points and collected seven rebounds. Graduate student Kendall Spray (Mt. Juliet, Tenn./Wilson Central/UT Martin/Clemson) and redshirt-senior Emma List (Colorado Springs, Colo./Discovery Canyon Campus/Albany) each chipped in with nine points. List also dished out a game-high six assists.

In the first quarter, Bell picked up two fouls in the first four minutes forcing her to come out of the game, but the Eagles responded with a 6-0 run to take an early 12-5 lead. The Billikens got back to within four at 14-10, but a 7-2 run by the Eagles to end the quarter gave them a 21-12 lead after 10 minutes.

FGCU extended their lead to 37-29 at the break after a second quarter which saw List and graduate student Karli Seay (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor/LSU/Western Nebraska C.C.) each score five points, including one three-pointer by each.

Coming out of the locker room, the Eagles went on a 10-0 run to extend their lead to 19 with 6:30 remaining in the third quarter.

Entering the final period, the Eagles led by 15 and extended that lead to 17 at 73-56. A late 9-0 run by Saint Louis made the final result a little closer, but it was too little too late for the Billikens.

Both teams shot 43% from the field while the Eagles shot 11-for-34 from three and held Saint Louis to just 4-of-10 from behind the arc. Another advantage for FGCU was its bench as they outscored SLU's bench 25-11.

The Eagles are back in action on Wednesday when they return to Alico Arena to host Princeton. Tip-off against the Tigers is set for 7 p.m.
 
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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 587-125 (.824) overall in his career, which is the third-highest winning percentage among active Division I coaches behind only UConn's Geno Auriemma and Baylor's Kim Mulkey. He has also led the Eagles to a 217-17 (.927) mark in ASUN regular season play and a 27-2 (.931) record in ASUN tournament play. Over the past 10 seasons, he has guided FGCU to a 153-5 (.968) record in conference play with six undefeated seasons. The 11-time ASUN Coach of the Year has led the program to 11-straight 25-win seasons and 17-consecutive 20-win campaigns, including 30-plus wins in four of the past seven years. On top of all that, the Eagles are 526-98 (.843) all-time since Smesko started the program in the 2002-03 season, and the Green and Blue's .824 all-time winning percentage is the best in NCAA Division I women's basketball history.
 
#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 85 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 42 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 21, 2020-21), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2021) 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 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 23 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, and 2020 Fall 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.
 
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