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FORT MYERS, Fla. – The No. 27 FGCU women's basketball team (9-2) plays two games against Mercer (4-6) this month, the first on the road at Hawkins Arena in Macon, Ga., Wednesday. The Eagles are seeking their 10th win of the season and second straight road win as they wrap up a two-game road trip. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m., with the game available on ESPN+.
The Eagles own a perfect 4-0 mark in true away games and have won five of their last six games overall. The Green & Blue made seven free throws in the last 31 seconds to hold off Kentucky 69-63 at Memorial Coliseum Sunday in Lexington, Ky., for the program's 22nd all-time victory over a Power 5 program.
FGCU and Mercer, former colleagues in the ASUN, have not met since their last game in 2014. In the 15 previous meetings, all wins by the Eagles, 14 came in regular-season league play. The final game, in Alico Arena March 15, 2014, was a 64-67 ASUN semifinal victory en route to FGCU's second ASUN Tournament Championship and second NCAA Tournament bid.
Mercer snapped a two-game slide Monday with a 60-57 road victory over Kennesaw State. The Bears outscored Kennesaw State 33-24 in the second half and 19-14 in the fourth quarter. Graduate guard Amoria Neal-Tysor led all scorers with 19 points on 8-13 shooting to go with six rebounds and two assists. Freshman guard Enjulina Gonzalez tied her career-high with 12 points on 4-9 shooting with three rebounds and three assists.
Neal-Tysor leads the Bears and is fifth in the Southern Conference with 15.2 points per game. Sophomore guard Erin Houpt adds 11.7 points per outing and leads the conference in free-throw percentage at 96.7 percent (29-30). She is second in the SoCon in 3-point percentage (45.3 percent) and third in treys made (24-of-53).
Junior forward Summah Evans and graduate forward Jaron Dougherty share top rebounding duties, averaging 5.4 rebounds per game each. Mercer leads the SoCon in team 3-point percentage at 38.9 percent (49-126).
FGCU's victory at Kentucky was fueled by fifth-year guard
Sha Carter (
Southfield, Mich./Wylie E. Groves HS/Walsh), who earned ASUN Newcomer of the Week honors for her efforts. Carter posted her second straight double-figure performance with a team-high 16 points, 10 in the first half, and a game-best six assists. She hit a jumper at the 5:51 mark of the fourth quarter and converted the three-point play to break a tie and put FGCU in the lead for the remainder of the game.
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 13.6 points per outing and leads the team in assists (34) and steals (20). Fifth-year guard
Sophia Stiles (
Malta, Mont./Malta HS/Montana) leads a trio 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 has 4.1 per game.
FGCU is among the nation's leaders with 10.7 treys per game and has 118 3-pointers this season, more than double the 50 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.
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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