FORT MYERS, Fla. – A 54-point second half led the No. 20 FGCU women's basketball team to an 82-67 win over Stetson on Wednesday night in the ASUN Championship Tournament Semifinals at Alico Arena. The Eagles (28-2), the top seed in the East Division, will next make their 11^th straight appearance in the ASUN Championship game on Saturday night at 7 PM against West Division top seed Jacksonville State in Alico Arena.
 
Stetson (20-12) entered the semifinals as the No. 3 seed in the East Division and was the only team to defeat FGCU in league play during the regular-season.
 
"Stetson started the game playing really well; they did a lot of smart things, got a lot of good shots, and they were really playing good defense. In the second quarter, we talked about making a run before the half and we were able to cut their lead from 13 to six before the half. That that made a big difference in how we felt going into halftime and we were able to get off to a good start in the second half," said head coach Karl Smesko. "We shot the ball exceptionally well in that second half and, as is the case a lot of times once you start making shots, everybody gets more excited about playing defense and the intensity picked up there. We got some stops and that allowed us to separate ourselves. I give Stetson a lot of credit - I think they're the most improved team from the beginning of the year to right now."
 
The Eagles, who trailed by as many as 13 points in the second quarter, exploded in the second half to take control of the game. After trailing 34-28 at the break, FGCU heated up after the intermission hitting 11-of-17 from beyond the arc in the second half and were 18-of-26 (69.2%) overall. Four players scored nine-or-more points after halftime led by 12 from Kendall Spray who hit four three pointers.
 
Overall, five different Eagles scored in double-figures led by Kierstan Bell's double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds. Emma List tied her season-high with 14 points thanks to a career-best four triples. Tishara Morehouse scored 12 points while adding seven assists and Karli Seay had 13 points off the bench.
 
For Spray, her four three pointers give her 458 for her career which are the fourth-most all-time in NCAA history. Bell's double-double extended her FGCU record to 24 in just 47 career games for the Green and Blue.
 
Stetson was led by 18 points from Alyssa Hargrove and 17 points by Jamiya Turner. Tatiana Streun and Ayanna Dublin had 12 points and 10 points, respectively, to round out the top scorers.
 
The Hatters controlled the game early taking a 21-13 lead after the first quarter. The Eagles were able to keep the second quarter close to trail by six at halftime.
 
Midway through the third, FGCU began to heat up. An Andrea Cecil triple sparked a 9-0 run that gave the Eagles their first lead of the night on a Morehouse lay-up with 3:53 to go. Spray's second three of the game with 41 seconds remaining put FGCU up 53-49 heading to the fourth.
 
In the fourth, the Eagles hit six three pointers to put the game away. Spray and Bell hit back-to-back triples to push FGCU's lead to nine at the 7:45 mark. Spray hit another nearly two minutes later to push the lead to 12, 69-57. That started a 15-to-4 run for the Eagles as Spray hit another triple as did Kerstie Phills in the stretch. Another Morehouse lay-up with 4:34 to go extended the lead to 74-59. List and Morehouse each hit threes in the final minute to cap off the win.
 
FGCU finished the night hitting 29-of-56 from the floor including 15-of-35 from deep. The Hatters shot nearly 50 percent from the floor, but hit just 3-of-8 from beyond the arc. The Eagles were able to convert 19 Stetson turnovers into 22 points while giving up just 10 points off 17 FGCU miscues.
 
The Green and Blue will be playing for their ninth ASUN Championship and sixth straight. The winner will get the league's automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. Earlier this season, FGCU defeated Jacksonville State, 66-44, in Jacksonville, Ala., in the first game with Bell out of the line-up due to injury. The Gamecocks reached the ASUN Championship game by defeating Liberty on Wednesday night with a buzzer-beating lay-up to win 59-57. It will be JSU's first ASUN Championship game appearance since 1999.
 
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 608-127 (.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 29-2 (.935) 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 547-100 (.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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