FORT MYERS, Fla. – A season-high 33 points from graduate student Tishara Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King/Western Nebraska CC) boosted the No. 20 FGCU women's basketball team to its 11th-straight win, 92-70, over Eastern Kentucky on Thursday evening at Alico Arena. The Eagles improve to 18-1 on the season and 7-0 in the ASUN, while the Colonels fall to 10-10 and 3-4 in conference play.

"I thought it was a really tough game," said head coach Karl Smesko. "I give Eastern Kentucky a lot of credit; they were playing hard and competed the whole game. We were kind of fortunate in the third quarter because there was a stretch where we made a few defensive plays in a row and turned those into layups. I thought that really gave us the separation that we hadn't gotten until that point. We want to be consistent defensively and we had a few more breakdowns today than we normally have, so we'll look at that. Overall, a lot of players played really well and got to contribute today."

Morehouse received plenty of help from her teammates led by graduate student Kerstie Phills (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian/Wagner) who stuffed the stat sheet and nearly recorded a triple-double with 15 points, nine rebounds, and seven steals. Graduate students Kendall Spray (Mt. Juliet, Tenn./Wilson Central/Clemson/UT Martin) and Karli Seay (Floosmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor/LSU/Western Nebraska CC) chipped in with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Spray knocked down four three pointers in the game giving her 422 for her career which ranks sixth all-time in NCAA history.

For Morehouse, her 33 points came on 12-of-20 shooting from the floor and a 7-of-9 performance at the free throw line. She finished just two points shy of her career high of 35 points against Akansas on Nov. 28, 2020.It marked her second career 30-or-more point game and the first of the season.

The Eagles had a nice balance of scoring in the first quarter as Morehouse had six points while Phills and redshirt-senior Tyra Cox (Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep/William & Mary) had five apiece, helping FGCU jump out to a 20-7 lead after 10 minutes.

Eastern Kentucky responded in the second quarter, outscoring FGCU 25-19 to cut the Eagle lead to 39-32 at the break.

After the break, Morehouse took over the game, scoring 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting in the third quarter alone. This included a personal 9-0 run late in the period as the Eagles led 69-53 with just 10 minutes to go.

Spray caught fire to begin the fourth, hitting three shots from behind the arc to extend the FGCU lead to 21 with under seven minutes remaining. Overall, the Eagles outscored EKU, 53-38, in the second half to cruise to victory.

The Colonels were led by 16 points from I'Liyah Green who also had the game's only double-double with 12 rebounds. Jayla Johnson had 13 points, while Kayra Freeman had 11 points to round out the top scorers.

The Eagles held the biggest scoring advantage behind the arc going 15-of-40, while the Colonels were 4-of-15 for the night. FGCU also converted 25 EKU miscues into 32 points compared to 13 points for the visitors. 

Along with the 11th straight win for the Eagles, it marked the 29th consecutive win over an ASUN foe which is the third longest streak in the country. 

FGCU will return to the court on Saturday when they the Green and Blue host Bellarmine as part of a doubleheader with the men's team. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m., while the men are slated for a 7 PM start. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.

 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 598-126 (.826) 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 224-17 (.929) mark in ASUN regular season play and a 27-2 (.931) record in ASUN tournament play. Over the previous 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 537-99 (.844) all-time since Smesko started the program in the 2002-03 season, and the Green and Blue's .844 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. 20, 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 25 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, 2020 Fall, 2021 Spring, and 2021 Fall 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.