FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast University women's basketball won its 25th game of the season Thursday, dominating North Florida for a 75-33 victory at Alico Arena.
"Everyone was working hard trying to eliminate how many good shots we gave up," head coach
Karl Smesko said. "In the first quarter, we gave up a lot of open looks, and fortunately, we picked it up. It was an eight-point game with three or four minutes to go in the second quarter. A lot of that was Sofia. She was pushing the pace, passing to people, seeing her space and knocked down threes when open."
Coach Smesko has guided FGCU to 14 consecutive seasons of at least 25 wins. Only FGCU and UConn have achieved such a feat over that span. The seven consecutive Atlantic Sun Conference regular season champs protected home court in the season sweep of the Ospreys to remain perfect at home and in conference play with one game left to play. FGCU is 14-0 at Alico Arena and 15–0 in league play this season.
The Eagles extended its three win streaks. FGCU, winners of 18 straight, have won 28 consecutive games at home and a nation-best 37-straight against current ASUN members. The Green and Blue has yet to taste defeat in 2024.
Five Eagles reached double figures Thursday as
Sofia Persson produced a season-high 19 points to lead all scorers. Her previous season high was 17 in a win at Bellarmine earlier this season.
Uju Ezeudu added 12, while
Emani Jefferson,
Dolly Cairns and
Ajulu Thatha each provided 11 points. Cairns is just 19 points away from 1,000 career points.
Defense reigned supreme for the Eagles in the second half. FGCU surrendered only nine second-half points, outscoring UNF 33-9 in the half. FGCU closed the first on a 9-0 run to take a 42-24 lead back into the locker room.
The Green and Blue has held opponents under 50 points 11 times this season, now three times under 40. FGCU forced North Florida into a season-low 24 percent from the floor and only eight percent from deep. The Eagles swiped 17 turnovers, scoring 23 points off of the Ospreys' miscues.
FGCU aims for conference perfection on Saturday against Jacksonville at 7 p.m. for senior day. The Eagles have gone undefeated in the ASUN six times in the program's history, and the last time FGCU went undefeated in league play and at home occurred three seasons ago during the 2020-21 campaign.
