FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's basketball team opens the 2022-23 season, Monday evening at Alico Arena when they host Old Dominion. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
The Eagles finished 2022 with a best ever #20 national ranking – their fourth Top 25 finish in the past five seasons. FGCU enters the season as defending ASUN champions with a 15-1 league record alongside a 30-3 overall record that saw them advance to the NCAA Tournament as a #12 seed where they defeated fifth-seed Virginia Tech in the first round and advanced to the Round of 32 for the third time in program history.
Entering this season, the Eagles were selected by both the coaches and the media to repeat, as league champions. They are currently ranked second in the Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll.
FOLLOW ALONG
As every Eagle home game this year will be, Monday's contest will broadcasted on ESPN+. John Vittas and Greg Anderson will be on the call.
SEASON OPENERS
FGCU has compiled a 15-5 record all-time in season openers, including a 11-4 record in the Division I era. This is the third-straight year the Eagles have opened at home after defeating Florida Memorial, 105-41, a season ago.
| Date |
Opponent |
Location |
Result |
| 11/9/21 |
Florida Memorial |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 105-41 |
| 11/25/20 |
Florida Memorial |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 86-40 |
| 11/5/19 |
Florida International |
Miami, Fla. |
W, 100-54 |
| 11/9/18 |
South Dakota State |
Brookings, S.D. |
L, 62-80 |
| 11/12/17 |
Illinois |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 85-61 |
| 11/11/16 |
Quinnipiac |
Hamden, Conn. |
L, 56-66 |
| 11/13/15 |
North Carolina A&T |
Greensboro, N.C. |
W, 60-36 |
| 11/14/14 |
George Washington |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 88-75 |
| 11/8/13 |
Florida International |
Miami, Fla. |
W, 75-55 |
| 11/10/12 |
Warner |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 100-31 |
| 11/11/11 |
Seton Hall |
South Orange, N.J. |
L, 51-57 |
| 11/12/10 |
Seton Hall |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 64-57 |
| 11/13/09 |
UTEP |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 66-54 |
| 11/14/08 |
Florida |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 88-86 |
| 11/9/07 |
No. 19/19 Florida State |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
L, 53-93 |
| 11/16/06 |
West Florida |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 69-57 |
| 11/19/05 |
Puerto Rico Bayamon |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 107-53 |
| 11/15/04 |
Saint Leo |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 90-69 |
| 11/15/03 |
Lake Superior State |
Saint Leo, Fla. |
L, 49-70 |
| 11/22/02 |
No. 18 Ohio Dominican |
Estero, Fla. |
W, 75-58 |
HOME OPENERS
In terms of home openers, FGCU is 18-2 all-time, including an 13-2 record in the Division I era. That includes a six-game winning streak, and there are three wins over Power 5 teams within those 16 victories - Illinois (2017), Michigan State (2011) and Florida (2008).
| Date |
Opponent |
Location |
Result |
| 11/9/21 |
Florida Memorial |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 105-41 |
| 11/25/20 |
Florida Memorial |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 86-40 |
| 11/7/19 |
Webber International |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 99-48 |
| 11/12/18 |
Florida Memorial |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 99-68 |
| 11/12/17 |
Illinois |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 85-61 |
| 11/15/16 |
Florida International |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 89-42 |
| 11/17/15 |
Florida Atlantic |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
L, 55-62 |
| 11/14/14 |
George Washington |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 88-75 |
| 11/12/13 |
Bethune-Cookman |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 71-38 |
| 11/10/12 |
Warner |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 100-31 |
| 11/19/11 |
Michigan State |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 59-58 |
| 11/12/10 |
Seton Hall |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 64-57 |
| 11/13/09 |
UTEP |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 66-54 |
| 11/14/08 |
Florida |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 88-86 |
| 11/9/07 |
No. 19/19 Florida State |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
L, 53-93 |
| 11/16/06 |
West Florida |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 69-57 |
| 11/19/05 |
Puerto Rico Bayamon |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 107-53 |
| 11/15/04 |
Saint Leo |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 90-69 |
| 11/19/03 |
Puerto Rico Mayaquez |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
W, 91-32 |
| 11/22/02 |
No. 18 Ohio Dominican |
Estero, Fla. |
W, 75-58 |
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the first meeting between the two programs.
MOREHOUSE RECOGNIZED
Senior
Tishara Morehouse (
Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King/Western Nebraska CC) was named to the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year watch list alongside being named ASUN Preseason Player of the Year.
RAINING THREES LEGACY
The Eagles once again played up to their "Raining 3's" moniker by leading the country in three-pointers for the third straight year, fourth in five seasons and fifth in eleven campaigns (the Eagles hold the record for most in one season with 431 in 2017-18).
Here's FGCU's year-by-year 3-point history:
| Year |
Made |
Att. |
Pct. |
| 2002-03 |
212 |
535 |
0.396 |
| 2003-04 |
118 |
406 |
0.291 |
| 2004-05 |
253 |
722 |
0.350 |
| 2005-06 |
242 |
747 |
0.324 |
| 2006-07 |
337 |
891 |
0.378 |
| 2007-08 |
255 |
734 |
0.347 |
| 2008-09 |
296 |
763 |
0.388 |
| 2009-10 |
317 |
876 |
0.362 |
| 2010-11 |
350 |
940 |
0.372 |
| 2011-12 |
342 |
925 |
0.370 |
| 2012-13 |
319 |
974 |
0.328 |
| 2013-14 |
347 |
1,000 |
0.347 |
| 2014-15 |
327 |
928 |
0.352 |
| 2015-16 |
372 |
1,194 |
0.312 |
| 2016-17 |
338 |
1,058 |
0.319 |
| 2017-18 |
431 |
1,190 |
0.362 |
| 2018-19 |
364 |
1,111 |
0.328 |
| 2019-20 |
397 |
1,155 |
0.344 |
| 2020-21 |
343 |
1,030 |
0.333 |
| 2021-22 |
393 |
1,193 |
0.329 |
| Totals |
5,748 |
16,644 |
0.345 |
FGCU has also made at least 10 or more 3-point field goals in a single game 302 times, including a single-season record 25 times in 2017-18. They have at least 15 games with at least 10 or more in each of the past 14 seasons.
Scouting the Competition
Old Dominion will also get its season started after a 24-10 record last season as well as advancing to the Conference USA quarterfinals. The Monarchs were picked to finished second in the Sun Belt Preseason Poll. Senior forward Amari Young was selected to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Third Team.
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 making a memorable evening for families, businesses, or other organizations.
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!
COACH SMESKO
FGCU head coach
Karl Smesko maintains a record of 610-128 (.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 232-18 (.930) mark in ASUN regular season play and a 30-2 (.933) 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 549-101 (.845) all-time since Smesko started the program in the 2002-03 season, and the Green and Blue's .845 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 93 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11 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 at 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 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 26 consecutive semesters. The past five 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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