FORT MYERS, Fla. – A trio of Eagles scored in double figures and Kerstie Phills reached the 1,000 point milestone on Thursday night as the No. 22 FGCU women's basketball team picked up a 64-48 win over Kennesaw State at Alico Arena. The Green and Blue improved to 23-2 overall and 12-1 in ASUN play, while the Owls fell to 9-15 overall and 5-8 in league play.
 
"It was a tough game, but I thought we played well defensively and everybody was making it as hard as possible for Kennesaw to get good shots," said head coach Karl Smesko. "Offensively, we didn't shoot well again or execute the way we want. That's something we have to get back to the efficiency we played with earlier. The defensive effort was much better than the previous game and that was the positive of today."
 
Kendall Spray and Seneca Hackley, who both earned their first starts of the season, led the Eagles in scoring with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Spray hit three three pointers giving her 439 for her career which continues to fifth all-time in NCAA history. Hackley's effort was just a point shy of her career-high which she set in the win at Lipscomb earlier this season.
 
Emma List rounded out the top scorers with 12 points, while adding eight rebounds and notching four assists.
 
Phills reached 1,000 career points for her career after scoring six to hit the milestone exactly. She has scored 619 in her three seasons with FGCU while adding 381 from her freshman season at Wagner.
 
KSU was led by 16 points from Amani Johnson and nine points from Julia Rodriguez.
 
The Eagles were bolstered by a 19-of-25 effort from the free throw line compared to a 9-of-14 for the Owls. FGCU also converted 25 KSU turnovers into 17 points, while the Owls were able to score just seven points off 16 Eagles' miscues.
 
A quick start to the first quarter where FGCU hit four three pointers in the period gave the Eagles an early 18-9 advantage. The Green and Blue took a 32-21 lead into the intermission, but KSU outscored FGCU 15-12 in the third.
 
The Owls cut the deficit to as few as six points with 3:59 left in the fourth, but an 11-to-0 run by the Eagles extended the lead back to double figures, 62-45, to put the game away with 1:09 remaining.
 
FGCU will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 19 at North Florida. The opening tip is set for 2 PM and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
 
The Eagles remain in first place in the East Division standings with the earlier win this season over Liberty which also holds a 12-1 league record. North Florida remained in sixth after falling to the Flames 56-38.
 
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 603-127 (.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 229-18 (.929) 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 542-100 (.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.
 
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