KENNESAW, Ga. --- Kierstan Bell poured in a game-high 30 points en route to tournament MVP recognition as the No. 21/24 FGCU women's basketball team (26-2) rolled past Liberty (19-8) in the ASUN championship game, 84-62, on Sunday inside Kennesaw State's Convocation Center.
 
With the victory, the Eagles advance to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in 10 seasons of eligibility while extending their winning streak to 25 straight and surpassing Stanford for the most wins in the nation.
 
"I'm just really proud of the team today," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "We beat a well-prepared, well-coached Liberty team. I thought they were fantastic in that first quarter. We were just matching each other. In the second quarter, we made a bit of a run and got a little bit of separation. I saw Liberty come out with a lot of energy in the second half, and we were able to match their intensity. I'm really proud of the team. I thought they played great today, and we're really excited that we get to be part of the NCAA Tournament."
 
The Eagles, who defeated Liberty for the third time in a 10-day stretch, completed a magical run to the NCAA Tournament after losing 90.1 percent of the team's scoring from last year, which included the graduation or departure of the team's top seven scorers and all five starters. Incredibly, FGCU completed an undefeated conference regular season and swept the postseason tournament for the fourth time in 10 years of eligibility. Prior to the Green and Blue becoming eligible in 2012, only one other team (FIU, 1993) achieved that in the now 36-year history of the conference. And the Eagles did it this year by winning all 19 such games by double-digits.
 
"This definitely was an unusual year," Smesko said. "We limited practice time and simplified some things. We were very fortunate. Our assistant coaches did a nice job bringing in some really talented players and helped develop some returning players - Emma List, Alyssa Blair and Tyra Cox really took such a great step forward this year."
 
Bell (Alliance, Ohio/Canton McKinley HS/Ohio State) recorded FGCU's fifth all-time 30-point performance in the ASUN tournament while adding nine rebounds, a career-high seven assists, three steals and two blocks. She finished 8-for-18 from the field, including 6-for-14 from 3-point range, while sinking a career-high eight free throws in 10 attempts. Her scoring output also allowed her to become the first Eagle in the program's Division I era to reach 600 points in a season as she bumped her total to 607.
 
Tishara Morehouse (15 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds) and Aaliyah Stanley (12 points) each added double-figures for the Eagles on Sunday and were each named to the all-tournament team for their efforts. Emma List added eight points, six rebounds and six assists, while the trio of Tyra Cox, Alyssa Blair and Andrea Cecil each added five points.
 
As a team, FGCU dished out 22 assists, which is the eighth time they've had at least 20 this year. They led by as many as 25 in the fourth quarter and outscored the Flames 19-4 in points off turnovers and 18-2 in fast break points.
 
Liberty, which was led by Emily Lytle's 25 points and nine rebounds, led by as many as four and took a 16-13 lead following a 3-pointer from Nenna Lindstrom with 2:57 left in the first quarter. List (Colorado Springs, Colo./Discovery Canyon Campus/Albany) responded with a game-tying shot from long distance two possessions later, which spurred a 9-0 run to close the quarter, capped by a corner 3-pointer from Blair (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie HS) in the final seconds.
 
In the middle of the second quarter, FGCU started a 10-0 run that featured back-to-back 3-pointers from Stanley (Boynton Beach Fla./Oxbridge Academy/Eastern Michigan) and Seneca Hackley (Colorado Springs, Colo./Saint Mary's HS), along with layups from Blair and Bell, to take a 39-24 lead with 3:26 left in the half. The lead stretched to as many as 18 in the half before settling at 16 by halftime.
 
Midway through the third quarter, Cecil (Oak Harbor, Ohio/Oak Harbor HS/BGSU) scored five points to push the margin to 22. Later, a free throw from Bell and a layup from Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS/Western Nebraska CC) stretched it to 25 in the final minute.
 
Liberty's Ashtyn Baker, who had 12 points, buried a 3-pointer with 7:10 remaining to pull the Flames within 18, but back-to-back layups from Morehouse ended any threat of a comeback as the Eagles led by no fewer than 20 the rest of the way.
 
FGCU is now 27-2 all-time in ASUN tournament play, which includes 14 consecutive wins and is a conference-record in terms of both total wins and winning percentage. They are also 7-2 in championship games and have won five consecutive tournament titles, which breaks a tie with FIU (1993-96) for the longest streak in ASUN history.
 
The Eagles are 28-3 all-time as a ranked Division I program, including an 11-1 record as a ranked AP team. They are 53-14 all-time in the month of March, including a 41-10 record since becoming tournament eligible in 2012. With today's 32 3-point attempts, FGCU also extended its NCAA record streak of consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 attempts to six.
 
FGCU's winning streak remains the second longest in the country behind Cal Baptist (27) and their winning streak is now just one shy of matching the program's Division I era record of 26, which was set by the 2014-15 team. On top of that, the Eagles are now 8-0 all-time against Liberty. They are the only school to defeat Liberty three times in a season, and this is the second time they've done so in the past three years.
 
ASUN All-Tournament Team
Kierstan Bell (FGCU) - MVP
Tishara Morehouse (FGCU)
Aaliyah Stanley (FGCU)
Ashtyn Baker (Liberty)
Emily Lytle (Liberty)
Dorie Harrison (Lipscomb)
Rhetta Moore (North Florida)
 
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 580-124 (.824) 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 217-17 (.924) mark in ASUN regular season play and a 27-2 (.931) record in ASUN tournament play. Over the past nine-plus seasons, including this year, he has guided FGCU to a 153-5 (.966) record in conference play with six undefeated seasons. The 11-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 17 consecutive 20-win seasons and 11-straight 25-win seasons, both of which include this year.
 
#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 84 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.
 
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--