KENNESAW, Ga. – Paced by 30 points from Kierstan Bell (Alliance, Ohio/Canton McKinley/Ohio State) and a career-high 17 points from Karli Seay (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor/LSU/Western Nebraska CC), the No. 23 FGCU women's basketball team cruised past Kennesaw State, 100-65, on Wednesday night at the KSU Convocation Center for its seventh consecutive victory. The Eagles improved to 14-1 overall and remain unbeaten at 3-0 in ASUN play, while the Owls fell to 4-9 on the year and 0-2 in league action.
 
The win extended FGCU's road winning streak to an NCAA-best 24 games as well as its 25-game win streak over ASUN foes. The 100 points were the second-most of the season behind the 105 scored against Florida Memorial in the season opener and were the second most in the all-time series with Kennesaw State. The Eagles scored 104 points against the Owls in the first of two meetings in Fort Myers last season.
 
"We had a really efficient game offensively.  Kierstan and Karli had good games," said head coach Karl Smesko. "I was also really pleased with Kiki's and Seneca's performance."
 
Headlining FGCU was Bell who had her fifth 30^th-point game of the season. The junior was 12-of-19 from the floor while adding five assists, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Seay's career-best 17 points came on 7-of-11 shooting including three triples while hauling down six boards. Kendall Spray added 10 points for the Eagles in double figures as she knocked down three triples in the contest. Overall, 12 different players scored in the game. Kierra Adams (Lawrenceville, Ga./Brookwood) tallied a career-best seven points, while Seneca Hackley (Coloardo Springs, Colo./Saint Mary's) also added seven points to mark the second-most for a game this season.
 
The Owls had four players in double figures led by 14 points Amani Johnson and 13 points from Jah'Che Whitfield. Amaris Baker added 11 points, while Gabi Legister had 10 points. Gillian Piccolino pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.
 
Overall, FGCU hit 38-of-80 (40%) attempts, while KSU was 26-of-51 (56%). The Eagles hit 17 three points compared to five for the Owls and held a 31-to-4 advantage in points off turnovers. Kennesaw State turned the ball over 20 times compared to just five for FGCU which had 10 steals in the game.
 
KSU jumped out to an early 12-7 lead at the 6:32 mark of the first quarter after hitting five of its first six shots. That was as close as the Owls would get the rest of the night as the Eagles closed the opening stanza with a 21-6 run highlighted by nine points from Bell and seven from Tishara Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King/Western Nebraska CC).
 
After taking a 49-35 lead at the intermission, FGCU used a 21-to-5 run to close out the third quarter to build out a 79-51 lead. The run was sparked by Spray's three triples along with another from Seay.
 
The Eagles added five more three pointers in the fourth quarter as Hackley, Adams, Maddie Antenucci (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill), and Kaela Webb (Pontiac, Mich./Providence/Detroit Mercy) all connected from beyond the arc. Webb's triple with 1:43 to go gave FGCU its largest lead of the night, 100-63.
 
The Eagles will return home for a Saturday doubleheader against Liberty alongside the men's team. The women will tip at 4 PM with the men slated for 7 PM. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+. It will also be the Laces of Love game where fans are encouraged to bring shoes to donate to local youth.
 
 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 594-126 (.825) overall in his career, which is the third-highest winning percentage among active Division I coaches behind only UConn's Geno Auriemma and LSU's Kim Mulkey. He has also led the Eagles to a 220-17 (.929) mark in ASUN regular season play and a 27-2 (.931) record in ASUN tournament play. Over the past 11 seasons, he has guided FGCU to a 156-5 (.969) record in conference play with six undefeated seasons. The 11-time ASUN Coach of the Year has led the program to 11-straight 25-win seasons and 17-consecutive 20-win campaigns, including 30-plus wins in four of the past seven years. On top of all that, the Eagles are 534-99 (.843) all-time since Smesko started the program in the 2002-03 season, and the Green and Blue's .843 all-time winning percentage is the best in NCAA Division I women's basketball history.
 
#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/adminservices/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
 
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 87 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 43 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 25, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2021) 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 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 24 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, 2020 Fall, and 2021 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA in each. 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.