FORT MYERS, Fla. – A tough night shooting from beyond the arc plagued the No. 20 FGCU women's basketball team as Stetson picked up a 58-55 upset win over the Eagles on Saturday night at Alico Arena. The loss dropped the Eagles to 22-2 overall and 11-1 in the ASUN, while the Hatters improved to 15-10 overall and 8-4 in league play.
 
"Obviously a very disappointing outcome for us, but give Stetson a lot of credit. They played with great effort and they've always been a well-coached team," said head coach Karl Smesko. "They got off to a great start and I thought we were moving in the right direction. Stetson did a good job getting to the rim and the free throw line in the fourth quarter, and we didn't do a very good job executing our offense."
 
The Eagles led 53-50 with 4:05 remaining in the fourth before the Hatters scored six straight. That put Stetson up 58-55 with 30 seconds to go. The Eagles called timeout after advancing to half court, but were forced to call another to maintain possession after inbounding the ball. The Eagles were able to find Kendall Spray for a last second look at a three-pointer, but her shot was just off. FGCU managed to track down the rebound, but were unable to find the equalizer as the buzzer sounded.
 
Tishara Morehouse and Spray each led the Eagles with 12 points in the game. Morehouse added four steals, while Spray had four rebounds.Kerstie Phills finished the night with six more giving her 994 for her career.
 
Yazz Wazeerud-Din had a game-high 15 points, while Kiya Turner had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Overall the Eagles were 20-of-67 from the floor (29.9%) and 7-of-44 from deep (15.9%). Stetson hit 24-of-53 from the floor and also struggled from deep going 3-of-11 (27.3%).
 
The loss snapped a pair of streaks for the Eagles as it ended both of FGCU's NCAA-leading overall win streak (15 games) and 33 games against ASUN foes.
 
FGCU will return to action at Alico Arena next Thursday, Feb. 17 as Kennesaw State visits Tipoff is set for 7 PM and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
 
For complete coverage of the women's basketball program, follow the Eagles on Twitter and Instagram at @FGCU_WBB, on Facebook at /fgcuwbb and online at www.FGCUathletics.com. You can also sign-up to have news on FGCU women's basketball or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.

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!
 
SUPPORT THE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PROGRAM
Do you enjoy watching or following the FGCU women's basketball program? Would you like to play a role in the growth of the program and help take it to heights never before experienced? If so, you can reach out to Director of Advancement, Matt Ring, about opportunities to make an impact on the experiences of our student-athletes. He can be reached by email at mring@fgcu.edu or by office phone at 239-745-4434.

COACH SMESKO
FGCU head coach Karl Smesko maintains a record of 602-127 (.826) overall in his career, which is 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 228-18 (.928) mark in ASUN regular season play and a 27-2 (.931) 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 11-time ASUN Coach of the Year has led the program to 11-straight 25-win seasons and 18-consecutive 20-win campaigns, including 30-plus wins in four of the past seven years. On top of all that, the Eagles are 541-100 (.845) all-time since Smesko started the program in the 2002-03 season, and the Green and Blue's .845 all-time winning percentage is the best in NCAA Division I women's basketball history.
 
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/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 www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
 
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 87 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 43 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. 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, 2021) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and 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 25 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, 2020 Fall, 2021 Spring, and 2021 Fall semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA in each. 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.
 
---FGCUATHLETICS.COM---