FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast women's basketball dominated the second quarter and got a career-high 21 points from Lily Zeinstra en route to an 86-51 win over their cross-state rival, FAU, on Saturday afternoon.

Zeinstra went 5-for-7 from behind the arc and 7-for-12 from the field for her first career 20-point game. She propelled FGCU to its best performance from beyond the arc this decade (min. 10 attempts), as the Eagles shot 64.3% (9-for-14) from 3-point range. The last time FGCU shot at least 60% from deep on ten or more attempts was on February 17, 2020, at Kennesaw State, when the Eagles shot exactly 60% (15-for-25).

"(I'm) definitely starting to find my way," Zeinstra said. "Playing with new people is always a challenge, but we have developed really good synergy and I just love all of my teammates, on and off the court, and it's always good to win at home."

"Lily's a shooter, but she's more than a shooter," head coach Raina Harmon said. "I mean, you look at the way that she approaches the defensive glass, you think about when she's cutting, how she's setting her teammates up, her ability to finish inside … We have confidence and not only me, because I'm only one person, but her teammates, they're like, 'Lily, you gotta shoot the ball. We'll go get an offensive rebound if you miss it, but you're really good and you put us in a good position when you do shoot it.'"

The Eagles seized all momentum at the start of the second quarter. After each squad had offensive success in the first, FGCU went on a 22-0 run that saw Douglas score eight, Zeinstra score seven and Eve Alexander score four. Meanwhile, FGCU's defense clamped down on the Owls, holding FAU to a paltry 1-for-18 shooting performance in the period. 

"They talk about in sports where you can kind of just get into a flow," Harmon said. "And I feel like we experienced that, especially in that second quarter, the way that we were sharing the ball, the way we were getting steals and just kind of chucking it up the floor, going to get layups, the way that we had some 'one more' passes … I thought everybody just played to their strengths and when this team plays very confidently, we are tough."

The Eagles' scalding shooting from beyond the arc helped open up the paint, where FGCU scored 34 points and went 19-for-23 from the free throw line. Additionally, FGCU scored 24 points off of 21 FAU turnovers. The Eagles forced 20-plus turnovers in all three games of their 3-0 homestand, and finished at least plus-10 in rebound margin in each of the three home games thus far.
 
Zeinstra was joined in double-digits by Sinai Douglas, Jalei Pillow and Denika Lightbourne, who added 12 each for FGCU. Amelia Hobson continued cleaning up on the glass with a team-best seven rebounds to go with a career-high four steals, and Lightbourne had a career-high three blocks. The Eagles' ball movement continued in a strong fashion, as FGCU assisted on 20 of its 29 made field goals.

The Owls were led by Vivian Onugha, who scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds. The Eagles held FAU to 30.5% shooting from the field and 25.8% shooting from beyond the arc on the afternoon. FGCU moved to a 3-1 lead in the all-time series with FAU and earned their first win over the Owls in Fort Myers after 11 years in between meetings at Alico Arena.

Next, FGCU will head back on the road to face No. 1 South Carolina in Columbia at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 17, on SEC Network+.

Season tickets, mini plans, and single-game tickets for FGCU women's basketball are on sale now. Tickets to see FGCU face Tennessee and either Houston or Creighton during Coconut Hoops at Alico Arena are also on sale now.

For more information on the Eagles, follow FGCU Women's Basketball on Instagram, X (Twitter) and Facebook, and visit FGCUAthletics.com.
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