FORT MYERS, Fla. – It only took one game for the FGCU women's basketball team to show that they are still a force to be reckoned with in the ASUN as the Eagles defeated North Florida, 88-57, Wednesday evening at Alico Arena.

FGCU, the preseason ASUN favorites, improve to 12-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play while the Ospreys, picked number two in the preseason coaches poll, fall to 7-6 and 0-1 in the ASUN.

"We played a really good team in North Florida," said head coach Karl Smesko. "They were a little shorthanded, missing a couple of their guards. I thought they did really well. It was a game late in the third quarter. Fortunatley for us we just had a big run to start that fourth quarter to separate things. Kierstan, T.K. both had great games. I thought we did a good job of forcing some turnovers and turning those turnovers into some points."

The Eagles shot 44% from the field in the game and 42% (17-for-41) from distance while holding UNF to just 6-of-13 from behind the arc. The defense shined as well as FGCU forced 25 turnovers, turning them into 20 points, while committing just seven turnovers on offense.

Junior Kierstan Bell (Alliance, Ohio/McKinley HS/Ohio State) collected her 22nd-career double-double with 27 points and 11 rebounds, as well as four steals, while senior Tishara Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS/Western Nebraska CC) had 21 points and a game-high eight assists. Graduate student Kendall Spray (Mt. Juliet, Tenn./Wilson Central/UT Martin/Clemson) added 12 points on four made three-pointers.

Rhetta Moore led the Ospreys with 14 points and seven rebounds.

The Eagles started the game hot as they hit six three-pointers in the first quarter with two each by Bell and Morehouse. Spray and redshirt senior Emma List (Colorado Springs, Colo./Discovery Canyon HS/Albany) each added one more as the Eagles held a 21-14 lead after ten minutes.

FGCU extended its lead to 36-27 at the break thanks to nine more combined points from Bell and Morehouse in the second quarter.

After the break, the Ospreys cut their deficit to five, but FGCU responded and pushed its lead back up to 13 as the third-quarter buzzer sounded.

As hot as the Eagles were to begin the game, they were on another level to begin the fourth as they made their first five shots of the period to extend their lead to 25 less in less than three minutes. FGCU ended up shooting 12-15 from the field in the fourth as they cruised to victory.

The Eagles will return to the court on Saturday when they travel to Jacksonville to take on the Dolphins. Tip-off from Historic Swisher Gymnasium is set for 1 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 591-126 (.824) 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 218-17 (.927) 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 154-5 (.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 (.843) all-time since Smesko started the program in the 2002-03 season, and the Green and Blue's .842 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 85 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 42 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. 21, 2020-21), 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 23 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, and 2020 Fall 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.