CONWAY, Ark. – Faster than Pat Summitt, Tara VanDerveer, and C. Vivian Stringer, head coach Karl Smesko earned career win No. 600 on Thursday night as the No. 20 FGCU women's basketball team cruised past Central Arkansas at the Farris Center. The win improved the Eagles to 20-1 overall and 9-0 in ASUN play, while UCA fell to 8-12 overall and 3-6 in league play.

Smesko reached the milestone win in 726 total games. Summitt reached the 600 win mark in the 734^th game of her legendary career, while VanDerveer and Stringer did so in their 767^th and 785^th games, respectively.
 
The only head coach in FGCU women's basketball history, Smesko has gone from creating a program from scratch to building it into a top-25 program with consistent success highlighted by posting the NCAA's all-time best winning percentage (.845). Under his guidance, the Eagles have posted 12-straight 25 win seasons entering this year and 18-consecutive 20 win campaigns after tonight.
 
The milestone win featured five players in double figures led by Tishara Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS/Western Nebraska CC) who had 19 points and five assists. The guard shot 7-of-14 from the floor with four triples while adding three rebounds.
 
Kendall Spray (Mt. Juliet, Tenn./Wilson Central/Clemson/UT Martin) added 12 points, while Tyra Cox (Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep/William & Mary) scored 11 points with four rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Both Kerstie Phills (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian/Wagner) and Andrea Cecil (Oak Harbor, Ohio/Oak Harbor/Bowling Green) posted 10 points. The duo added eight and seven rebounds, respectively, to lead the Eagles on the glass.
 
"It was a very physical game. I thought Tyra was excellent tonight, while Andrea and Kendall really played well also," said Smesko. "They hit some threes and really helped control the defensive boards."
 
Overall, FGCU hit 24-of-61 shots (39.3 percent) including 17-of-52 from beyond the arc. The 17 triples are tied as the third-most in a game for the Eagles this season.
 
UCA was led by a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds from Lucy Ibeh. Hannah Langhi scored 12 points and added nine rebounds to round out the top scorers in the game.
 
In the first quarter, Cecil helped pace the scoring with seven early points as the Eagles finished the first 10 minutes with a 21-13 lead. A streak of five-straight three pointers as part of a 15-to-2 run in the second quarter put FGCU up 44-25 at the half.
 
The third quarter saw both teams score 15 points, while the Eagles held Central Arkansas to just four points in the fourth to close out the win.
 
The win was the 27^th consecutive road win for the Eagles which leads the NCAA. It also extended FGCU's overall win streak to 12 games and the Green and Blue's streak against ASUN foes to 31 which is third nationally.
 
FGCU will look to keep those streaks alive this Saturday when the Eagles head to Lipscomb for a 2:30 PM tip as part of a doubleheader with the men's team.
 
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 600-126 (.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 226-17 (.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 17-consecutive 20-win campaigns, including 30-plus wins in four of the past seven years. On top of all that, the Eagles are 539-99 (.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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