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FORT MYERS, Fla. – The No. 30 FGCU women's basketball team (8-2) continues its non-conference schedule on the road Sunday, traveling to the Bluegrass State to take on Kentucky. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. from Memorial Coliseum, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Kentucky (7-3) got off to a slow start in its 51-44 loss to Murray State on Friday for its second straight setback at home. Graduate guard Robyn Benton scored 10 of her 15 team-best points in the fourth quarter vs. the Racers as she and junior forward Ajae Petty combined for 26 points. Kentucky struggled from the floor against Murray State, making just 20-of-60 shots (33.3 percent) from the floor, including just two of 17 (11.8 percent) from beyond the arc. The game featured a combined 33 turnovers.
Despite the offensive sluggishness against Murray State, Kentucky averages 71.9 points per game while holding opponents to a 61.7-point average. Kentucky is among the nation's leaders in turnovers forced and assists. Junior guard Maddie Scherr leads the Southeastern Conference in assists at 5.9 per game, good for 19th in the country, and owns a 2.81:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, 15th-best in the nation.
The Wildcats' scoring leader, Benton, tops the chart at 15.3 points per game while Petty pulls down a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game. Sophomore Jada Walker is a threat on both sides of the ball, averaging 13.0 points per outing and leads the SEC in steals per game at 3.1 per game. Kentucky, as a team, forces 23.3 turnovers for a No. 12 national ranking.
FGCU stunned No. 20 Kentucky 70-64 on Dec. 8, 2017, at Alico Arena, the only time the teams have met previously. Rosemarie Julien poured in a game-high 23 points and Lisa Zderadicka contributed 13 points off the bench in the win. The victory marked the first time in history an ASUN team knocked off Kentucky as the Wildcats were 7-0 against the league. The victory over Kentucky also marked the fourth different SEC opponent FGCU had defeated in program history.
FGCU leads the nation with 11.0 treys per game and has recorded 110 3-pointers this season, more than double the 48 total it allows its opponents. 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.
Despite a season-high 18 points and five rebounds from fifth-year guard
Sha Carter (
Southfield, Mich./Wylie E. Groves HS/Walsh), FGCU fell short against Duke 71-48 last Sunday, Dec. 11, at Alico Arena. Three Blue Devils scored in double figures and Duke shot 51.8 percent, joining No. 2 Stanford as the only other program to shoot above 41.5 percent against the Eagles.
Junior guard
Alyza Winston (
Muskegon, Mich./Muskegon HS/Mississippi State) leads the Green & Blue with 13.9 points per game. Graduate guard
Tishara Morehouse (
Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS/Nebraska CC) contributes 13.8 points per outing and leads the team in assists (34) and steals (19). Fifth-year guard
Sophia Stiles (
Malta, Mont./Malta HS/Montana) leads a pack of Eagles with rebounding averages of 4.0 or better with her team-high 4.7 rebounds per game. Morehouse checks in at 4.6, and Carter and senior forward
Uju Ezeudu (
Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg/Denver) both have 4.2 per game.
Entering this season, the Eagles were selected by both the coaches and the media to repeat as ASUN champions. FGCU is currently ranked No. 3 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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