Florida Gulf Coast University's women's basketball closed its regular season in impressive fashion Saturday, thumping Stetson 86-60, in an Atlantic Sun Conference game at the Edmunds Center in DeLand, Florida. The win marked FGCU's 20th straight victory and capped off the Eagles' back-to-back undefeated seasons in the ASUN.
Rapid Recap:
FGCU (27-3, 18-0 ASUN) never trailed in the game, racing out to an 8-2 lead in the first 2:16 and never allowed Stetson (16-14, 10-8 ASUN) to tie things up. The Eagles took control of the game with a 13-2 run over the second part of the opening quarter, going from being up 13-11 to leading 26-13 in a span of 3:55 of game time. Four different Eagles hit a three in the early going, including
Emani Jefferson and
Skyler Gill. As a team, FGCU sank 13 from long range on Saturday.
FGCU led 29-15 after the first quarter as
Cerina Rolle received a friendly bounce as time expired, but Stetson scored the first nine points of the second period to close to within 29-24 just 5:57 before halftime. However, FGCU pulled away again with an 11-3 burst, and the Eagles led 45-32 at the break.
The Eagles ended any questions on an unblemished record with a big third quarter, outscoring the Hatters 25-13, to open up a 70-45 thanks to a
Khamari Mitchell-Steen buzzer beater this time around. FGCU remained in cruise control in the final 10 minutes.
Notes and Numbers:
- Jefferson led FGCU with 22 points, eight rebounds and four assists in just 22 minutes of work.
Lauryn Taylor was the only other Eagle to reach double figures, with 13 points and nine rebounds, but six other FGCU players scored at least seven points in the win.
- FGCU got balanced scoring from
Karina Gordon (nine points, five assists, three rebounds),
Alahna Paige (nine points, three rebounds), Rolle (eight points),
Khamari Mitchell-Steen (eight points, four rebounds, two assists),
Skyler Gill (seven points, eight rebounds, three assists) and
Kaelyn Flowers (seven points).
- The Eagles have now won 51 straight ASUN games.
Up Next:
FGCU is the No. 1 seed for the upcoming ASUN Tournament, which starts with first-round games on March 7. The Eagles will host a quarterfinal game on March 8, taking on the winner of a March 7 first-round matchup between No. 10 Austin Peay (12-17, 7-11 ASUN) and No. 9 West Georgia (13-16, 7-11 ASUN).
