FGCU-Stetson box score | FGCU season stats | ASUN Tournament schedule

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The No. 24 FGCU women's basketball team (30-3) began the ASUN Tournament in successful fashion Sunday afternoon, as the top-seeded Eagles defeated ninth-seeded Stetson 66-48 in the quarterfinals at Alico Arena.
 
The Eagles advance to Wednesday's ASUN Tournament semifinals, and will play third-seeded Austin Peay – which defeated fifth-seeded Eastern Kentucky 73-55 on Sunday. That game is set for 7 p.m. at Alico Arena, and will be available to view on ESPN+. Tickets for the ASUN Tournament are on sale now at www.FGCUTickets.com, and at the Alico Arena ticket office.
 
Already the ASUN regular-season champions for a record 13^th time, FGCU is in search of a 12^th ASUN Tournament title and fifth straight crown. To get to Saturday night's final, the Green & Blue will have to overcome a Governors team it defeated 55-42 on Feb. 18 at Alico Arena.
 
The Eagles captured their 12^th straight win Sunday, and have won 22 of their last 23. FGCU and Connecticut are the only two active programs in the nation to win at least 25 games in 13 straight seasons. The Green & Blue and South Carolina are the only two programs to win 30 or more games in six of the last nine seasons.
 
Graduate guard Sha Carter (Southfield, Mich./Wylie E. Groves HS/Walsh) recorded her fifth double-double of the season – dropping a game-high 20 points and 13 rebounds. Carter also dealt six assists and made four steals.
 
Graduate guard Sophia Stiles (Malta, Mont./Malta HS/Montana) and Redshirt junior forward Uju Ezeudu (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg HS/Denver) each scored 10 points for FGCU – which made 11-of-32 3-pointers against the Hatters.
 
Stetson (13-20) got 15 points form Jaelyn Talley and 13 off the bench from Khamya McNeal.
 
"Winning a conference tournament isn't easy, no matter how good you are," said FGCU head women's basketball coach Karl Smesko. "We need to understand that, to value each possession, value the preparation, and be ready to go out and compete and earn it."
 
FGCU struggled with Stetson's zone defense at points in the first quarter, and only led the Hatters 16-13 after the first 10 minutes. But the Eagles got a 5-0 scoring flurry to begin the second quarter for a 21-15 lead, and ended the period with another 5-0 run for a 33-21 advantage.
 
Carter opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer to give the Green & Blue a 15-point margin, which Stetson promptly cut to nine with a 6-0 flurry. But back-to-back triples by Ezeudu and redshirt junior guard Brylee Bartram (Tampa, Fla./Seffner Christian Academy/Florida/Vanderbilt) re-established the cushion. FGCU then closed the quarter with a 6-0 scoring run to take a 53-35 lead into the fourth.
 
Stetson didn't give up, though, and hung with the Eagles for the final 10 minutes – as each team scored 13 points in the fourth quarter.
 
FGCU has now hit 394-3-pointers, for an average of 11.9 treys per game – the highest total and per-game average in the country. The Eagles have tripled their opponents' treys total, allowing only 129 this season. FGCU has led the nation in made 3s 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. 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.
 
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 640-131 (.830) 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 31-2 (.939) 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 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 579-104 (.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 95 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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