FORT MYERS, Fla. --- The duo of
Kierstan Bell and
Tishara Morehouse combined for 46 points as the No. 26 FGCU women's basketball team (20-2, 13-0 ASUN) routed North Florida (11-9, 9-4) 94-45 inside Alico Arena on Saturday.
With the win, the Eagles have now won 19 straight overall while pushing their streak of consecutive seasons with at least 20 wins to 17, which dates back to the 2004-05 season. FGCU and UNF will conclude the weekend series on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Graduate senior
Andrea Cecil, who entered the game needing nine points to reach the 1,000-point milestone, made a 3-pointer from the left corner with 7:17 left in the fourth quarter to reach one grand on the hardwood.
"We played a great first half," FGCU head coach
Karl Smesko said. "Our defense did a great job, and TK and Kierstan both had exceptional games. It was also great to see Dre score her 1,000th point."
Bell (Alliance, Ohio/Canton McKinley HS/Ohio State) tied her own program record with a fourth-straight double-double, which she achieved with an offensive rebound and layup with one second left in the first half. In all, the sophomore forward finished with game-highs in points (24) and rebounds (12) while adding two steals and a block in 25 minutes.
Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS/Western Nebraska CC) added 22 points, tied a career-high with eight rebounds and chipped in three assists, which tied for the team-high.
In all, Bell and Morehouse combined to shoot 19-for-33 from the field. As a team, FGCU scored a season-best 62 points in the first half and finished 36-for-76 (.474) from the field, including 10-for-33 (.303) from long distance to produce the program's 296th all-time game with at least 10 made 3-pointers. The Eagles are also now just 25 makes shy from 3,000 all-time 3-pointers inside Alico Arena.
Cecil (Oak Harbor, Ohio/Oak Harbor HS/BGSU) and
Aaliyah Stanley each finished third on the team in scoring with nine points, while
Emma List (8) and
Tyra Cox (7) combined for 15. Four others also scored at least three points off the bench as 10 players scored for FGCU.
North Florida, which entered the game among the top 60 in the nation in scoring, was held to just 45 points on 17-for-53 (.321) shooting, including just 5-for-14 (.357) from 3-point range. Leading scorer Jazz Bond, who was the ASUN's preseason player of the year, managed nine points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes while Marissa Mackins was held to three points after averaging 15.6 PPG and shooting .442 from long distance entering the game.
The Green and Blue got on the board first with a 3-pointer from
Cox (Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep/William & Mary) in the opening minute. They went on to score the first seven points and closed the first quarter on a 17-5 run to take a 29-12 lead through 10 minutes.
Over the next 10 minutes, the Eagles produced 33 points, which was just two shy of their season-high in a quarter, which came just last weekend at Jacksonville. Overall, it was the team's sixth 30-plus point quarter this year.
FGCU took its first 30-point lead on a layup from
List (Colorado Springs, Colo./Discovery Canyon Campus/Albany) with 4:55 left in the first half, which was part of a 15-0 run that saw FGCU open up a 58-17 lead with 1:25 left in the half. Bell's second-chance bucket with one second left kept the margin at 41 entering halftime.
The offense slowed down a bit in the third quarter as FGCU went just 4-for-16 from the field, but the team responded with 19 points in the final quarter behind five points apiece from
Stanley (Boynton Beach, Fla./Oxbridge Academy/Eastern Michigan) and
Kierra Adams (Lawrenceville, Ga./Brookwood HS).
Notes
Bell's double-double was her 15th of the season, which not only extends a program single-season record, but moves her past Ty Adderly for sole possession of third-most in an FGCU career behind Sarah Hansen (20) and Whitney Knight (19).
Should FGCU top UNF on Sunday, the Eagles will clinch at least a share of the program's 11th all-time ASUN regular season championship.
With a win on Sunday, FGCU can achieve the program's fifth winning streak of at least 20 games since moving to the Division I level in 2007. They are currently tied with the 2018-19 team for the fifth-longest all-time.
Longest Overall Winning Streaks
Program History (Division I Era)
| 1. |
26 |
12/6/14 |
3/21/15 |
| 2. |
21 |
12/29/11 |
3/3/12 |
|
21 |
12/28/12 |
3/8/13 |
|
21 |
12/20/15 |
3/31/16 |
| 5. |
19 |
1/5/19 |
3/17/19 |
|
19 |
11/29/20 |
Present |
| 7. |
17 |
1/10/09 |
3/19/09 |
| 8. |
16 |
12/22/19 |
2/29/20 |
| 9. |
14 |
11/12/10 |
1/17/11 |
| 10. |
12 |
Two Teams |
ASUN ROUNDUP
| Place |
Team |
Overall |
ASUN |
| 1. |
FGCU |
20-2 |
13-0 |
| 2. |
Liberty |
16-5 |
11-2 |
| 3. |
North Florida |
11-9 |
9-4 |
| 4. |
Lipscomb |
10-8 |
7-5 |
| 5. |
North Alabama |
7-16 |
6-8 |
| 6. |
Stetson |
7-11 |
5-8 |
| 7. |
Bellarmine |
5-14 |
5-9 |
| 8. |
Kennesaw State |
6-11 |
1-11 |
|
Jacksonville |
3-14 |
1-11 |
Weekend Series Schedule
Saturday, Feb. 27
Liberty 62, Stetson 58
FGCU 94, North Florida 45
Sunday, Feb. 28
Stetson at Liberty, 2 p.m.
North Florida at FGCU, 2 p.m.
North Alabama at Lipscomb, 5 p.m.
Monday, March 1
North Alabama at Lipscomb, 5 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 574-124 (.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 214-17 (.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 150-5 (.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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