Florida Gulf Coast University women's basketball fell 62-51 at Columbia in New York on Monday night.
"Columbia is a great team," head coach Karl Smesko said. "We played very good defense, but we shot the ball extraordinarily bad in the first half."
The loss gave the Eagles their first 0-2 start since 2003, back when FGCU was still an infant Division II program in just its second year of existence. In both of the Eagles' losses this season, FGCU has held its opponent under 65 points. Columbia improved to 3-0 on the year with the win, and the Lions were ranked No. 9 overall in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2023-24 just like the Eagles.
The offensive woes that arose in FGCU's season-opening defeat at Davidson plagued the Eagles once again. FGCU shot 4-for-30 heading into the half, and was only 1-for-16 from deep at the time. FGCU managed to obtain a 9-8 lead after one, but trailed 20-11 at the break.
The Lions held the Eagles to just two points in the second quarter. FGCU witnessed a scoring drought from 3:47 remaining in the first period until 1:13 left just before the half, a drought of nearly 14 minutes. But the Green and Blue's defensive pressure kept the Eagles within striking distance at the break.
FGCU began to look like itself early in the third quarter, beginning the quarter on a 7-0 run to pull within two, 20-18. Columbia countered with a 10-0 run to pull back ahead 35-21.
Maddie Antenucci hit back-to-back 3-pointers, bringing the deficit down to 10 at 45-35 with 7:03 to go in the fourth. Antenucci produced four of the Eagles' seven 3-pointers Monday. FGCU only made two triples in its season opener. Antenucci finished with a team-high 16 points Monday.
The Eagles would pull no closer than nine points the rest of the way and trailed by as many as 15 in the final period. An Emani Jefferson free throw cut the Lions' lead to single digits, 57-48, with 1:10 remaining. Jefferson finished in double figures with 11 points.
FGCU's home opener is this Sunday, Nov. 17 against NJIT at 1 p.m. on ESPN+. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a free FGCU jersey-themed koozie.
Tickets start at just $12 for general admission. Eagles fans can create and select their own mini-plan this year of four-, six-, or nine-game packages starting at $44. For more information on single-game and season tickets, please click
here or call the FGCU Ticket Office at 1-866-FGCU-TIX (866-324-8449).
