WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. --- The FGCU women's basketball team (10-1) pulled off a thrilling 85-84 win in double overtime over Michigan State (7-5) on Massimino Court Monday afternoon to kick off the West Palm Beach Invitational behind several clutch shots and a big defensive stop on the game's final possession.
"It was a great game in terms of intensity," FGCU head coach
Karl Smesko said. "Both teams were playing extraordinarily hard. It was incredibly competitive and tight throughout. It's one of those games that could go either way. We're fortunate they missed the last shot and that we get to go home with a win. I'm really proud of our team. It was a very important win for us."
Michigan State's Nia Clouden, who scored a school-record 50 points, knocked down her final basket with 58 seconds left in the second overtime to give her team an 84-80 lead. On the ensuing possession, though,
Kierstan Bell drained a 3-pointer from the left wing. She then corralled a steal and went coast-to-coast to give the Eagles the one-point lead with 17.3 seconds left. Following a 30-second timeout, Clouden missed a jumper from the right corner. Bell grabbed the rebound as time expired, setting off the celebration.
Back-and-forth action in the first overtime saw a 3-pointer from Bell give FGCU a 76-75 lead with just over 10 seconds left. The Eagles forced a miss from Clouden on the other end, but Tamara Farquhar rebounded the ball, got fouled and made 1-of-2 free throws with 2.6 seconds left. After an errant inbounds pass on a lob attempt to Bell gave the Spartans a chance to win it, a desperation heave fell short as the game went to a second overtime.
After a go-ahead 3-pointer from
Karli Seay and a layup from Bell gave FGCU a 66-63 lead with 2:17 left in the fourth quarter, Clouden's 3-pointer with 1:49 left knotted things up but neither team could score over the final stretch as the game headed to overtime.
Perhaps the biggest stretch of the game for FGCU started when Bell picked up her third foul with just over 13 minutes left in the first half. Michigan State scored the next four points to break open a tie game, stretched the margin to 19-12 after one and led by as many as nine early in the second quarter.
The Eagles responded with seven points from
Tishara Morehouse and back-to-back 3-pointers from
Kendall Spray to pull within two with three minutes left in the half. After the Spartans answered with a bucket, Seay hit a 3-pointer from the right corner, and
Andrea Cecil gave the Green and Blue the lead at the break with a layup in the final seconds. In fact,
Cecil (Oak Harbor, Ohio/Oak Harbor HS/BGSU) finished with a season-high six points in 19 minutes off the bench.
Bell (Alliance, Ohio/Canton McKinley HS/Ohio State) poured in a team-high 28 points along with six rebounds, two assists and two steals. She has seven of her 28 career games with 20-plus points over this year's first 11 contests.
Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS/Western Nebraska CC) added a season-high 20 points, a team-high seven rebounds and two assists. It was her 10th career game with 20-plus points.
Seay (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor HS/Western Nebraska CC/LSU) added a season-high 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting, and Spray netted 12 points, three rebounds and three assists.
Emma List (Colorado Springs, Colo./Discovery Canyon Campus/Albany) notched a team-high five assists along with three steals.
Spray (Mt. Juliet, Tenn./Wilson Central HS/UT Martin/Clemson) made history in the win. Not only did she notch her 80th career game with 10-plus points, but the senior hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:16 left in the first overtime to become just the 10th player in NCAA Division I women's basketball history to make at least 400 from long distance in a career. She now sits at 400-for-1,023 all-time.
| Top 10 - NCAA Division I 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 |
127 |
406 |
| Kendall Spray |
FGCU |
2016-present |
132 |
400 |
The Eagles will conclude the West Palm Beach Classic on Tuesday with a 1:15 p.m. matchup against High Point, which will be held at Palm Beach State College. The Panthers coaching staff is comprised of nearly all former FGCU players and coaches, led by head coach Chelsea Banbury. Other former Eagles on staff include assistant coaches Jaime Gluesing, Brittany Brown and Jessica Cattani, as well as director of operations Nasrin Ulel.
Notes
FGCU improved to 2-1 all-time against Michigan State as Monday's meeting was the first matchup between the two programs since Nov. 19, 2011. On top of that, the Eagles improved to 5-6 all-time against Big 10 schools since the first one in 2009, and they achieved the program's 20th all-time win against a Power 5 school. They previously handed now No. 21 LSU their only loss of the season in November. It's the seventh time since the 2010-11 season the Eagles have knocked off multiple Power 5 schools in the same campaign.
The victory also helped FGCU improve to 8-6 all-time in overtime games. It was the first one since a Nov. 23, 2017 OT victory over No. 21 DePaul in Las Vegas and the program's third double overtime result.
With today's win, head coach
Karl Smesko is now 199-33 (.858) in games where he's had four or more days to prepare.
The Green and Blue improved to 188-5 all-time when scoring 80-plus points.
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 590-126 (.824) overall in his career, which is the third-highest winning percentage among active Division I coaches behind only UConn's Geno Auriemma and LSU'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 529-99 (.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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