FGCU-Austin Peay box score | updated FGCU stats | ASUN standings | ASUN scoreboard

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The No. 25 FGCU women's basketball team (26-3 overall, 14-1 ASUN Conference) recovered from an uncommon first-quarter deficit Saturday on Senior Day to defeat Austin Peay 55-42 victory at Alico Arena.
 
The Eagles have won eight straight games, 18 of their last 19, and are riding a 10-game home winning streak. The Eagles are now the only team with 14 ASUN victories, and remain atop the conference standings – a full game ahead of Liberty.
 
The Green & Blue was the first team to clinch an ASUN Tournament berth, and will host all its ASUN Tournament games if it wins the regular season's final three contests.
 
The Eagles are the only active team in the nation to win at least 25 games in 13 straight seasons. FGCU has also recorded 19 straight 20-win seasons dating back to 2004-05.
 
The Governors are now 15-10 overall and 10-5 in the ASUN, and are fourth in conference standings. 

Graduate guard Sha Carter (Southfield. Mich./Wylie E. Groves HS/Walsh) registered her second double-double of the season – scoring 21 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. She also collected two steals.  

Graduate guard Tishara Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS/Nebraska CC) delivered 14 points, six rebounds and four assists. Junior guard Alyza Winston (Muskegon, Mich./Muskegon HS/Mississippi State) went for 10 points. 

"This was a very physical and tough game," said FGCU head women's basketball coach Karl Smesko. "Austin Peay played great defense, and made it a challenge to get good shots. But Sha and some other players had a great game, that really helped us to get some separation and we are fortunate to come out with the win."
 
The Eagles built an early 11-4 lead before the Governors unleashed an 11-0 run to take the advantage 15-11 heading into the second quarter. FGCU responded with 12 points to Austin Peay's eight to tie it 23-23 with 2:33 remaining in the first half and took a 26-23 lead into the break.

APSU closed the gap to trail by two early in the third quarter, but FGCU answered with a 10-3 run that included five Winston points to lead 40-31 through three. Carter scored six of FGCU's 15 points in the final quarter to secure the victory.
 
Smesko played all 12 available players, with seven players scoring at least two points. Graduate center Shamarre Hale led the Governors with 14 points, and redshirt senior forward Gabby Smalls grabbed nine rebounds. 
 
The Eagles head to Kennesaw, Ga., on Thursday to face Kennesaw State (12-14) at 7 p.m.
 
The Green & Blue have now hit 343-3-pointers, for an average of 11.8 treys per game – the highest total and per-game average in the country. The Eagles are 1.8 treys per game ahead of Wright State and Tulsa. FGCU has almost tripled their opponents' treys total, allowing only 117 this season. 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.
 
FGCU is third in the country with a scoring margin of 21.7 points per game – with only South Carolina (33.4) and LSU (29.2) sporting higher scoring margins. The Eagles are currently eighth in the nation in assist/turnover ratio with 1.42.
 
Entering this season, the Eagles were selected by both the coaches and the media to repeat as ASUN champions. FGCU is currently ranked No. 3 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 636-131 (.829) 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 245-19 (.928) 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 171-6 (.966) 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 575-104 (.847) 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.
 
---FGCUATHLETICS.COM---