FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast University women's basketball opened the Homewood Suites Classic with a 61-35 drumming of Drexel University Wednesday at Alico Arena.

The 26-point victory marked the fourth time this season in which FGCU has held its opponent to under 50 points. FGCU did not surrender a single made 3-pointer, forced 16 turnovers and sent the Dragons to the line only five times.

"I thought we had a really good defensive effort," head coach Karl Smesko said. "We executed our defense for the most part and made them take tough shots. We got out in conversion and got to the basket a little more this game, which is encouraging."

With the win, the Eagles (8-4) extended their home winning streak to 19 games, the sixth-longest active win streak in the nation.

FGCU muscled its way through a defensive first-half battle, taking a well-earned eight-point lead into halftime, 26-18. Only 20 combined points were scored in the opening period. The Eagles are a perfect 7-0 on the year when leading at the break.

The Green and Blue made some adjustments and came alive to produce a 23-point spurt in the third period, out-scoring the Dragons by 14 to give FGCU an insurmountable 22-point advantage heading into the fourth.

Three Eagles did eventually reach double figures on the night. Emani Jefferson poured in a team-leading 15 points and eight rebounds. Dolly Cairns contributed 13 points, and Uju Ezeudu added 11. Cairns drained three of the Eagles' six made threes Wednesday.

Ezeudu's corner three with 4:04 to play put the Eagles up by 25, 56-31.

FGCU returns for day two action of the Homewood Suites Classic Thursday against Southern Miss. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+. Southern Miss dropped its opening game of the Classic 70-63 to Cleveland State.