Watch: ESPNU
Game Notes: FGCU vs. Villanova
Live Stats: FGCU vs. Villanova
Social: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Rosters: FGCU | Villanova
Schedules: FGCU | Villanova
Season Stats: FGCU | Villanova
NCAA Tournament: March Madness bracket
 
VILLANOVA, Pa. – Having already etched its name Saturday into the NCAA's record book, the No. 22 FGCU women's basketball team has even loftier ambitions waiting just 40 minutes away.
 
The Sweet 16.
 
Winners of 15 straight and the winningest 12 seed in NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament history, FGCU (33-3) has its shot to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history Monday night when it takes on fourth-seeded and 10^th-ranked Villanova (29-6).
 
Tip-off between the Eagles and Wildcats is set for 7 p.m. EDT from Finneran Pavilion, and the game will be televised by ESPNU. On the line is a trip to next weekend's Sweet 16 in Greenville, S.C. – a plateau only four women's No. 12 seeds have ever reached.
 
The Green & Blue earned its Second Round matchup on the virtue of a 74-63 victory over fifth-seeded and 23^rd-ranked Washington State on Friday. Villanova advanced on its home floor, defeating 13^th-seeded Cleveland State 76-59.
 
FGCU has three wins as a No. 12 seed, the most in women's March Madness history. The Eagles also knocked off Missouri 80-70 in 2018 and downed Virginia Tech 84-81 in 2022. San Francisco (1986), Kansas (2013), BYU (2014) and Quinnipiac (2017) all won twice and advanced to the Sweet 16 in their respective NCAA Tournament journeys.
 
Despite losing 67-56 to Connecticut in the Big East Tournament title game and winning its two prior games by a combined three points, Villanova is one of the most potent teams in the nation. Senior forward Maddie Siegrist poured in 35 points on 15-of-28 shooting against Cleveland State – an effort that made her just the fifth player in Division I women's basketball history to score 1,000 points in a season.
 
Siegrist has scored 20 points in all 35 games this season, and is tied with former Washington star Kelsey Plum for the most consecutive 20-point games in a season. She also has 15 games of 30 points or more this year and 32 for her career. The two-time Big East Player of the Year averages a nation-best 29.1 points per game, and went for a Big East single-game record 50 against Seton Hall earlier this season.
 
Wildcats sophomore guard Lucy Olsen is another potent threat, averaging 12.2 points per game to go with her 155 assists in 2022-23. Villanova puts up 70.8 points per game on offense, and allows 58.4 points defensively.
 
Villanova is also nearly unstoppable at home, winning 23 of its last 25 games at Finneran Pavilion, and its 29 wins this season ties the school's single-season record set in 1981-82 – when the Wildcats went to the AIAW Final Four. Villanova is making its 13th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance, is 10-12 in 22 March Madness games, and is a victory away from its first Sweet 16 berth in 20 seasons.
 
FGCU fans know Sweet 16 runs have the potential of developing out of the Philadelphia area, as the 2012-13 Dunk City men's team swept into the Sweet 16 as a No. 15 seed with victories over second-seeded Georgetown and seventh-seeded San Diego State inside the Wells Fargo Center less than 20 miles from VIllanova's campus.
 
Eagles graduate guard Sha Carter (Southfield, Mich./Wylie E. Groves HS/Walsh) was the offensive standout of Friday's First Round victory over Washington State, dropping a game-high 24 points and grabbing six rebounds.
 
Fifth-year guard Tishara Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS/Nebraska CC) scored 16 points in the victory. Redshirt sophomore guard Kierra Adams (Vancouver, Wash./Brookwood HS) came off the bench to score a career-high 12 points, and redshirt sophomore guard/forward Maddie Antenucci (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill HS) added 11 points – including a jaw-dropping, four-bounces-off-the-basket-and-backboard 3-pointer as part of a 30-point third quarter.
 
Known nationally for Raining 3s, FGCU tied a season low by making 5-of-14 3-pointers against the Cougars. But the Eagles shot 55.6 percent from the field and scored a startling 50 points in the paint to upend the Pac-12 champions. The Green & Blue took control for good with a 30-16 third quarter in which it made 11-of-14 shots from the field and forced Washington State to miss nine of its 13 attempts.
 
Graduate guard Emma List (Colorado Springs, Colo./Discovery Canyon Campus/Albany) led FGCU with seven rebounds. Washington State's Tara Wallack finished with a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out with 5:39 to play.
 
A three-time All-ASUN First Team selection and the 2022-23 ASUN Player of the Year, Morehouse leads the Eagles at 15.9 points per game. Carter, herself an All-ASUN First Team choice, is close behind at 14.1 points to go with a team-best 6.2 rebounds per outing. Morehouse has dealt 162 assists this season, and List is close behind at 148.
 
The Eagles score 77.9 points per game, and allow just a fraction over 56 points per game defensively.

The Green & Blue is 57-7 all-time as a ranked team, and is 48-16 all-time in Division I postseason play.
 
This is FGCU's seventh straight NCAA Tournament appearance and ninth overall in just 12 years of eligibility, joining squads from the 2021-22, 2020-21, 2018-19, 2017-18, 2016-17, 2014-15, 2013-14, and 2011-12 seasons.

Entering the 2023 March Madness, No. 4 seeds were 18-3 (.857) in Second-Round series vs. No. 12 seeds. This is the first NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament that has seen two No. 12 seeds advance to the Second Round, as Toledo knocked off Iowa State 80-73 in the Seattle 3 bracket.
 
FGCU has made 418 3-pointers this season – just 12 3s behind their own all-time record of 431 in 2017-18. The Eagles have tripled their opponents' treys total, allowing only 139 this season. FGCU has led the nation in made 3s per game in each of the past three years and in four of the last five seasons.
 
Entering this season, FGCU was 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.
 
The Green & Blue and Connecticut are the only active programs in the nation to win at least 25 games in 13 straight seasons. FGCU joins South Carolina as the only two Division I programs to win 30 or more games in six of the last nine seasons.
 
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.
 
COACH SMESKO
FGCU head coach Karl Smesko maintains a record of 643-131 (.831) 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 249-19 (.929) mark in ASUN regular-season play and a 33-2 (.943) record in ASUN tournament play. Over the previous 11-plus seasons, he has guided FGCU to a 185-7 (.963) record in conference play with six undefeated seasons. The 13-time ASUN Coach of the Year has led the program to 13 straight 25-win seasons and 19 consecutive 20-win campaigns, including 30-plus wins in six of the last nine years. On top of all that, the Eagles are 582-104 (.848) all-time since Smesko started the program in the 2002-03 season, and the Green & Blue's .848 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 96 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 48 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. Nine FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20 in 2021-22 and No. 22 in 2022-23), baseball (No. 20 in 2023), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022), and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as five 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---