FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's basketball team continues its 2022-23 non-conference slate Sunday afternoon on the road when the Eagles take on FIU in Miami. Tip-off is set for 2 pm from the Ocean Bank Convocation Center, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.  
 
FGCU is coming off Monday's 81-62 victory over Old Dominion in the season opener for both teams. The Eagles got 24 points from graduate guard Tishara Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Nebraska CC) in the win. Morehouse, who was selected as the ASUN Preseason Player of the Year, went over 1,000 career points with the effort against the Monarchs. FGCU is on a seven-game win streak in season openers, and is 14-2 in season openers in the Division I era.  
 
Junior guard Alyza Winston (Muskegon, Mich./Mississippi State) added 22 points for FGCU against Old Dominion, guard Sha Carter (Southfield, Mich./Walsh) pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds and senior forward Uju Ezeudu (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Denver) added 10 points off the bench.  
 
FIU is 1-0 this season, coming off a 103-56 victory against North Carolina Central on Wednesday night. Sifa Joyeuse led the Panthers with 21 points and made 4-of-6 3-point attempts.  
 
Entering this season, the Eagles were selected by both the coaches and the media to repeat as ASUN champions. FGCU is currently ranked second in the Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. The Eagles finished a program-best ever #20 in 2021-22 and have four Top 25 finishes in the past five seasons. Further, only the Green & Blue and defending national champion South Carolina have won at least 30 games in five of the last eight campaigns. 
  
RAINING 3s  
FGCU's run to their most recent national ranking last season was due to the Eagles' continued dominance behind the 3-point arc that again witnessed them leading the nation (the Eagles have led the country in made threes per game the past three years and in four of the last five seasons with an NCAA single-season record 431 in 2017-18) - and that trend continued through the first game of the 2022-23 season. FGCU made nine 3-pointers on 28 attempts against Old Dominion, with Morehouse leading the way with three treys.  
 
PERFECTION  
FGCU is a perfect 13-0 against FIU, having won twice against the Panthers in the 2020-21 season (86-68 on and 80-66 via back-to-back matches in Miami on Dec. 20-21). Sunday's game marks the ninth time in the series that FGCU has played FIU at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.  
  
INDIVIDUAL TICKETS, MINI PLANS AVAILABLE  
Tickets for the 2022-23 FGCU Basketball season are on sale now and can be purchased by going online to www.FGCUTickets.com or calling 866-FGCU-TIX. Group tickets can also be purchased for 10 or more people – making a memorable evening for families, businesses, or other organizations.  
  
COACH SMESKO   
FGCU head coach Karl Smesko maintains a record of 611-128 (.827) overall in his career, 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 232-18 (.928) mark in ASUN regular-season play and a 30-2 (.938) 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 12-time ASUN Coach of the Year has led the program to 12-straight 25-win seasons and 18 consecutive 20-win campaigns, including 30-plus wins in five of the last eight years. On top of all that, the Eagles are 550-101 (.845) all-time since Smesko started the program in the 2002-03 season, and the Green & Blue's .845 all-time winning percentage is the best in NCAA Division I women's basketball history.   
  
 
 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!  
  
#FEEDFGCU  
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/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 https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.  
  
ABOUT FGCU  
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 93 conference regular-season and tournament titles in just 15-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11-plus seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 46 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. 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, 2022) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as four of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green & 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 26 consecutive semesters. The past six semesters (Fall 2019 – Spring 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative 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.  
  
---FGCUATHLETICS.COM---