FLORENCE, Ala. --- Five players scored in double-figures, led by career-best performances from Emma List and Tyra Cox, as the No. 29 FGCU women's basketball team (14-2, 7-0 ASUN) used a 32-point first quarter to cruise past North Alabama 97-70 inside Flowers Hall on Saturday. The two teams will close out the weekend series at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
 
In doing so, the Eagles have now won 13 straight overall, including 18 consecutive on the road dating back to a win over Houston last year, and they've won 25 straight against ASUN teams on the road. The 18-game streak remains the second longest in the nation behind South Carolina (21), and FGCU moved into sole possession of first place in the conference standings after the only other remaining unbeaten team, Liberty, lost to North Florida. On top of that, the Green and Blue are now 7-1 all-time against North Alabama.
 
"That was a great team win today," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "We looked really good when we were sharing the ball. Tyra and Emma were outstanding on both ends of the floor, and Kierstan had a great game."
 
Kierstan Bell led the way offensively with her 10th double-double of the season as the sophomore finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds on 8-for-11 shooting. List (Colorado Springs, Colo./Discovery Canyon Campus/Albany) tacked on a career-high 17 points with six rebounds and four assists.
 
Cox (Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep/William & Mary) tied her career-high with 16 points on a career-best five 3-pointers, along with six rebounds and a game-high six assists. Tishara Morehouse (15 points, five assists) and Andrea Cecil (10 points, three rebounds) also scored in double-figures as nine players had at least two points.
 
As a team, FGCU made 17 3-pointers as they became the first team in the nation so far this year to eclipse 200 long distance makes. It was also the third time in seven conference games that the Eagles made at least 17, falling just shy of matching their season-high of 18.
 
Defensively, FGCU had just nine turnovers while forcing 22 from North Alabama, which led to 22 points off turnovers. The Eagles also held a 13-4 advantage in second-chance points behind 12 offensive rebounds, which was the team's fifth-best total this year, including the third-best in ASUN play.
 
After North Alabama's Jaila Roberts made a pair of free throws to pull her team within 12-10 just over four and a half minutes into the game, FGCU went on a 21-2 run over the next six minutes. The run was capped by a free throw from List on the first possession of the second quarter.
 
Midway through the quarter, Cox and Bell (Alliance, Ohio/Canton McKinley HS/Ohio State) made back-to-back 3-pointers to push the margin to 26, and Cecil made a 3-pointer as time expired to give FGCU a 57-32 lead at halftime.
 
Defensively, FGCU clamped down and held North Alabama without a field goal over the first five minutes of the second half to help spur a 14-2 run highlighted by 3-pointers from Cox and Seneca Hackley (Colorado Springs, Colo./Saint Mary's HS), along with layups from Bell and Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS/Western Nebraska CC). When the dust settled, FGCU led 71-34 with just over five minutes left in the quarter.
 
North Alabama's offense was resilient, however, and trimmed its deficit to 25. Despite that, FGCU got back-to-back 3-pointers from Cox and Alyssa Blair (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie HS) midway through the fourth quarter that gave the Eagles a 32-point lead. A layup from Sheahen Dowling (Chicago, Ill./Trinity HS) with 1:37 left pushed the lead back up to 30 and proved to be the final points of the game for the Eagles, which failed to reach the century mark on their final two possessions before dribbling out the clock on the third.
 
For Cecil (Oak Harbor, Ohio/Oak Harbor HS/BGSU), it was her first action since Jan. 17 against Bellarmine after the graduate transfer battled an injury over the past few weeks. It was the fifth double-digit scoring performance of her season, which now puts her just 22 points shy of reaching the 1,000-point milestone in her career.
 
Notes

• List's previous career high for points was 12, which she achieved twice, including most recently vs Temple on Dec. 6.
• FGCU's 32-point first quarter was the most they've scored in a quarter this year, topping the 31 they had against Lipscomb. It was also tied for the 11th-most they've ever scored in any quarter since the NCAA switched to its current format in 2015-16.
• Cox tied her career-high for points that was established on Dec. 20 at Florida International. Her five long distance shots on Saturday broke her previous career-high of four from the win over Bellarmine on Jan. 16.
• Bell becomes just the 12th player across the nation this year to reach at least 10 double-doubles, which also makes her only the fourth player in FGCU's Division I era to produce double-digit career double-doubles - joining Sarah Hansen (20), Whitney Knight (19) and Tytionia Adderly (14). Charli Collier (Texas) and Alexus Dye (Troy) each lead the nation with 13, while Saturday also represented Bell's 10th game with at least 20 points this year.
• FGCU has now recorded 491 straight games with a 3-pointer, as well as 294 all-time games in program history with 10-plus 3-pointers.
• Saturday's result represented the fourth time this year that FGCU has had five players reach double-figures. The others were Florida Memorial (Nov. 25), Davidson (Nov. 29) and FIU (Dec. 20).
• FGCU is now shooting 101-for-275 (.367) from 3-point range as a team in conference play alone.

 
ASUN STANDINGS/RESULTS/SCHEDULE  

Place	Team	Overall	ASUN
1.	FGCU	14-2	7-0
2.	Liberty	12-4	8-1
3.	North Florida	9-7	7-2
4.	Bellarmine	4-10	4-5
	North Alabama	5-13	4-5
6.	Lipscomb	6-7	3-4
7.	Stetson	4-8	2-5
8.	Kennesaw State	6-7	1-7
9.	Jacksonville	2-10	0-7

 
Saturday, Feb. 6
Bellarmine 75, Jacksonville 71 (OT)
North Florida 85, Liberty 80
Lipscomb 58, Stetson 54
FGCU 97, North Alabama 70
 
Sunday, Feb. 7
Bellarmine at Jacksonville, 1 PM
Liberty at North Florida, 2 PM
Stetson at Lipscomb, 3 PM
FGCU at North Alabama, 3 PM
 
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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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 568-124 (.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 208-17 (.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 144-5 (.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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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.
 
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