FORT MYERS, Fla. --- Kierstan Bell poured in a game-high 26 points, and Tyra Cox electrified the crowd during a big second quarter run to lead the No. 24 FGCU women's basketball team (22-2, 15-0 ASUN) to an 80-60 win over Liberty (17-6, 12-3 ASUN) in front of a season-best crowd inside Alico Arena on Friday.
 
"I thought Liberty got off to a great start," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "They shot the ball really well in the first quarter and had a seven-point lead. I was proud of how we responded. We came together. I thought we made a nice run the last five minutes of the first half. That made a big difference. We were able to keep scoring in the third quarter and extend the lead a little bit more, which gave us some comfort down the stretch."
 
With the victory, the Eagles clinched the program's 11th outright ASUN regular season title in the 14 years since joining the conference. It extends their conference-best total and allows FGCU to secure the No. 1 seed in the upcoming ASUN tournament.
 
Moreover, the Green and Blue have now won 21 straight games, which is now tied for the second-longest streak in program history with the 2015-16, 2012-13 and 2011-12 teams. The only team ahead of them is the 2014-15 squad that won 26 in a row. Nationally, the streak remains the second-longest among active teams behind California Baptist (24).
 
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
	21	11/29/20	Present

 
Bell (Alliance, Ohio/Canton McKinley HS/Ohio State) finished 10-for-18 from the field with 26 points, eight rebounds, three blocks, two assists and one steal. Tishara Morehouse added 17 points, seven assists and four rebounds, while Cox (Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep/William & Mary) tied her career-high with 16 points while adding five assists, a game-high three steals and three rebounds.
 
As a team, FGCU tallied 21 assists on 30 field goals and made 12-for-34 from 3-point range, which gives the Eagles 2,999 3-pointers all-time inside Alico Arena, which opened in 2002-03. They also have scored at least 80 points in 13 of 15 conference games this year ahead of Saturday's regular season finale against Liberty at 5 p.m.
 
Liberty opened the game strong offensively, securing a 24-17 lead through one behind a 10-for-15 performance as a team from the field. Alyssa Blair, who made back-to-back 3-pointers for FGCU to open the game, and Bell combined for 12 of the 17 points for the Eagles in the first 10 minutes.
 
Things all changed in the second quarter as FGCU scored 27 of the first 31 points. The spurt was capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from Cox, which sent the Alico Arena crowd into a frenzy and gave the Eagles a 44-28 lead with 1:51 left in the half. FGCU scored the final 13 points of the run over a two-minute stretch. Overall, the Green and Blue shot 10-for-14 from the field as Bell, Cox and Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS/Western Nebraska CC) each had three field goals and combined for 26 of the team's 29 points in the quarter.
 
In the third quarter, FGCU's lead hovered in the high teens before a 3-pointer from Andrea Cecil with 2:53 left in the frame pushed it over 20. From there, the Eagles never led by fewer than 18.
 
Mya Berkman, who leads the ASUN in field goal percentage, finished 6-for-7 from the field with a team-high 14 points for Liberty, who is now 0-6 all-time against FGCU since joining the conference prior to the 2018-19 season. Bella Smuda added 10 points.
 
With her 26 points, Bell pushed her season total to 529 as she moved past Whitney Knight (504, 2014-15) for the fourth-most in a single-season in the program's Division I era. She is 41 points shy of Kaneisha Atwater's all-time record of 569 in 2015-16. Sarah Hansen (555, 2012-13) and Keri Jewett-Giles (548, 2019-20) are second and third.
 
Bell also made 10 field goals on Friday to surpass Keri Jewett-Giles (203, 2019-20) and Kaneisha Atwater (205, 2015-16) for the most field goals in a single season. She now has 212 in just 21 games.
 
FGCU will turn its attention toward Saturday's regular season finale at 5 p.m. Despite already having the regular season title and top seed all wrapped up, the Eagles will look for the program's sixth undefeated conference regular season.
 
Notes
The Eagles are 49-14 in the month of March since beginning their Division I era in 2007-08, which includes a 37-10 record since becoming eligible for the ASUN and NCAA Tournaments in 2011-12.
 
Sheahen Dowling (Chicago, Ill./Trinity HS) moved into sole possession of 19th place in career games played on Friday with 91, breaking a tie with Haley Laughter.
 
Should FGCU make at least one 3-pointer on Saturday, it would be the 500th straight game the Eagles have dialed up long distance. They recorded their 298th all-time game with at least 10 on Friday.
 
ASUN Roundup

Place	Team	Overall	ASUN
1.	FGCU	22-2	15-0
2.	Liberty	17-6	12-3
3.	North Florida	12-10	10-5
4.	Lipscomb	11-9	8-6
5.	Stetson	8-12	6-9
	North Alabama	7-17	6-9
7.	Bellarmine	5-15	5-10
8.	Kennesaw State	7-11	2-11
9.	Jacksonville	3-15	1-12

 
Friday, March 5
Stetson 89, Jacksonville 64
Kennesaw State 78, Lipscomb 62
North Florida 76, Bellarmine 73
FGCU 80, Liberty 60
 
Saturday, March 6
Jacksonville at Stetson, 1 p.m.
North Florida at Bellarmine, 5 p.m.
Liberty at FGCU, 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 576-124 (.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 216-17 (.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 152-5 (.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 17 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 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--