FLORENCE, Ala. --- The duo of Tishara Morehouse and Kierstan Bell combined for 51 points to lead the No. 29 FGCU women's basketball team (15-2, 8-0 ASUN) to an 83-73 win over North Alabama (5-14, 4-6) in come-from-behind fashion on the road in Flowers Hall Sunday afternoon. The Eagles will return to action this coming weekend against Kennesaw State inside Alico Arena.
 
"North Alabama played great today," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "I am really happy how we responded after getting down early. Bell and TK had big games. Tyra played great defense, and Aaliyah gave us a real lift today."
 
In doing so, the Eagles have now won 14 straight overall, including 19 consecutive on the road dating back to a win over Houston last year, and they've won 26 straight on the road against ASUN teams. The 19-game streak remains the second-longest in the nation behind South Carolina (22).
 
On top of all that, Liberty dropped a one-point decision to North Florida on the road, which gives FGCU at least a two-game lead over everyone else in ASUN play midway through the conference season. The Green and Blue also improved to 8-1 all-time against North Alabama.
 
Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS/Western Nebraska CC) finished with a game-high 27 points on 9-for-14 shooting. She also made 9-for-11 from the foul line while adding a game-high six assists, four rebounds and two steals. Bell (Alliance, Ohio/Canton McKinley HS/Ohio State) poured in 24 points on 9-for-15 shooting while pulling down 11 rebounds. She also had a game-high five steals, which matched her career-high, while dishing out four assists in what was her 11th double-double of the season in her 14th game.
 
Aaliyah Stanley produced 12 points off the bench, and Emma List contributed 11 points and four assists. Tyra Cox (5) and Andrea Cecil (4) rounded out the scoring as FGCU finished 30-for-65 (.462) from the field, including 7-for-27 (.259) from 3-point range. It was first time since Dec. 21 against FIU that the Eagles failed to reach double-digit makes from long distance, and it was their second-lowest total all season.
 
North Alabama reeled off 14 consecutive points over the game's first 5:39 after List opened the game with a layup. Stanley (Boynton Beach, Fla./Oxbridge Academy/Eastern Michigan) ended the run with a 3-pointer. Moments later, Bell converted a layup, then swiped a pass and went behind-the-back on an assist to Stanley for a fast break layup that helped pull FGCU within seven with 1:32 left.
 
List (Colorado Springs, Colo./Discovery Canyon Campus HS/Albany) then buried a triple on a dish from Morehouse, and Bell followed with a layup to trim the deficit to three after one.
 
Down six early in the second quarter, FGCU reeled off an 18-3 run that included 12 consecutive points to take a 32-23 lead with 2:10 left in the half. Morehouse finished the run with a free throw while her and Bell combined for 14 of the 18 points. North Alabama trimmed its deficit to four in the final minute, but Morehouse made a pair of free throws to send the Eagles into the locker room up six.
 
A layup from Bell with 8:18 left in the third quarter gave the Green and Blue an eight-point lead but North Alabama rallied to tie it up, and they took a 48-47 lead on a 3-pointer from Jade Moore with 3:40 left in the quarter. On the next possession, though, Stanley buried a 3-pointer from straightaway following an offensive rebound from Cox (Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep/William & Mary), and FGCU never trailed again.
 
Bell made a key 3-pointer to push the margin to five, Cox and Morehouse followed with layups, and then Cox made a 3-pointer on an assist from Morehouse at the buzzer to give the Eagles a 64-56 lead entering the fourth.
 
With the lead still at eight, FGCU went on a 9-0 run to open up a 79-62 lead with 5:09 left in regulation. Stanley capped the run with a layup, and Morehouse scored five of the nine points during the stretch. Moments later, Bell secured her double-double, and although North Alabama trimmed the deficit a bit, the Eagles clinched their eighth-straight double-digit win to open the conference season.
 
Defensively, FGCU forced 24 turnovers by North Alabama, which led to a 28-13 advantage in points off turnovers. The host Lions did score 26 points on the Eagles in the third quarter, which is tied for the most points the Green and Blue has given up in any quarter this year.
 
Cecil (Oak Harbor, Ohio/Oak Harbor HS/BGSU) added three rebounds and an assist in addition to her four points as the graduate transfer now needs just 18 points to reach 1,000 in her career.
 
Notes
Bell has now scored 321 points this year through 14 games, which is just five shy of matching her point total from all of last year at Ohio State, which happened over 30 games. She notched her 11th game with at least 20 points on the season Sunday, six of which have come in eight conference games.
 
FGCU has now recorded 492 straight games with at least one made 3-pointer.
 
The 14-game winning streak for the Eagles is tied for the eighth-longest in the program's Division I era with the 2010-11 team.
 
ASUN STANDINGS/RESULTS  

Place	Team	Overall	ASUN
1.	FGCU	15-2	8-0
2.	Liberty	12-5	8-2
	North Florida	10-7	8-2
4.	Lipscomb	7-7	4-4
5.	Bellarmine	4-11	4-6
	North Alabama	5-14	4-6
7.	Stetson	4-9	2-6
8.	Kennesaw State	6-7	1-7
	Jacksonville	3-10	1-7

 
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
Jacksonville 71, Bellarmine 65
North Florida 68, Liberty 67
Lipscomb 66, Stetson 54
FGCU 83, North Alabama 73
 
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 569-124 (.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 209-17 (.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 145-5 (.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.
 
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