Box Score FGCU-Duke box score | updated FGCU stats

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Despite a season-high 18 points and five rebounds from fifth-year guard Sha Carter (Southfield, Mich./Wylie E. Groves HS/Walsh), the No. 26 FGCU women's basketball team (8-2) fell short against Duke 71-48 on Sunday at Alico Arena. Three Blue Devils scored in double figures and Duke shot 51.8 percent for the game, joining No. 2 Stanford as the only other program to shoot above 41.5 percent against the Eagles.
 
Duke (10-1), one of the preseason contenders in the Atlantic Coast Conference, relied on 16 points from senior guard Elizabeth Balogun with 14 in the second quarter to help the Blue Devils separate from the Eagles. Senior guard Celeste Taylor scored 14 points and sophomore guard Shayeann Day-Wilson had 12. 
 
The Blue Devils held FGCU to a season-low 17 field goals the Eagles shot 37.8 from the field against Duke, their second-lowest percentage of the season, behind the game vs. the Cardinal. The Blue Devils also took the advantage on the glass with a +17 margin in rebounding. Duke had 13 offensive boards to only four for FGCU. 
 
"Defensively, they really made things tough on us," said FGCU head women's basketball coach Karl Smesko. "Against Duke, you've really got to work hard to create easy passes and get the ball moving. We didn't quite work hard enough to get it moving, and got stuck to where we had a lot of empty possessions where it is late on the shot clock and we are putting up contested threes. 
 
"It is always good to play this type of competition, because you learn what you need to fix. They exploit your weaknesses. Duke did a good job of that, taking us out of things and forcing us into some low-percentage shots." 
 
FGCU hung tough with Duke early, trailing just 13-10 through the first quarter. But the Blue Devils' perimeter defense began wearing on the Eagles in the second quarter – holding FGCU scoreless in the final 3:58 of the period during an 11-0 run for a 35-22 halftime lead. 
 
Duke expanded its lead to 17 points early in the third quarter before FGCU began whittling away at the deficit. A 9-2 run by the Eagles with Carter's layup at 2:40 cut the Blue Devils' lead to single digits for a 43-34 score with 2:40 to play. 
 
But FGCU would get no closer, as Duke would score five quick points to expand the margin to 14 at the end of the quarter. The Blue Devils would record 5-0 and 7-0 spurts in the final 10 minutes. FGCU was to muster just eight field-goal attempts in the period, but all five starters scored a basket in the fourth quarter for a 62.5 field-goal percentage.
 
Blue Devil Jordyn Oliver had a game-high five rebounds and five assists.
 
The Blue Devils received points in both the Associated Press and Coaches polls earlier this week and are one of five ACC teams in the top 20 of the NCAA NET rankings at No. 11. Duke's only setback this season was a 78-50 loss to then-No. 3 UConn. 
 
The loss snapped FGCU's four-game winning streak, along with the Green & Blue's eight-game home win streak that dated back to the 2021-22 season. Duke's notched the first road win in the series with its victory at Alico Arena and picked up the Atlantic Coast Conference's first win over FGCU, now 8-1 against ACC opponents at Alico Arena. 
 
With five 3-pointers on 20 attempts, FGCU has recorded 110 3-pointers this season, more than double the 51 total it has allowed opponents, and is third in the nation with 11.0 treys per game. FGCU's run to its 2021-22 national ranking was due to the Eagles' continued dominance behind the 3-point arc. The Eagles have led the nation in made threes per game the past three years and in four of the last five seasons -- with an NCAA single-season record total 431 in 2017-18.   
 
Entering this season, the Eagles were selected by both the coaches and the media to repeat as ASUN champions. FGCU is currently ranked No. 2 in the Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. The Eagles finished with a program-best-ever No. 20 ranking 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.    
 
For complete coverage of FGCU women's basketball, follow the Eagles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FGCU_WBB and online at www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign up to have news on FGCU women's basketball and other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
 
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 618-130 (.826) 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 557-103 (.844) all-time since Smesko started the program in the 2002-03 season, and the Green & Blue's .844 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 94 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 47 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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