FORT MYERS, Fla. --- Maddie Antenucci's 3-pointer on the final offensive possession of the game provided some record-breaking excitement for the fans inside Alico Arena on Saturday as the FGCU women's basketball team (9-1) routed Ave Maria 99-37 for the team's second-straight victory.
 
Antenucci's (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill HS) 3-pointer allowed the Eagles to finish 23-for-66 from long distance, which breaks the program's previous record of 22 that was achieved three times. Their 66 attempts also easily broke the old record for attempts (55) that was established on Jan. 17, 2011 against Mercer. The national record for most 3's in a game is 28, which was set by Western Illinois on Nov. 12, 2018.
 
With the record performance that saw 12 different Eagles make at least one from long distance, FGCU moved past Idaho (21) for the most 3-pointers made in a game by any NCAA Division I team this season. It was the eighth time the Eagles made at least 20 in a game in program history and the first time since an ASUN tournament win over Lipscomb in March 2018. For good measure, the Green and Blue made 13-of-16 from inside the 3-point line.
 

1.	23	vs Ave Maria	12/11/21
2.	22	at ETSU	1/12/13
	22	vs Lipscomb	3/7/18
	22	at Abilene Christian	12/3/17
5.	21	vs Webber International	11/28/11
6.	20	vs Mercer	1/17/11
	20	vs Lipscomb	2/13/17
	20	vs Lipscomb	2/17/18

 
FGCU had 13 players score in the game, all with at least five points. Kierstan Bell (Alliance, Ohio/Canton McKinley HS/Ohio State) had a game-high 13 points in 15 minutes while adding seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks. Nobody played more than 19 minutes for FGCU in a complete team effort.
 
Seneca Hackley (Colorado Springs, Colo./Saint Mary's HS), who had a game-high four 3-pointers, finished with a season-high 12 points while Aaliyah Stanley (Boynton Beach, Fla./Oxbridge Academy/Eastern Michigan) added a season-high 10.
 
Kierra Adams (Lawrenceville, Ga./Brookwood HS) registered new career-bests in rebounds (9) and assists (4). In fact, she tied Bell and Kaela Webb (Pontiac, Mich./Detroit Country Day/Providence/Detroit Mercy) for the game-high in assists. Milan Schimmel (Mission, Ore./Nixyaawii Community/Eastern Florida State/Hutchinson CC/Cincinnati) also notched a season-high with six points on a pair of 3-pointers.
 
Kendall Spray (Mt. Juliet, Tenn./Wilson Central/UT Martin/Clemson), who made a trio of 3-pointers to finish with nine points, inched closer to becoming just the 10th player in NCAA Division I women's basketball history with 400 career 3-pointers as the senior now has 396 over 131 career games.
 

Top 10 - NCAA Career 3-Point Field Goals Made
Name	School	Years	Gms	3's
Kelsey Mitchell	Ohio St.	2015-18	139	*497
Taylor Pierce	Idaho	2016-19	135	472
Jess Kovatch	Saint Francis (Pa.)	2016-19	130	472
Darby Maggard	Belmont	2016-19	134	430
Mikayla Ferenz	Idaho	2016-19	135	415
Rachael Childress	UAB	2017-20	128	415
Katelynn Flaherty	Michigan	2015-18	140	410
Presley Hudson	Central Mich.	2016-19	133	407
Katie Benzan	Maryland	2016-present	126	403
Kendall Spray	FGCU	2016-present	131	396

 
"It was really great to get so many players involved, and I'm happy we did great offensively, but I'm so proud of our defense," said FGCU associate head coach Chelsea Lyles, who reversed roles with head coach Karl Smesko for the game as part of the program's coaching development program. "That's something we've just been drilling to them these past couple days. It was important that our defense looked elite. I think they bought into that. To see them come out and give a full effort defensively, that's what makes me most proud."

Defensively, FGCU held Ave Maria to a 13-for-47 finish from the field, including a 3-for-10 performance from long distance. They didn't score more than 12 points in any quarter and were held to single digits in each of the first two quarters by the Eagles. On top of that, the Green and Blue forced at least 30 turnovers for the second straight game.
 
As a team, FGCU went on several runs to help produce the win. After Ave Maria's Giana Santacroce opened the game with a 3-pointer, the Eagles scored the next 13 points, capped by a 3-pointer and a layup from Emma List (Colorado Springs, Colo./Discovery Canyon Campus/ Albany).
 
The second, and biggest, run came after Ave Maria's Casey Humphrey's layup pulled her team within 18-9 with 4:36 left in the first quarter. The Green and Blue responded by holding the visiting Gyrenes scoreless for nearly the next 11 minutes, reeling off a 26-0 run that was capped by a 3-pointer from Tyra Cox (Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep/William & Mary) with 4:36 left in the half.

After Ave Maria ended the run with 3:50 left in the half, FGCU scored the next eight points, with Tishara Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS/Western Nebraska CC) punctuating the 34-3 run with a layup to give her team a 52-12 lead with 1:24 left.
 
A 16-3 run early in the third quarter added to the damage and featured five points from Stanley to push the lead to 52 with 3:38 left in the third. The Eagles also scored nine straight early in the fourth.
 
FGCU is now 4-0 all-time against Ave Maria, scoring at least 99 points in all of them and averaging 100.5 points per game in the series.
 
The Eagles are scheduled to close out their non-conference season with three tough games, starting with matchups against Michigan State and High Point on Dec. 20-21 in West Palm Beach. On Dec. 29, they will travel to the Bronx to face Fordham, who defeated the only team to beat FGCU this year - Princeton - 76-67 on Dec. 5.

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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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 589-126 (.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 528-99 (.842) all-time since Smesko started the program in the 2002-03 season, and the Green and Blue's .842 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.
 
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