JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -
Kierstan Bell and
Tishara Morehouse combined for 60 points to lead the No. 27 FGCU women's basketball team (18-2, 11-0 ASUN) to an 89-64 win over Jacksonville on the road Saturday afternoon inside Historic Swisher Gymnasium.
With the win, the Eagles stretched the nation's longest road winning streak to 20, won their 17th straight overall and pushed the program's road winning streak in conference play to 27. Furthermore, FGCU is now 28-3 all-time against Jacksonville with nine straight victories, as well as a 12-2 record on the road.
"It was a good win today," head coach
Karl Smesko said. "I really like how we started the second half. Kierstan had an exceptional game offensively and TK had a big second half. I would like to see less breakdowns on the defensive end and more players contributing to the defensive boards."
Bell (Alliance, Ohio/Canton McKinley HS/Ohio State) poured in a career-high 36 points while adding 12 rebounds, three steals and two blocks. She made a single-game program record 15 field goals on 22 attempts while coming within just two points of matching
Davion Wingate's single-game scoring record. She topped her previous career-high of 32 while notching her third 30-point performance this season, including her second over the past three games. It was her 13th double-double in 17 games, as well, as she is incredibly just one shy of matching
Tytionia Adderly for the third-most in an FGCU career.
Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS/Western Nebraska CC), meanwhile, exploded for 18 of her 24 points in the second half. She added three rebounds and three assists while finishing 10-for-20 from the field. It was her sixth game with at least 20 points in conference play.
As a team, FGCU led just 32-21 at halftime after scoring just 11 points in the second quarter and shooting just 11-for-27 points in the first half. That all changed in the third quarter, though. Morehouse scored the first seven points, Bell then added five and
Alyssa Blair (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie HS) drained a 3-pointer as the Eagles produced a 15-0 run in just 2:13.
When the dust settled, FGCU finished 13-for-19 from the field in the quarter with 35 points, which is tied for the third-most in a quarter for the program since the NCAA's switch to the quarter format in 2015-16. On top of that, the Green and Blue went 9-for-14 in the fourth quarter to finish 22-for-33 for the second half.
Overall, FGCU shot 33-for-60 (.550) for the game, which is the team's third-highest percentage of the season behind Kennesaw State on Feb. 13 (.672) and FIU on Dec. 20 (.564). In addition to Bell and Morehouse, the duo of
Seneca Hackley (Colorado Springs, Colo./Saint Mary's HS) and
Aaliyah Stanley (Boynton Beach, Fla./Oxbridge Academy/Eastern Michigan) each chipped in seven, while Blair had six points and four rebounds.
While she scored just one point,
Tyra Cox (Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep/William & Mary) finished second on the team in rebounds (5) and assists (4), and she tied Bell for the team-high in steals with three.
Emma List (Colorado Springs, Colo./Discovery Canyon Campus/Albany) also contributed in many ways as the guard dished out a team-high five assists and added three rebounds in addition to her three points.
Notes
Bell (24.2 PPG) and Morehouse (18.7 PPG) are now 1-2 in the ASUN in scoring following Saturday's performance. In fact, Bell is up to 412 points on the season through her first 17 games, which already ranks 18th-most in a single-season in the program's Division I era, and her scoring average is on pace to the sixth-best in ASUN history. Saturday was Bell's 14th game this year with at least 20 points, as well as her eighth with at least 25.
Andrea Cecil (Oak Harbor, Ohio/Oak Harbor HS/BGSU) remains just 13 points shy of reaching 1,000 in her NCAA career.
The Eagles, who produced the program's 495th straight game with at least one 3-pointer on Saturday, will look for their 14th consecutive season with at least 12 wins in ASUN play, which coincides with FGCU's entry into the ASUN in 2007-08. In fact, over that span, all other members who have been in the ASUN since then have tallied a total of seven combined such seasons, and FGCU has 13 of the conference's 32 (40.6 percent) total seasons of 12 or more wins since 2007-08. Furthermore, the Green and Blue has six of the conference's eight 12-win seasons since the ASUN downsized from an 18-game schedule to a 14-16 game schedule from 2014-present.
ASUN Standings and Results
Place |
Team |
Overall |
ASUN |
1. |
FGCU |
18-2 |
11-0 |
2. |
Liberty |
14-5 |
10-2 |
3. |
North Florida |
11-7 |
9-2 |
4. |
Lipscomb |
9-8 |
6-5 |
5. |
North Alabama |
6-15 |
5-7 |
6. |
Stetson |
6-10 |
4-7 |
7. |
Bellarmine |
4-13 |
4-8 |
8. |
Kennesaw State |
6-10 |
1-10 |
9. |
Jacksonville |
3-13 |
1-10 |
Saturday, Feb. 20
FGCU 89, Jacksonville 64
Stetson 49, Kennesaw State 32
North Florida 74, Lipscomb 57
Bellarmine at North Alabama, PPD (weather)
Sunday, Feb. 21
FGCU at Jacksonville, 1 p.m.
Stetson at Kennesaw State, 2 p.m.
Lipscomb at North Florida, 2 p.m.
Bellarmine at North Alabama, PPD (weather)
Sheperd at Liberty, 3 p.m.
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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 572-124 (.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 212-17 (.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 148-5 (.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.
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ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 83 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.
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