FORT MYERS, Fla. – After earning both the ASUN Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year and All-ASUN First-Team honors, FGCU women's basketball graduate guard Sha Carter (Southfield, Mich./Wylie E. Groves HS/Walsh) was named as one of the 14 honorees on the 2022-23 ASUN Winter Winners for Life team.
 
The award, which was announced Friday by the league office, is given each semester to one student-athlete from each conference school who best demonstrates the ASUN's core values: education, honesty, student-athlete experience, fairness, health, ambition, respect, diversity, inclusion, leadership, responsibility, and sportsmanship.
 
"Sha has exceptional leadership skills, and she excels on the court and in the classroom," said FGCU head women's basketball coach Karl Smesko. "It is great to see her recognized for all of her efforts."
 
Carter carries a 4.0 GPA while pursuing her master's degree in criminal justice at FGCU, and earned her bachelor's degree in psychology and criminology from Walsh University with a minor in forensic science and government foreign affairs. Carter became the seventh ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year in Eagle history and the first since Keri Jewett-Giles earned the recognition in 2020. Stephanie Haas won in 2015 and 2016, and Sarah Hansen previously bagged the Scholar-Athlete distinction three straight seasons from 2012-2014.
 
Carter has raised funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, collected canned goods and toiletries for the homeless, and helped create food packages for people affected by Hurricane Ian.
 
Carter transferred after a stellar Division II run at Walsh, and earned All-ASUN First-Team honors this season along with being named the ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year and to the 2023 ASUN All-Tournament Team. Carter played in all 37 regular-season games for FGCU this season, with 34 starts. She averaged 14.1 points per game, and leads the Green & Blue with 6.2 rebounds per outing.
 
The Michigan native eclipsed the 2,500-point barrier on Feb. 23 against Kennesaw State, and also broke the 1,000-rebound threshold on Feb. 8 against Stetson. With Carter among their leaders, the Eagles went 33-4 this season and earned their 13^th ASUN regular-season title, 10^th ASUN Tournament championship, and ninth NCAA Tournament berth.
 
2022-23 ASUN Conference Winter Winners for Life Team
Kenisha Phillips, Austin Peay - Women's Indoor Track & Field
Katrina Kamarute, Bellarmine - Women's Indoor Track & Field
Ayana Harris, Central Arkansas - Women's Indoor Track & Field
Emma Hacker, Eastern Kentucky - Women's Basketball
Sha Carter, FGCU - Women's Basketball
Suzan Morshed, Jacksonville - Women's Basketball
Kirsen Gardner, Jacksonville State - Women's Indoor Track & Field
Alex Peterson, Kennesaw State - Men's Basketball
Meredith Engle, Liberty - Women's Indoor Track & Field
Jalyn Holcomb, Lipscomb - Women's Basketball
Damian Forrest, North Alabama - Men's Basketball
Aidan O'Gorman, North Florida - Men's Indoor Track & Field
Naim Bell, Queens (N.C) - Men's Indoor Track & Field
Sam Peek, Stetson - Men's Basketball
 
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 643-132 (.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 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 582-105 (.847) 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 (www.fgcu.edu/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 www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
 
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 97 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. 15 in 2023), beach volleyball (No. 20 in 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 3.67 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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