FORT MYERS, Fla. – After starting the season with seven straight wins, the #22 FGCU women's basketball team dropped its first game of the season, Wednesday evening, falling to the Princeton Tigers, 58-55.

"It was a really tough game against a great team," said head coach Karl Smesko. "I thought we had a few too many wasted possessions and key defensive breakdowns at the wrong time, but I liked people's efforts and hopefully we'll learn from this game and look to become a stronger team going forward."

Princeton, ranked 8th in the collegeinsider.com mid-major poll, improves to 6-1 this season and has won 32 of its last 34 games overall.

Junior Kierstan Bell (Alliance, Ohio/Canton McKinley/Ohio State) led the Eagles with 19 points and 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season and 22nd of her career.  Senior Tishara Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King/Western Nebraska CC) chipped in with 13 points and a game-high seven assists while senior Tyra Cox (Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep/William & Mary) had 11 points and three steals.

The Eagles struggled to score in the first half, but thanks to 3-for-4 shooting from behind the arc by Morehouse and strong defense, they trailed by just three as the Tigers held a 24-21 lead heading into the locker room.

In the third quarter, FGCU kept the game close and eventually took its first lead of the second half with a 7-0 run, culminated by a three by Cox, to go ahead 34-33 with 2:58 remaining in the period. However, the Tigers responded with a 6-2 spurt to take a 39-36 lead after three quarters.

Graduate student Kerstie Phills (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian/Wagner) kicked off an entertaining fourth quarter with back-to-back three-pointers to first tie the game at 39 and then give the Eagles a 42-41 lead.

Princeton responded and looked like they might run away as they took a 50-44 lead, but the Eagles followed with a 7-0 run to retake a 51-50 lead with 2:12 remaining in the game. The two teams continued to trade the lead before Cox tied the game with 44 seconds left at 55 with two free throws.

Abby Meyers gave the Tigers the lead right back as she hit a tough baseline jumper with 20 seconds remaining. On the ensuing FGCU possession, the Eagles were unable to get a shot off as the Tigers forced a turnover with 1.5 seconds remaining. A missed free throw left a small window for the Eagles, but Kendall Spray's final shot came up short.

Tonight's game was about as evenly matched as can be as the first, third, and fourth quarters were all even with the only difference being the three-point edge the Tigers had in the second period. The Tigers and Eagles each made 20 shots and pulled down 34 rebounds while Princeton held slight 26-22 advantage in points in the paint and 10-9 edge in points off turnovers. FGCU shot 8-29 from behind the arc while the Tigers were held to 2-of-5.

Meyers led Princeton with 18 points while Grace Stone scored 17 points. Ellie Mitchell chipped in with eight points and a team-high nine rebounds.

The Eagles will look to bounce back on Thursday, December 9th when they host Palm Beach Atlantic. Tip-off from Alico Arena is set for 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.

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 587-126 (.823) 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 526-99 (.842) 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/adminservices/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.
 
---FGCUATHLETICS.COM---