HONOLULU – Showing no signs of jet lag after a nearly 4,800-mile flight, the No. 25 FGCU women's basketball team dominated host Hawai'i 65-45 on Friday night in its first game of the 2022 Bank of Hawaii Classic at the SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.  

Graduate guard Tishara Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS/Nebraska CC) led the Eagles with 17 points. Fifth-year guard Kaela Webb (Pontiac, Mich./Detroit Country Day HS/Detroit Mercy/Providence) added 12 points for FGCU, and fifth-year guard Sophia Stiles (Malta, Mont./Malta HS/Montana) grabbed a team-high nine rebounds to go with nine points.  

"This is a good way to start our trip," said FGCU head women's basketball coach Karl Smesko. "We had a lot of players play really well. Sophia Stiles had a tremendous game. She made a lot of defensive plays and was aggressive on the boards."  

FGCU (3-0) lived up to its Raining 3s trademark against the Rainbow Wahine (0-3), connecting for 12 3-pointers to lead the nation with 12.0 triples made per game. FGCU's run to last season's national ranking was due to the Eagles' continued dominance behind the 3-point arc. In each of the last three years and four of the last five, the Eagles finished the season as the national leader in 3-pointers made. FGCU set the NCAA single-season record for 3-pointers made with 431 in 2017-18.    

FGCU leaped out to a 19-6 lead in the first quarter and enjoyed a 20-point halftime cushion on the strength of its defense, holding Hawai'i to just 35.3 percent shooting from the floor for the game and just 3-of-14 made treys. A layup by graduate guard Emma List (Colorado Springs, Colo./Discovery Canyon Campus/Albany) extended the Eagles' advantage to 30 midway through the third quarter.  

All 12 Eagles who made the trip to the Aloha State played in Friday's victory, with nine FGCU players earning at least 10 minutes of playing time.  

FGCU takes on San Diego Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET in the second game of the Bank of Hawaii Classic. Sunday's contest is the first meeting between the Eagles and Toreros. San Diego downed Lipscomb 49-45 in the other Bank of Hawaii Classic game Friday. FGCU will enjoy Thanksgiving in the Aloha State before playing three games in the 2022 Rainbow Wahine Showdown starting Nov. 25 with second-ranked Stanford.    
 
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 613-128 (.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 552-101 (.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. 
 
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