SAN ANTONIO, Texas --- The No. 21/24 FGCU women's basketball team (26-3) saw its 25 game winning streak and the season come to an end with an 87-66 loss to No. 14/16 Michigan in an NCAA Tournament first round matchup inside UTSA's Convocation Center on Sunday.
"I thought Michigan was outstanding today," FGCU coach Karl Smesko said. "They moved the ball great. They got it inside and when we tried to commit a lot of people to helping inside, they kicked it out for three and shot the three really well. They just had an outstanding offensive performance. They did a good job defensively, too. We brought it close at halftime and made a little run in the third quarter. At the start of the fourth, it really got away from us. We had to try some high-risk things that just didn't pay off down the stretch."
 
After being down for most of the game except following a 3-pointer from Emma List on the team's opening possession of the game, FGCU clawed back to take a 42-42 lead just two minutes into the second half on a jumper from Kierstan Bell, who poured in a 25 points in her NCAA Tournament debut.
 
From there, Michigan's Leigha Brown scored 17 of her 19 third-quarter points to help the Wolverines take an eight-point lead into the fourth. A layup from Bell and a 3-pointer from Andrea Cecil pulled the Eagles within three to open the final frame, but Michigan went on a 21-2 run to put the game away.
 
Bell (Alliance, Ohio/Canton McKinley HS/Ohio State) finished with 25 points, five rebounds, four steals and three blocks. Tishara Morehouse added 17 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal on 7-for-13 shooting, while Tyra Cox (8), Aaliyah Stanley (6), Cecil (6) and Emma List (4) rounded out the scoring.

Brown scored a game-high 28 points for Michigan, and she was aided by double-doubles from Akienreh Johnson (15 points, 10 rebounds) and Naz Hillmon (14 points and 13 rebounds). Hailey Brown also had 10 points. The Wolverines move on to face third-seeded Tennessee in the second round on Tuesday.

Notes
FGCU falls to 1-1 all-time against Michigan, 4-6 against the Big 10 and 28-4 as a ranked team.

Bell finished with 25 double-digit scoring games this year, which included 21 games with 20-plus and 13 with 25 or more. Morehouse, meanwhile, tallied her 24th double-digit scoring effort of the season.

List (Colorado Springs, Colo./Discovery Canyon Campus/Albany) fouled out with 1:33 left in the third quarter, which hurt the Eagles especially on the defensive end.
    
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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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 580-125 (.823) 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 85 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 39 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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