Box Score FGCU-PBA box score | Updated FGCU stats

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The No. 26 FGCU women's basketball team (8-1) coasted past Palm Beach Atlantic 93-36 at Alico Arena on Thursday night, its fourth straight win and eighth overall. Graduate guard Tishara Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS/Nebraska CC) tied her season high with 24 points and tied for the team lead with six rebounds. Morehouse was one of three Eagles in double figures in points and half her total came off treys with her season-best four triples.
 
 FGCU's 93 points set a season high, eclipsing the 92 points the Eagles scored against FIU on Nov. 13. The 57-point margin of victory was FGCU's highest of the season, and the Green & Blue's 15 3-pointers matched their season-high effort against FIU.
 
The Eagles recorded their eighth straight victory inside The Nest and improved to 9-0 all-time against Palm Beach Atlantic (4-2). 
 
"I thought we played well, and we shared the ball and took good shots," said FGCU head women's basketball coach Karl Smesko. "We made a few too many mistakes on the defensive end early, but we cleaned it up as the game went on. I was encouraged by a lot of people's performances."
 
FGCU shot 62.9 percent from the floor to roll to a 24-12 first-quarter lead. Junior guard Alyza Winston (Muskegon, Mich./Muskegon HS/Mississippi State) dropped 10 of her 12 points in the game's first 10 minutes. FGCU's defense clamped down even harder on Palm Beach Atlantic in the second quarter, limiting the Sailfish to just six points on 2-of-10 shooting. Morehouse pumped in 10 points during the period, boosting the Eagles to a 45-18 halftime advantage. 
 
Smesko worked in all 11 players throughout the second half as FGCU built a 40-point lead late in the third quarter. The Eagles had their best shooting of the game at 68.8 percent for 28 points while allowing only seven for PBA. FGCU dominated on the boards 38-24 as Morehouse and senior forward Uju Ezeudu (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg HS/Denver) also pulled six boards for a share of the game high.
 
Fifth-year guard Sha Carter (Southfield, Mich./Wylie E. Groves HS/Walsh) came off the bench for 15 points. The Eagles tallied 20 assists on 37 baskets and forced 23 turnovers. Of the 11 Eagles in the box score, every one scored points or had an assist.
 
Kash Ayuso led Palm Beach Atlantic with seven points and Claire Davis grabbed six of the Sailfish's 24 rebounds.
 
The Green & Blue have now hit 105 3-pointers, for an average of 11.7 treys per game – the highest average in the country. The Eagles have more than doubled their opponents' total, allowing only 43 this season. 
 
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.    
 
FGCU finishes its three-game homestand on Sunday, taking on ACC power Duke at 1 p.m. The Blue Devils received votes in both polls this week.
 
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 618-129 (.827) 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 557-102 (.845) all-time since Smesko started the program in the 2002-03 season, and the Green & Blue's .845 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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