FORT MYERS, Fla. – Paced by a terrific second half performance, the No. 20 FGCU women's basketball team defeated Jacksonville State, 69-54, on Saturday night at Alico Arena to win its ninth ASUN Championship title and the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
 
The Eagles (29-2) will learn their NCAA Tournament opponent and destination on Sunday night at 8 PM when the NCAA Selection Show airs on ESPN. Fans are invited to join the women's program at Alico Arena for a free watch party with doors opening at 7 PM.
 
Jacksonville State (24-7) entered the championship game as the No. 1 seed from the West Division after picking up a dramatic win at the buzzer against Liberty. It was the Gamecocks first ASUN Championship title game since 1999 during their first stint in the league.
 
For the Green and Blue, Saturday marked the program's 11^th straight appearance in the title game. FGCU is now 30-2 all-time in the ASUN Tournament and have won six straight titles. Overall this season, the win marked the seventh straight wins for the Eagles and the 22^nd of the last 23 games entering the NCAA Tournament.
 
"It was another tough game tonight, we didn't shoot the ball very well in the first half," said head coach Karl Smesko. "In the second half, we played better defensively and Bell had a huge end of the third quarter. Overall, it was a great effort by our team and we're excited to win the conference tournament in a year where the ASUN is really strong. We're excited to be going to the NCAA Tournament and can't wait to see who we're going to play."
 
All-America candidate Kierstan Bell was named the ASUN Tournament MVP and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Kendall Spray and Tishara Morehouse.
 
In the championship game, Bell finished the night with 26 points and six rebounds. After the Eagles trailed 32-30 at the intermission, Bell was a driving force in the second half as she scored 18 points after the break on 7-of-14 shooting which included four three pointers. The performance was her fourth 20-point game in the last five outings since she returned back from knee surgery.
 
Along with Bell, Morehouse finished the night with 17 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. Emma List nearly had a double-double with eight points and nine rebounds. Spray hit a pair of triples in the game to remain fourth all-time in NCAA history for made three pointers with 460 for her career.
 
JSU was led by 13 points from both Kennedy Gavin (seven rebounds) and Kiana Johnson. Imari Martin rounded out the top performers with 10 points.
 
In the third quarter, FGCU the Eagles began to heat up from beyond the arc as Spray hit a triple early followed by three more from Bell and one from Morehouse later in the stanza. Bell hit back-to-back triples with just over a minute to go pushing the lead to 51-43 before JSU banked home a three at the buzzer to head to the fourth down by five.
 
In the first three minutes of the fourth, Kerstie Phills and Bell had two more three pointers to go up by 12. After a five point run by the Gamecocks pulled JSU back within single-digits, a three-point play by List was followed up by a steal on the ensuing inbounds by Bell with the ball eventually finding Spray for the game's decisive play as her triple from the wing made the score 65-52 with just over three minutes to go.
 
Overall, FGCU finished the game hitting 28-of-62 from the floor including 10-of-31 from deep. JSU hit 20-of-53 for the game and was just 3-of-18 behind the arc. Defensively, the Eagles were stifling in the second half and finished the game scoring 14 points on 12 JSU turnovers.
 
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 609-127 (.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 232-18 (.930) mark in ASUN regular season play and a 30-2 (.933) 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 four of the past seven years. On top of all that, the Eagles are 548-100 (.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 90 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 10 seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 44 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, 2022) 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 past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Fall 2021) 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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