Florida Gulf Coast University women's basketball recorded its 20th win of the season Thursday with a 17-point road victory over Bellarmine, 74-57, in Louisville, Kentucky.
"We did a better job guarding in the second half, which was needed in order for us to win," FGCU head coach Chelsea Lyles said.
Rapid Recap:
FGCU frantically pushed the pace Thursday, attempting to wear out the Knights early. Bellarmine was able to run, keep pace and hang around until about midway through the third quarter as FGCU's offensive conditioning allowed the Eagles to eventually pull away. At the 5:13 mark of the first, Dolly Cairns found a streaking Lauryn Taylor through a porous transition defense. FGCU soon grabbed an early 10-point lead, 18-8, in the opening period. Bellarmine responded with back-to-back threes and cut the Eagles' lead down to four, 22-18, heading into the second.
Bellarmine would pull to within one twice in the second quarter, 22-21 and 30-29, but FGCU answered with three straight 3-pointers, taking a 39-29 lead with 3:40 remaining before half. FGCU took an 11-point lead into the break, up 44-33. In just 20 minutes Thursday, FGCU emerged one point shy of its previous full-game points total last Saturday against Austin Peay, 45. The Knights would only come within eight, 51-43, the rest of the way. FGCU soared back out to its largest lead of the night at the end of the third period, 15 at 60-45 courtesy of two open treys from Alahna Paige in the final minutes of the quarter. The Eagles did not stop there, leading by as many as 20 in the final period. The nation's third-best scoring defense has now limited 20 of 23 opponents this season to 58 points or less.
Notes and Numbers:
- FGCU has won 20 or more games every season since 2004-05. The Eagles have improved to 20-1 under coach Lyles and 11-0 in the Atlantic Sun Conference with its 13th straight victory.
- The Eagles have won each conference game this season by double-digits, extending its ASUN win streak to 44 games.
- FGCU has defeated Bellarmine by 17 points for the third consecutive time in the series. The Eagles are 7-0 all-time against the Knights
- Four Eagles reached double figures Thursday. Emani Jefferson scored a team-leading 17 points. Taylor produced her eighth double-double performance of the season, 10 points and 16 rebounds. Her 16 boards tied her second high.
- FGCU drilled 10 3-pointers Thursday. Paige hit four, and Cairns knocked down three. Jefferson tickled the twine twice, and Khamari Mitchell-Steen added one. Mitchell-Steen had two tone-setting blocks as well. The Eagles are 14-0 this year when hitting eight or more triples in a game.
Up Next:
FGCU continues its tour of Kentucky with a road game at EKU at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
