FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast University women's basketball heads to New York to face Columbia at 7 p.m. Monday on ESPN+.
FGCU meets Columbia for the first time in program history Monday. The Eagles are no strangers to Ivy League opponents throughout the years. FGCU is 6-2 all-time against members of the conference. The Green and Blue defeated fellow member Brown University last season 80-58. The Eagles are 3-0 versus Harvard, 2-0 versus Brown, 1-0 versus Cornell, but 0-2 against Princeton.
Columbia enters Monday's matchup already 2-0 on the year, defeating Stony Brook 87-47 and taking down Providence in overtime 77-69 on Friday. FGCU dropped its season-opening game at Davidson 57-56, leading by as many as 11 in the third quarter. The Eagles look to avoid just their second 0-2 start in program history Monday. The last time FGCU started a season 0-2, the Eagles were a Division II team in their second-ever season as program way back in 2003-04.
Both the Eagles and the Lions reached the first round of the NCAA Tournament a season ago. FGCU emerged ranked No. 2 in CollegeInsider.com's preseason Top 25 Poll, while Columbia checked in at No. 9 overall and was picked to finish second in the Ivy League.
FGCU made just two 3-pointers in its season-opening defeat to Davidson. The Eagles averaged 9.5 made threes a season ago and only attempted 13 in the game. Emani Jefferson, who had a team-leading 15 points, and Lauryn Taylor recorded a three against the Wildcats. In turn, FGCU produced 36 of its 56 points in the paint as Skyler Gill's game-winning floater in the final seconds spun out. In 2024, Columbia is averaging 8.5 made threes per game.
The Eagles have knocked down 300 or more made threes for 15 straight seasons, leading the country in made threes in five out of the last seven seasons. FGCU produced 325 treys a season ago, placing sixth overall in the nation. The Green and Blue set the NCAA record for the most made threes in a single season in 2018 with 431.
The lack of size on the Eagles' roster could play a role on Monday again. FGCU counters with speed and athleticism in the Karl Smesko offense, but Davidson was able to stuff and block the Green and Blue nine times. The Eagles have only two players listed over six feet, while Columbia has five.
