FORT MYERS, Fla. – Former University of Montana standout and a two-time Gatorade Montana Player of the Year Sophia Stiles (Malta, Montana/Malta HS/Montana) has joined the nationally ranked FGCU women's basketball team as announced by head coach Karl Smesko today. Stiles was an All-Big Sky Conference selection in 2021-22 and a three-time Academic All-Big Sky Conference honoree during her five years with the Lady Griz.
 
"Sophia is a great addition to our team and will excel in our fast-paced, wide-open style," said Smesko. "Sophia takes pride in her defense, and she rebounds the ball well.  She is very good at creating shots for teammates, and she makes great decisions with the ball."
 
For her career at Montana, the 5-foot-9 guard started 84 of 103 games played averaging 9.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. She missed the final nine games of her freshman campaign in 2017-18 with an injury and redshirted the 2018-19 campaign.
 
As a senior in 2021-22, Stiles averaged a career-best 12.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.1 assists in 30 games with 29 starts. She ranked first in the Big Sky with a 1.9 assist-to-turnover ratio and was fourth in assists. She scored a season-high 29 points in a road win at Sacramento State while also having 27 in a win over Idaho. She had three double-doubles on the year, six games with 10-or-more rebounds, and a season-high 11 assists against Sacramento State. In a win over Utah State, Stiles scored 19 points going 7-of-8 from the floor including 4-of-4 beyond the arc.
 
During her junior season, Stiles started all 23 games averaging 11.7 points and 5.8 rebounds while leading the Lady Griz in assists (68) and steals (46). She had her first career double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds against North Dakota which was just shy of her season-high of 23 points against Idaho.
 
After redshirting the 2018-19 campaign, she started 29 of 30 games played in 2019-20 posting 5.5 points and 3.3 rebounds while also leading the team in steals (46) and ranking second in assists (61). She began her career at Montana as a true freshman in 2017-18 where she played in 22 games averaging 7.5 points on 45.1 percent shooting to go with 3.5 rebounds. She missed the final nine games of the year due to an injury. Her rookie campaign was highlighted by a 26-point effort at Southern Utah which was one shy of the program's freshman record.
 
Before playing at Montana, Stiles was a two-time Gatorade Montana Player of the Year as a junior and senior at Malta High School. She was a three-time All-Montana First Team selection leading the M-ettes to Class B state championships during her sophomore and junior campaign where the team went undefeated. She was the MVP of the state tournament during her sophomore season. Overall, she scored 1,809 points during her prep career and was a key member of three teams that combined to win 54 consecutive games. Stiles was also a nine-time Class B state track and field champion in the hurdles and jumps.
 
Stiles is the fifth transfer signee to join the Eagles during the offseason. The class includes Shekinah Guthrie (Palm Beach Atlantic), Alyza Winston of Mississippi State, Sha Carter of Walsh University, and Uju Ezeudu of the University of Denver.
 
FGCU, ranked No. 20 in the final WBCA poll of the season, finished 2021-22 with a 30-3 overall record after advancing to the NCAA Tournament Second Round. That marked the eighth NCAA Tournament appearance for the Eagles over the past 11 years and fifth straight. The Green and Blue won its ninth ASUN Championship Title to earn the berth, while the 30 wins marked the fifth time in the past eight seasons to hit the milestone.
 
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 610-128 (.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 five of the last eight years. On top of all that, the Eagles are 549-101 (.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 92 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11 seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 45 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn at at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. 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 four 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 26 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Spring 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative team GPA. 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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