NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Behind a balanced offensive day and a near 50 percent shooting effort, the No. 20 FGCU women's basketball team cruised past Lipscomb 73-55 on Saturday afternoon at Allen Arena. The win improved the Eagles to 21-1 overall and 10-0 in the ASUN, while the Bisons fell to 8-14 overall and 3-6 in league action.
 
The win keeps FGCU a perfect 32-0 all-time against Lipscomb while also extending the Eagles' NCAA-best road win streak to 28 games. It was also the Green and Blue's 14^th consecutive win and its 32^nd-straight win over an ASUN foe – both of which are the third-longest current streaks in the nation.

"I thought we had some really good stretches today and we had some good individual performances," said head coach Karl Smesko. "Karli Seay had a great defensive effort. Tyra Cox had another good game with 12 rebounds and we got good production from Seneca Hackley off the bench. Kerstie Phill's had a really good game again as well. We really had a lot of different players contributing which was great to see."
 
Kerstie Phills (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian/Wagner) led the Eagles in scoring with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including two triples, while adding eight rebounds. Tishara Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS/Western Nebraska CC) had 11 points, while Seneca Hackley (Colorado Springs, Colo./Saint Mary's) was just two shy of her season-high with 10 points. Tyra Cox (Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep/William & Mary) fell just a point away from her second career double-double with nine points and a career-best 12 rebounds. Playing in front of her home state fans, Kendall Spray (Mt. Juliet, Tenn./Wilson Central/Clemson/UT Martin) hit a trio of triples to move into fifth all-time in NCAA history with 432 career three pointers – just four shy of passing Maryland's Katie Benzan for fourth.
 
Overall, 10 players scored in the game for FGCU with seven contributing five-or-more points.
 
Lipscomb was led by 10 points from both Maddie Cook and Sydney Shelton. Defensively, the Eagles were able to keep all five of the Bisons' starters out of double figures for the day.
 
FGCU shot 48 percent (26-of-54) for the game which included 10 three pointers. The Eagles were also 11-of-13 from the free throw line, while Lipscomb was just 2-of-3 for the game.
 
The Eagles took a 23-17 lead after the first quarter, but opened up the game with a big second stanza. An 18-9 second quarter, highlighted by six points from Hackley and three-pointers from Spray and Cox, put FGCU up 41-26 at the intermission.
 
Phills did the bulk of the damage in the third quarter with nine of her 15 points, while a Spray three-pointer with 2:03 remaining gave the Eagles their largest lead of the game to that point at 55-33.
 
The Eagles will close out the crossover portion of their ASUN slate on Wednesday, February 9 when FGCU hosts North Alabama in Alico Arena as a doubleheader with the men's team. The women are set for a 5 PM tip, while the men's game will start at 7:30 PM. Tickets are still available 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 601-126 (.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 227-17 (.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 18-consecutive 20-win campaigns, including 30-plus wins in four of the past seven years. On top of all that, the Eagles are 540-99 (.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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