FORT MYERS, Fla. - The NCAA Tournament will officially get underway on Friday as the No. 20 and 12th-seeded FGCU women's basketball team takes on No. 16 and 5th-seed Virginia Tech on Friday at Maryland's XFINITY Center. The winner will advance to the second round to face host and No. 4 seed Maryland or No. 13 seed Delaware.
The game will officially tip at 2:30 PM and will be broadcast live on ESPNU. Maryland and Delaware are scheduled for a 5 PM tip.
The Eagles (29-2) are coming off winning their ninth ASUN Championship Tournament Title last Saturday night with a 69-54 win over Jacksonville State. This will be FGCU's eighth NCAA Tournament appearance over the past 11 years. It is also the Green and Blue's fifth straight trip to the Big Dance not counting the 2020 season thought FGCU was recognized as the ASUN's NCAA Tournament qualifier for that season.
For the Hokies (23-9), this marks the second straight NCAA berth and the 11th appearance overall. Virginia Tech finished the regular season tied for third in the ACC with a 13-5 record.
FGCU is led by All-American Honorable Mention selection
Kierstan Bell who enters the tournament averaging 23.2 points per game along with 7.4 rebounds.
Tishara Morehouse and
Kendall Spray round out the top scorers with 15.0 and 11.1 points per game, respectively.
This week, Bell was selected as an Honorable Mention All-American by both the Associated Press and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.
The Hokies are led by ACC Player of the Year Elizabeth Kitley who is averaging 17.3 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. Four players overall are averaging over 10 points a game on the year for Virginia Tech.
FGCU holds a 3-0 record over Virginia Tech all time though this will be the first meeting in the NCAA Tournament.
The Eagles moved up to No. 20 in the USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll and are No. 23 in the AP Top 25 poll this week. Four weeks ago, FGCU ranked No. 20 in the USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll which was tied as FGCU's highest ever ranking in either the Coaches Poll or the AP Top 25 poll alongside the 2014-15 team (ranked No. 20 in the AP Poll).
FGCU IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
For the Eagles, this will be their eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament. FGCU carries a 2-7 record, although they've made a pair of second round appearances. Among five first round exits include two overtime losses, another by two points in regulation, and another by seven points in a game FGCU led early in the fourth quarter.
| Date |
Opponent |
Place |
Result |
| 3/18/12 |
St. Bonaventure |
Tallahassee, Fla. |
L, 65-72 (OT) |
| 3/22/14 |
Oklahoma State |
West Lafayette, Ind. |
L, 60-61 (OT) |
| 3/21/15 |
Oklahoma State |
Tallahassee, Fla. |
W, 75-67 |
| 3/23/15 |
Florida State |
Tallahassee, Fla. |
L, 65-47 |
| 3/18/17 |
Miami (Fla.) |
Coral Gables, Fla. |
L, 60-62 |
| 3/17/18 |
Missouri |
Stanford, Calif. |
W, 80-70 |
| 3/19/18 |
Stanford |
Stanford, Calif. |
L, 70-90 |
| 3/22/19 |
Miami (Fla.) |
Coral Gables, Fla. |
L, 62-69 |
| 3/14/21 |
Michigan |
San Antonio, Texas |
L, 66-87 |
CLICK HERE FOR FULL GAME NOTES
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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
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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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