FORT MYERS, Fla. – A 19-0 run to begin the second half catapulted the 20th-ranked FGCU women's basketball team to its 12th-straight win, Saturday at Alico Arena, a 98-66 triumph over Bellarmine.

The Eagles improve to 19-1 and 8-0 in the ASUN while Bellarmine falls to 3-16 overall and 0-8 in conference play. The 12-game win streak is the second longest in the nation behind South Dakota (16), while the league win marked the 30th consecutive which remains the third-longest streak in the NCAA.

The 98 points on the night marked the second-most against an ASUN foe this season, just shy of the 100 scored at Kennesaw State, and marked the second straight game to go over 90 points. All told this season, FGCU has scored 90-or-more five times and averaged 95 points in its two games this week.

"I thought it was a really good situation for us because Bellarmine came out and they played a great second quarter," said head coach Karl Smesko. "They were moving the ball, they were hitting shots, they were playing with a lot of confidence, and it made us have to regroup and lock into how we want to play. I think that second quarter was a lot more about how well Bellarmine played than necessarily how many breakdowns we had. I just thought they had an outstanding quarter and they made it a game. Fortunately, we came out in the third quarter and we were able to extend the lead pretty early and go from there."

FGCU shot 13-for-38 from behind the arc, slightly above their NCAA-best average of 12.4 three-pointers per game, but the Eagles also dominated inside as well as they scored 46 points in the paint. The Green and Blue also scored 23 points off of 21 Bellarmine turnovers, while the Knights managed just two points off of nine Eagle turnovers. Thanks in part to those BU turnovers, FGCU was able to have 11 more made field goals and 14 more attempts than the Knights.

Senior Tishara Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS/Western Nebraska CC) scored a game-high 28 points while graduate student Kerstie Phills (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian/Wagner) recorded a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds while also adding five steals. Graduate Kendall Spray (Mt. Juliet, Tenn./Wilson Central/Clemson/UT Martin) knocked down four triples as part of her 14 points on the night. The four three points give her 426 for her career which ranks sixth all-time in NCAA history. All told, 11 different Eagles scored points in the win.

Bailee Harney led the Knights with 15 points, while Jaela Johnson had 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

The Eagles jumped out to a quick 14-3 lead early in the game, hitting six layups plus a couple of free throws from Morehouse. They continued to attack the paint not, hitting their first three until graduate student Karli Seay (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor HS/LSU/Western Nebraska CC) knocked one down with under a minute left in the period.

The Eagles led by 13 after one, but Bellarmine came out on fire in the second quarter, hitting 10 of its first 12 shots to cut the lead to just one, 42-41, with less than a minute before the half. However, back-to-back threes by Spray pushed the Eagles lead back up to seven at halftime.

Out of the break, the Green and Blue took control, scoring the first 19 points of the half, completing a 25-0 run hearkening back to Spray's two threes before halftime.

After Bellarmine got on the board in the third, the Eagles scored the final eight points of the period to put the final touches on a 32-9 third quarter to up 80-50 with 10 minutes to play, which proved to be more than enough cushion to cruise to victory.

The Eagles return to action on Thursday when they hit the road to take on Central Arkansas. Tip-off from Conway is set for 6:30 p.m. eastern.

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 599-126 (.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 225-17 (.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 538-99 (.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.
 
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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.