FGCU-Kentucky box score | updated FGCU stats

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 30 FGCU women's basketball team (9-2) stifled Kentucky (7-4) in the second half Sunday afternoon and held on for a 69-63 win at Memorial Coliseum. Four Eagles scored in double figures, led by fifth-year guard Sha Carter (Southfield, Mich./Wylie E. Groves HS/Walsh), who turned in a second straight double-figure performance with a team-high 16 points and a game-best six assists.
 
FGCU scored 32 points off 20 Kentucky turnovers, and the Eagles bench outscored the Wildcats bench by a 22-10 margin. Fifth-year guard Kaela Webb (Pontiac, Mich./Detroit Country Day HS/Detroit Mercy/Providence) scored more than half of FGCU's 22 bench points, with 10 of her 13 coming in a critical second half.
 
"That was a great road win today," said FGCU head women's basketball coach Karl Smesko. "I loved the contributions we had from our bench. Kaela, junior guard Brylee Bartram (Tampa, Fla./Seffner Christian Academy/Florida/Vanderbilt), junior guard/forward Maddie Antenucci (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill HS) and junior guard Kierra Adams (Vancouver, Wash./Brookwood HS) all had good games and they made a big difference."
 
"It was also good to see us show some toughness in the fourth quarter," Smesko said. "Sha had a great game and made some clutch plays down the stretch." 
 
The win was FGCU's fifth in its last six games and improved the Green & Blue's record in true road games to 4-0 this season. FGCU is now 2-0 against Kentucky in the series after Sunday's win at Memorial Coliseum. The Eagles stunned the No. 20 Wildcats at Alico Arena 70-64 in December 2017 at Alico Arena. FGCU has defeated four different SEC opponents in its history, and Sunday marked the 22^nd FGCU victory against a Power 5 program.
 
FGCU led 51-49, after three periods, but Kentucky graduate guard Robyn Benton capped a 4-0 run early in the fourth quarter to knot the score at 53. Carter hit a turnaround jumper in the paint at the 5:51 mark and added a free throw after being fouled for a 56-53 Eagle lead.
 
The Wildcats got within one, 56-55, off a Walker field goal on the next possession, but FGCU added to its lead via a layup from fifth-year guard Sophia Stiles (Malta, Mont./Malta HS/Montana) and Webb's conversion of a three-point play for a six-point FGCU lead at 61-55.
 
The Green & Blue were able to maintain a two-possession lead without a field goal in the last 3:15 by making eight critical free throws in the last 1:44 – including seven in the last 31 seconds.
 
Junior guard Alyza Winston (Muskegon, Mich./Muskegon HS/Mississippi State) finished the afternoon with 14 points and graduate guard Tishara Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS/Nebraska CC) added 12 for FGCU. Morehouse and Stiles each grabbed a team-high five rebounds. 
 
Kentucky's leading scorer, Benton, scored above her average with a game-high 18 points and sophomore guard Jada Walker had 14. Junior guard Maddie Scherr snared a game-high nine rebounds for the Wildcats, as Kentucky had a 38-29 advantage on the boards.
 
FGCU had its largest lead in the game at 13-4 after going up 8-0 in the game's first minutes and held an 18-12 advantage after the first quarter. The two teams matched their offensive output with 19 points each in the second period.
 
Carter scored 10 points and Winston added nine to keep FGCU up by six, 37-31, at halftime. The Wildcats regained some momentum in the third quarter, using a 7-0 run to take a 40-39 lead at the 6:39 mark, their only lead of the game. Kentucky outscored the Eagles 18-14 in the period, with its only two made treys of the game coming in the third quarter.
 
Defensively, FGCU held the Wildcats to their second-lowest field-goal shooting percentage of the year at .328, including a dismal .257 in the second half (9-of-35).

With eight 3-pointers on 25 attempts Sunday, FGCU has recorded 118 3-pointers this season, more than double the 50 total it has allowed opponents, and is among the nation's best with 10.7 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. 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 619-130 (.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 558-103 (.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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