FGCU-Austin Peay box score | FGCU season stats | ASUN Tournament schedule

FORT MYERS, Fla. – In one of the biggest postseason defensive battles in program history, the No. 23 FGCU women's basketball team (31-3) gritted out a 51-34 victory over fourth-seeded Austin Peay (18-11) in an ASUN Tournament semifinal on Wednesday night at Alico Arena.
 
With the victory, the Eagles advance to Saturday's ASUN championship game against second-seeded Liberty -- which defeated Lipscomb in the other semifinal. It will be the third title-game tilt between the two programs -- with FGCU victorious in 2019 and 2021. The two teams were also slated to meet each other in the championship in 2020, but the game was canceled due to COVID-19.
 
"(Austin Peay is) so well-coached. They were so physical and aggressive defensively. They were all playing together and communicating well," said FGCU head women's basketball coach Karl Smesko. "Getting good shots was tough (against them). Fortunately, we were playing good defense on our end. We were able to keep the score close in the first half and then slowly extend the lead in the second half. We got out in transition, got an easy one here and there. That made all the difference."
 
Austin Peay's 34 points is the second-fewest allowed in program history in an ASUN tournament game, behind the 31 FGCU allowed against NJIT on March 4, 2016. Overall, it is the fourth time the Eagles have held an opponent to 39-or-fewer points in the conference tournament.
 
Fifth-year guard Tishara Morehouse (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS/Nebraska CC) and graduate guard Sha Carter (Southfield, Mich./Wylie E. Groves HS/Walsh) combined for 26 of FGCU's 51 points -- going for 14 and 12, respectively. Redshirt junior guard Alyza Winston (Muskegon, Mich./Muskegon HS/Mississippi State) added eight points -- all in the second half. Carter fell just one rebound shy of her sixth double-double of the season, while Morehouse tallied team-highs in assists (three) and steals (three), although graduate guard Emma List (Colorado Springs, Colo./Discovery Canyon Campus/Albany) tied her in assists. List and senior forward Uju Ezeudu (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg HS/Denver), who finished second on the team in rebounds with six, combined for the team's two blocks.
 
The Eagles opened up an 8-4 lead over the game's first five minutes behind two 3-pointers from Morehouse, including one just before the shot clock expired with 5:25 remaining in the first quarter.


 
Following that, however, the Eagles were held scoreless over the duration of the quarter -- as Austin Peay took an 11-8 lead through 10 minutes. In fact, the Green & Blue was 1-of-10 from the field, including 0-for-7 from 3-point range, in the quarter outside of Morehouse, who had six of the team's eight points.
 
The single-digit total was the first time FGCU was held to nine-or-fewer points in a quarter in an ASUN Tournament game since March 3, 2017 against North Florida in the quarterfinals. On top of that, the Governors had a chance for a bigger lead -- as four of their nine missed first-half layups came in the opening quarter.
 
In the second quarter, Austin Peay completed an 11-1 run that spanned the first two periods to take a 15-9 lead with 6:45 left in the half. Just 16 seconds prior to the run ending, FGCU fifth-year guard Sophia Stiles (Malta, Mont./Malta HS/Montana) was injured in a scramble for a loose ball, and she didn't return.

An Ezeudu layup with 4:42 to go in the half stopped an FGCU streak of 9:53 without a field goal. Three minutes later, junior guard Brylee Bartram (Tampa, Fla./Seffner Christian Academy/Florida/Vanderbilt), who is on pace to break the program's single-season 3-point percentage record, calmly buried her first and second free throws of the season to tie the game at 19.
 
Bartram's free throws ended up sparking the Green & Blue, as Carter followed with a 3-pointer and a layup on the ensuing two possessions to complete a 7-0 run over a 1:23 stretch. Fifth-year guard Kaela Webb (Pontiac, Mich./Detroit Country Day/Detroit Mercy/Providence) added a layup in the final seconds as FGCU took a 26-21 lead into the break.
 
Carter then opened the second half with another layup, and Morehouse followed with her third 3-pointer of the game as FGCU took a 31-21 lead with 7:51 left in the quarter. Each basket put Carter and Morehouse into double-figure scoring for the game, as well.
 
Junior guard/forward Maddie Antenucci (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill HS), who saw extended minutes following the Stiles injury, drew a charge with 4:11 to go in the third quarter that reversed a potential Austin Peay three-point play and kept the Eagles ahead by eight. Nearly three minutes later, Austin Peay broke a 5:28 scoreless streak with a layup. Around the same time, FGCU went scoreless for just over 4:30 before Winston's fast-break layup with 48 seconds left.

List, who blocked a shot by the Governors at the buzzer, sank a triple try on the first possession of the fourth quarter, and Morehouse drove the right side for a layup to put FGCU up 42-29 with 8:19 remaining in regulation, forcing a timeout from Austin Peay.
 
Two minutes later, Morehouse knocked a ball away defensively, Carter recovered, pushed the tempo and dished to Winston for a fast-break layup. Winston then added a pair of free throws with 3:38 left as the Governors called another timeout. The Eagles then led by as many as 17 -- including the final margin -- twice down the stretch.
 
For Carter, Wednesday's game represented the 133rd of her career in which she has produced 10+ points. Morehouse tallied her 78th such game, including a career-high 29th of the season.
 
With their five made 3-pointers (5-of-27), FGCU now sits at 399 as a team this year, which puts them one shy of becoming just the fourth team in NCAA Division I women's basketball history to record at least 400 in a season. The other three are: 2017-18 FGCU (431), 2014-15 Sacramento State (424) and 2017-18 DePaul (422).
 
With the victory, the Green and Blue will be looking for the program's seventh consecutive ASUN Tournament championship including the 2020 season in which FGCU and Liberty were declared co-champions. FGCU extended its ASUN tournament winning streak to 19 straight with the win, and they'll look to extend their ASUN record with a 10th tournament title in 12 seasons of eligibility on Saturday. They have appeared in the championship tilt in every season, and their last loss in a tournament game was the 2016 title game against Jacksonville.

The Eagles have won 13 straight games overall, and FGCU is now 55-7 all-time as a ranked team, 32-2 in ASUN tournament play and 43-16 all-time in Division I postseason play.

Wednesday was the second all-time meeting between FGCU and Austin Peay, with the Eagles also producing a 55-42 win on Feb. 18 of this year. In fact, the Governors led by three with four minutes left in the third quarter in that game, and it was the second-closest regular season win this year by FGCU outside of a 10-point victory over Stetson on Feb. 11.The Eagles improved to 86-0 all-time when holding an opponent below 40 points.
 
For complete coverage of the women's basketball program, follow the Eagles on Twitter and Instagram at @FGCU_WBB, on Facebook at /fgcuwbb and online at www.FGCUathletics.com. You can also sign-up to have news on FGCU women's basketball or 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 641-131 (.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 32-2 (.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 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 580-104 (.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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