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FORT MYERS, Fla. – The No. 32 FGCU women's basketball team (19-3 overall, 7-1 ASUN Conference) delivered 45 first-half points Thursday night en route to an 84-61 victory over Eastern Kentucky at Alico Arena. The Green & Blue has now won seven consecutive games and 11 of its last 12.  
 
FGCU is now tied for first place with Lipscomb (13-7, 7-1) in the ASUN standings, and is a full game ahead of 6-2 Austin Peay and Liberty. The Colonels fell to 12-9 overall and 5-3 in the ASUN.   
  
Thursday night was the first time in the 2022-23 season that five FGCU players scored at least 10 points. Redshirt junior guard Alyza Winston (Muskegon, Mich./Muskegon HS/Mississippi State) led the way with 20 points—her fifth time leading the team and her 18^th double-digit game of the season.  
 
Graduate guard Sha Carter (Southfield. Mich./Wylie E. Groves HS/Walsh) recorded 17 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dealt two assists. Redshirt junior guard Brylee Bartram (Tampa, Fla/ Seffner Christian Academy/ Florida/ Vanderbilt) delivered 15 points via five of FGCU's 13 3-pointers. Graduate guard Sophia Stiles (Malta, Mont./Malta HS/Montana) added 14 points and pulled down six rebounds. Graduate guard Tishara Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS/Nebraska CC) scored 12 points and dealt eight assists. 
 
"A number of our players played really well and had positive contributions," said FGCU head women's basketball coach Karl Smesko. "It was nice to see us play with high energy, and I think we shared the ball well and really chipped in for a winning effort."    
  
The Green & Blue jumped out hot in the first quarter, firing off a 15-2 run that included four points from Carter. The Colonels responded with a 12-0 burst to close the gap to one. But Bartram canned her first 3 to push the Eagles to a 18-14 lead heading into the second quarter. 
 
Winston drove for a layup, two of FGCU's 42 points in the paint, to start the second quarter and contributed six of the Eagles 17 points en route to a 37-27 lead with 2:57 remaining. FGCU would continue punishing Eastern Kentucky defensively, scoring eight unanswered points to lead 45-27 at halftime.  
  
The Colonels tried to maintain pace early in the third quarter, but FGCU sparked a 17-8 run with treys from Winston and Bartram towiden its advantage to 62-38. Eastern Kentucky answered with a 9-4 burst to narrow the gap, but still trailed 66-47 heading into the final 10 minutes.  
 
The Eagles rattled off 13 unanswered points to begin the final quarter for a 79-47 cushion, and never looked back. 
 
Smesko played 11 players, with everyone earning at least two minutes of playing time and seven players scoring at least three points. Redshirt junior forward Antwainette Walker led Eastern Kentucky with 15 points and nine rebounds.  
  
The Eagles complete their two-game homestand Saturday, taking on Bellarmine (7-14, 3-5) at 7 p.m. at Alico Arena. 
 
The Green & Blue have now hit 246 3-pointers, for an average of 11.2 treys per game – the highest total and per-game average in the country. FGCU has more than doubled their opponents' treys total, allowing only 93 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. 4 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 629-131 (.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 239-19 (.926) 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 164-6 (.965) 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 568-104 (.845) all-time since Smesko started the program in the 2002-03 season, and the Green & Blue's .845 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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