FORT MYERS, Fla. – A big second half for the FGCU women's basketball team propelled the Eagles (8-1) to an 80-52 victory over Palm Beach Atlantic (2-6), Thursday evening at Alico Arena.

After a sluggish start, the Eagles outscored the Sailfish, 40-22 in the second half to pick up the victory and bounce back after their first loss of the season.

"We didn't shoot the ball very well in the first half," said head coach Karl Smesko. "Fortunately, we were able to force a lot of turnovers and the turnovers led to points."

As a team, FGCU shot 42.6% from the field while the Sailfish shot 46.0%. The Eagles bench shined as they outscored Palm Beach Atlantic's bench 40-10 while also scoring 37 points off of 30 Sailfish turnovers.

Junior Kierstan Bell (Alliance, Ohio/Canton McKinley/Ohio State), the nation's leading scorer, led the Green and Blue with 18 points while graduate student Kendall Spray (Mt. Juliet, Tenn./Wilson Central/Clemson/UT Martin) chipped in with 12 points. Graduate Kerstie Phills (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian/Wagner) had nine points and a game-high seven rebounds while senior Tishara Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King/Western Nebraska CC) had nine points, five assists, and five steals.

FGCU jumped out to a 21-11 lead after one quarter, but the could not expand their lead any further before the break as they held a 40-30 lead heading into the locker room.

Morehouse and Bell hit back-to-back threes to open the second half, extending the Eagle lead to 46-32. Later in the third quarter, and 11-2 run, highlighted by three-pointers from Bell, Phills, and graduate student Karli Seay (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor/LSU/Western Nebraska CC), gave the Eagles a 62-41 lead with just 10 minutes remaining.

The Eagles continued to expand their lead in the fourth, starting the quarter with a 6-0 run. Junior Aaliyah Stanley (Boynton Beach, Fla./Oxbridge Academy/Eastern Michigan) and sophomore Maddie Antenucci (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill) each scored five points in the period as the Eagles pulled away.
Kash Ayuso led Palm Beach Atlantic with 20 points and seven rebounds while Shekinah Guthrie added 14 points and three steals.

The Eagles will return to the court on Saturday when they host Ave Maria. 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.

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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 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 .842 all-time winning percentage is the best in NCAA Division I women's basketball history.
 
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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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