FORT MYERS, Fla. – After trailing by 14 points with 3:16 left in the third quarter, the No. 23 FGCU women's basketball team rallied past visiting Liberty in the final 12:09 of play to pick up a 73-69 win on Saturday night at Alico Arena. The win improved the Eagles to 15-1 overall and 4-0 in ASUN action, while Liberty fell to 15-2 overall and 3-1 in league play.
 
"Obviously, this was a very tough game against an exceptional team. They were physical and they gave us everything that we could have asked for," said head coach Karl Smesko. "We were able to make a run right at the end of the third quarter and that motivated everyone even more going into the fourth."
 
Kierstan Bell scored 20 of her 25 points in the second half while adding a team-high seven rebounds for the game. She scored nine points in the third quarter, all in a 1-minute, 23 second span, as part of a 11-0 run to pull the Eagles within a possession, 55-52, with 46 seconds to go. In the fourth quarter, she added 11 more points including a pair of three pointers to cut the lead to two before the other put FGCU up 67-65 at the 2:54 mark. Her final six points of the night came as part of a 16-to-5 run that FGCU closed the game with for the comeback win.
 
Tishara Morehouse added 11 points, while Kerstie Phills and Kendall Spray each had nine points.
 
The Flames had four players in double-figures led by 15 from both Dee Brown and Priscilla Smeenge. Bridgette Rettstatt had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Mya Berkman had 10 points.
 
The Flames took a 41-33 lead into the intermission thanks to a 12-to-4 run in the final 4:38 before halftime.
 
An 8-to-2 run for Liberty swelled the lead to 49-35 with 6:05 remaining in the third. From there, it was all FGCU as Bell helped spark the run to close the quarter to pull the Eagles within five heading to the fourth.
 
Five early points for Bell in the fourth cut the deficit to 59-57, but Liberty was able to go on a five-point run  to go back up seven at the 6:47 mark. Lay-ups by Karlie Seay and Bell surrounding a Spray three pointer tied the game at 64-64 with just over five minutes to go. After the game was tied once more at 67-67, the Eagles were able to get enough defensive stops, including a five-second call on an inbounds play, that led to six free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
 
The win improved FGCU to 9-0 all-time against Liberty and was the 26^th straight win over an ASUN foe to extend its third-ranked streak in the country behind UConn and Princeton.
 
The Eagles will next play at Stetson this upcoming Wednesday night before heading to Jacksonville State next Saturday afternoon. The next home game for FGCU will come on Jan. 27 against Eastern Kentucky at Alico Arena.
 
 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 592-126 (.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 219-17 (.928) mark in ASUN regular season play and a 27-2 (.931) record in ASUN tournament play. Over the past 10 seasons, he has guided FGCU to a 153-5 (.968) 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 531-99 (.842) 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.
 
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