JACKSONVILLE, Fla. ---
Kierstan Bell registered 42 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks to conclude an historic weekend as she led the No. 27 FGCU women's basketball team (19-2, 12-0 ASUN) to an 87-58 road win over Jacksonville inside Historic Swisher Gymnasium on Sunday.
In doing so,
Bell (Alliance, Ohio/Canton McKinley HS/Ohio State) broke
Davion Wingate's previous single-game scoring record of 38 from last year's ASUN quarterfinal win over Lipscomb. On top of that, Bell finished 17-for-28 from the field to establish a new single-game mark for made field goals, topping the 15 she produced on Saturday in a 36-point outing. It was also the third consecutive double-double, as well as the 14th on the season for the sophomore, which ties Ty Adderly for the third most in a career in FGCU history, and she's done so in just 18 games.
With her 78 points this weekend, Bell is now averaging 25.2 per game this year, which overtakes Buffalo's Dyaisha Fair (24.8 PPG) for the fifth-highest scoring average in the country. On top of that, she is currently on pace for the fourth-highest single-season average in ASUN history.
"Kierstan was phenomenal this weekend," FGCU head coach
Karl Smesko said. "She was really efficient and active. She was really smart with her movements to create her shots, her teammates got the ball to her in good spots and created space for her, and she did the rest. She's an incredible talent. Our players gain confidence based on her confidence, so it's one of those things where everyone else feels good when she gets it going."
With the win, FGCU extended the nation's longest road winning streak to 21 while achieving their 18th straight win overall, which is the second-longest streak in the country behind California Baptist's 23-game streak. The overall streak is the sixth-longest in Green and Blue history. The Eagles will return home to host North Florida on Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.
The Eagles led just 34-32 at halftime despite 20 points and seven rebounds from Bell in the first half. They were 2-for-10 from 3-point range, with both makes coming from Bell, and had only five assists on 14 baskets.
Tishara Morehouse had a coast-to-coast layup just before the buzzer to give FGCU the lead just after JU had tied the game in the final 10 seconds.
That all changed after the break as FGCU outscored Jacksonville 31-11 in the third quarter as Bell tallied 16 points and five rebounds in the frame alone.
Emma List scored four points during an 11-0 run late in the frame to push the margin to 16 as the Eagles eventually took a 65-43 lead through three.
"I just thought we had to come out with a great start in the third quarter," Smesko said. "These things are good for us. We got outplayed for much of the first half by Jacksonville. It's good for us to be in those situations to see how we respond. The energy we came out with at the start of the second half was good to see."
Bell then scored six more points in the first 2:35 of the fourth quarter to break the scoring record and become the first player with 40 points in a game in program history.
Seneca Hackley (5) and
Andrea Cecil (4) also combined for nine points in the quarter.
Outside of Bell,
List (Colorado Springs, Colo./Discovery Canyon Campus/Albany) finished with 13 points, three rebounds and three steals, while
Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS/Western Nebraska CC) chipped in 10 points and six rebounds.
Tyra Cox (Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep/William & Mary) led the team in assists with five while adding three steals, which tied List and
Alyssa Blair (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie HS) for the team-high in that category.
As a team, FGCU finished 33-for-68 (.485) from the field despite making just 7-for-23 (.304) from long distance.
Notes
Cecil (Oak Harbor, Ohio/Oak Harbor HS/BGSU) finished with four points, which pulls her within nine of reaching 1,000 in her NCAA career.
The Eagles not only produced their 496th straight game with at least one 3-pointer, but they clinched the program's 14th consecutive season with at least 12 wins in ASUN play on Sunday, 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 now has 14 of the conference's 33 (42.4 percent) total seasons of 12 or more wins since 2007-08. Furthermore, the Green and Blue has seven of the conference's nine 12-win seasons since the ASUN downsized from an 18-game schedule to a 14-16 game schedule from 2014-present.
12-Win Seasons In ASUN Play
Since 2007-08
| FGCU |
14 |
| Stetson |
5 |
| ETSU |
4 |
| Jacksonville |
2 |
| Northern Kentucky |
2 |
| Mercer |
2 |
| USC Upstate |
2 |
| Campbell/Belmont |
1 |
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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 573-124 (.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 213-17 (.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 149-5 (.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 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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