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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The No. 26 FGCU women's basketball team (18-2 overall, 6-0 ASUN Conference) delivered a season-best 56 points in the first half Thursday night en route to a 95-56 victory over Queens (N.C.)  at Curry Arena. The victory was the Green & Blue's 10th consecutive win, and the Eagles' seventh straight road triumph.  
 
Thursday's 39-point margin of victory was FGCU's fourth highest of the season – as the Eagles defeated Central Arkansas by 55 on Jan. 14. The Green & Blue maintained their grip on first place in the ASUN standings, a full game ahead of Austin Peay and Lipscomb. The Royals fell to 6-11 overall and 1-5 in the conference.  
 
Fifth-year guard Kaela Webb (Pontiac, Mich./Detroit Country Day/Detroit Mercy/Providence) eclipsed the 1,000-point career milestone in the victory, scoring the decisive points with 2:43 to go in the first quarter on her way to finishing with nine points. 
 
Graduate guard Sha Carter (Southfield. Mich./Wylie E. Groves HS/Walsh) recorded her first double-double of the season -- scoring 22 points and grabbing a season-high 11 rebounds to go with two assists and two steals. The effort marked Carter's second time this season scoring over 20 points, and her fourth time leading the Eagles in scoring. 
 
Redshirt junior guard Alyza Winston (Muskegon, Mich./Muskegon HS/Mississippi State) went for 12 points, three rebounds, one assist and a steal. Graduate guard Tishara Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS/Nebraska CC) scored 11 points and dealt three assists. Graduate guard Sophia Stiles (Malta, Mont./Malta HS/Montana) added 10 points and three assists. 
 
"We got off to a great start today," said FGCU head women's basketball coach Karl Smesko. "Sha really got us going early. She had a double-double in the first half. It was also great to see Kaela get her 1000th point in her career."   
 
The Green & Blue jumped out hot, firing off a 20-2 run that included a layup from Winston in the game's first 15 seconds and Carter scoring eight quick points. The Royals responded with a mini 6-2 burst to narrow the margin, but the Eagles would earn a 27-10 lead through the first quarter. 
 
Stiles canned one of 11 FGCU 3-pointers to kick-start a 22-10 run that featured six treys and six points each from Stiles and senior forward Uju Ezeudu (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg HS/Denver). That burst would help FGCU rack up 29 points in the second quarter and carry a 56-23 lead into halftime. 
 
The Royals tried to maintain pace in the third quarter, but strong play from junior guard Maddie Antenucci (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill) widened FGCU's advantage to 78-39 heading into the final 10 minutes. Queens managed to play FGCU to a 17-17 tie in the fourth quarter against mainly FGCU reserves. 
 
Smesko once again played 12 players, with everyone earning at least eight minutes of playing time and 11 players scoring at least three points. Redshirt freshman forward Jordyn Weaver led Queens (N.C.) with 16 points and 10 rebounds. 
 
The Eagles complete their two-game road trip Saturday, taking on Liberty at 7 p.m. in Lynchburg, Va. 
 
The Green & Blue have now hit 221 3-pointers, for an average of 11.1 treys per game – the highest average in the country. The Eagles have more than doubled their opponents' treys total, allowing only 78 this season. FGCU's run to its 2021-22 national ranking was due to the Eagles' continued dominance behind the 3-point arc. The Eagles have led the nation in made threes per game the past three years and in four of the last five seasons -- with an NCAA single-season record total 431 in 2017-18.   

 
Entering this season, the Eagles were selected by both the coaches and the media to repeat as ASUN champions. FGCU is currently ranked No. 2 in the Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. The Eagles finished with a program-best-ever No. 20 ranking in 2021-22 and have four Top 25 finishes in the past five seasons. Further, only the Green & Blue and defending national champion South Carolina have won at least 30 games in five of the last eight campaigns.     

   
 For complete coverage of FGCU women's basketball, follow the Eagles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FGCU_WBB and online at www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign up to have news on FGCU women's basketball and other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email. 


 INDIVIDUAL TICKETS, MINI PLANS AVAILABLE  
Tickets for the 2022-23 FGCU Basketball season are on sale now and can be purchased by going online to www.FGCUTickets.com or calling 866-FGCU-TIX. Group tickets can also be purchased for 10 or more people – making a memorable evening for families, businesses, or other organizations.  
 
COACH SMESKO   
FGCU head coach Karl Smesko maintains a record of 628-130 (.828) overall in his career, 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 238-18 (.929) mark in ASUN regular-season play and a 30-2 (.938) record in ASUN tournament play. Over the previous 10-plus seasons, he has guided FGCU to a 157-5 (.969) 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 568-103 (.846) all-time since Smesko started the program in the 2002-03 season, and the Green & Blue's .846 all-time winning percentage is the best in NCAA Division I women's basketball history. 
 
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!  
 
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/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 https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.  
 
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 94 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11-plus seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 47 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn an 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 and No. 25 in 2022-23) 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 & 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 3.66 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2022 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 27 consecutive semesters. The past seven semesters (Fall 2019 – Fall 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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