FORT MYERS, Fla. - Behind a game-high 30 points from Kierstan Bell, the No. 27 FGCU women's basketball team (16-2, 9-0 ASUN) rolled past Kennesaw State (6-8, 1-8) 104-60 inside Alico Arena on Saturday afternoon to produce the program's 15th-consecutive victory while breaking several single-game team records.
 
The Green and Blue, who are 28-2 all-time against Kennesaw State with 22 straight wins in the series, now have the eighth-longest winning streak in the program's Division I era, topping the 14-game streak the 2010-11 team produced from Nov. 12 to Jan. 17. They will now look to tie last year's team that won 16 straight when they host the Owls on Sunday at 2 p.m. to conclude the weekend series.
 
"I thought we had a really good performance," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "Offensively, I thought we really executed well and got good shots. We shared the ball and shot extraordinarily well from the field. We did probably foul too much. Give Kennesaw credit. They were aggressive pounding it inside and attacking the basket. We have to do a better job of being able to guard without fouling. We executed so well offensively, though, that we were able to overcome some of our foul difficulties."
 
As a team, FGCU finished 43-for-64 (.672) from the field while hovering above .700 for much of the game, including 70-plus percent finishes in each of the first two quarters. In doing so, the Eagles established new single-game program records for field goal percentage, topping the previous high of .625 vs ETSU on Feb. 4, 2010, and field goals made, topping the 40 that was achieved four times. The team's 104 points was the fifth-most they've ever scored vs an ASUN opponent. Overall, it was the program's 14th 100-point performance of the Division I era.
 
Bell (Alliance, Ohio/Canton McKinley HS/Ohio State) finished with 30 points on 14-for-20 shooting while adding seven rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals over just 25 minutes of game action. It was her second game with at least 30 points this year, and she topped her previous season-high vs a conference opponent (29 vs Lipscomb, Jan. 23). Although she failed to extend her double-double streak to four, she notched her fifth-straight game with at least 20 points, including her seventh in nine conference games.
 
In addition to Bell, Tishara Morehouse (17), Emma List (12) and Seneca Hackley (10) also scored in double-figures, while six others added at least three points.
 
Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS/Western Nebraska CC) finished 6-for-7 from the field while adding three assists and a team-high three steals. List (Colorado Springs, Colo./Discovery Canyon Campus HS/Albany) added five assists while finishing 5-for-6 from the field. Meanwhile, Hackley (Colorado Springs, Colo./Saint Mary's HS) ended up 5-for-8 overall and tacked on five rebounds and three assists.
 
Tomia Johnson (Aurora, Colo./Grandview HS) came off the bench in the second half to finish with seven points and a career-high six assists over 11 minutes. Although FGCU made a season-low seven 3-pointers from long distance for the second-consecutive game, they did so at a .467 percentage, which was the team's second-best finish this year. It was also the program's 493rd consecutive game with at least one 3-point field goal made.
 
Andrea Cecil (Oak Harbor, Ohio/Oak Harbor HS/BGSU) added three points to move within 15 points of 1,000 in her NCAA career.

UPDATED ASUN STANDINGS
 

Place	Team	Overall	ASUN
1.	FGCU	16-2	9-0
2.	Liberty	13-5	9-2
3.	North Florida	10-7	8-2
4.	Lipscomb	8-7	5-4
5.	Bellarmine	4-12	4-7
	North Alabama	5-15	4-7
7.	Stetson	5-9	3-6
8.	Kennesaw State	6-8	1-8
	Jacksonville	3-11	1-8

 
ASUN SCHEDULE/RESULTS
Saturday, Feb. 13
FGCU 104, Kennesaw State 60
Liberty 76, Bellarmine 62
Lipscomb 66, Jacksonville 55
Stetson 75, North Alabama 66

Sunday, Feb. 14
Kennesaw State at FGCU, 2 p.m.
Liberty at Bellarmine, 2 p.m.
Jacksonville at Lipscomb, 3 p.m.
North Alabama at Stetson, 3 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 570-124 (.821) overall in his career (third highest winning percentage among active Division I coaches behind only UConn's Geno Auriemma and Baylor's Kim Mulkey), including a 210-17 (.924) mark in ASUN regular season play and a 24-2 (.923) record in ASUN tournament play. Over the past nine-plus seasons, including this year, he has guided FGCU to a 146-5 (.966) record in conference play with five undefeated seasons. The 10-time ASUN Coach of the Year has guided the Green and Blue to four 30-plus win seasons over the past six years. He has also guided the program to 16 consecutive 20-win seasons and 10-straight 25-win seasons.
 
#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 82 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 38 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (No. 24, 2019-20) 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 3.46 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 22 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall and 2020 Spring 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--