With help from a 16-point run to open the second half, the FGCU women’s basketball team earned a strong 61-48 win against Stetson University Saturday evening at Alico Arena. With the victory, the Eagles open Atlantic Sun Conference play at 1-0 and move to 13-4 overall. The Hatters fall to 9-6 with a 0-1 league record.
The teams traded the advantage three times in the first half, with neither team leading by more than five points and went into the break tied at 24. Sparked by back-to-back corner threes from seniors Kaneisha Atwater and Whitney Knight, the Eagles produced a 16-0 run to open the third quarter and held Stetson scoreless for nearly seven minutes. The Green and Blue held the Hatters to a 9.1 percent shooting clip and outscored the visiting team 19-5 in the third quarter to go into the final stanza with a 43-29 advantage. Stetson increased its offensive production in the final 10 minutes but FGCU maintained control and finished the pivotal A-Sun matchup with a 61-48 victory.
“I thought we came out with good aggressiveness to start the third quarter and that was really the difference,” noted head coach Karl Smesko. “We had an aggressive, attacking mentality and we got some good shots early in the quarter. After the run, we were able to keep them from getting back in it and I thought our defense was consistent throughout to help us on that end.”
As a team, FGCU shot 40 percent in the league opener with seven made 3-pointers. The home team held Stetson to a 36.2 percent clip from the floor but allowed eight long-range makes for the Hatters. The Eagles outrebounded Stetson 31-28 and forced 14 turnovers for 16 points on the night with just eight miscues of their own en route to the team’s sixth-straight win.
Individually, Knight led all players with 16 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals. The reigning A-Sun Player of the Year contributed four field goals and went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line to lead the Eagles to a season high 93.3 percent from the stripe with 14 makes on 15 attempts. Atwater and Taylor Gradinjan each added 11 points for FGCU with Atwater pacing the team with eight rebounds.
Sophomore Haley Laughter kicked things off for the Eagles with a 3-pointer from the right side on the team’s opening possession but the Hatters responded after a series of empty chances. Stetson made back-to-back layups midway through the first quarter to take a 4-3 edge before the teams traded the lead three times in the remaining minutes of the period.
The Hatters used a long-range 3-pointer with three minutes to go in the quarter to pull ahead four points and maintained a slight advantage through the end of the quarter by forcing five FGCU turnovers.
A Stetson jump shot to open the second quarter extended the Hatter lead to five points but a 3-pointer from Gradinjan, a steal from Knight and a baseline drive by DyTiesha Dunson tied the game at 14. Stetson again responded to the Eagle offense with a five-point run of its own to claim a 19-14 lead at the midpoint of the second quarter.
Jaime Gluesing put away a pair of free throws to bring the FGCU deficit to three points at 19-16 and Gradinjan regained possession for the Eagles as she drew a charge at the rim. Gradinjan went on to tie the game at 19 on another 3-pointer with 3:30 left in the half.
Stetson responded to the FGCU offensive pressure with a long-range shot to reclaim the lead but Gradinjan again knocked down a 3-pointer to match Stetson’s score at 22. FGCU allowed the Hatters to a baseline drive to take a 2
4-22 lead before holding Stetson scoreless in the final two minutes of the half.
With the half’s final possession, Knight found a cutting Gradinjan with a pass from outside the arc. Gradinjan dropped in a layup with three seconds on the clock to bring the score to 24-24 as time expired.
FGCU was outshot 34.8 percent to 39.1 percent in the first half but outrebounded the Hatters 15-13 over the 20-minute span. FGCU recorded seven turnovers compared to the Hatters’ five as the teams battled for the lead.
The Eagles forced a Hatter turnover on the second half’s opening possession and immediately sparked an offensive run. Atwater and Knight combined for back-to-back corner 3-pointers, while forcing another Stetson turnover and forced the Hatters into a timeout just 90 seconds into the third quarter. After the breather, Knight converted two free throws and followed with a shot from the top of the arc before Gluesing scored five-straight on a traditional 3-point play and another layup. With Gluesing’s layup six minutes into the half, the Eagles extended the run to 16 points and held a 40-24 advantage.
FGCU stopped all Hatter offensive opportunities in the first seven and a half minutes of the third quarter by forcing four early turnovers and holding Stetson to a 0-for-7 shooting performance. The Hatters cut the FGCU run with a 3-pointer with 3:40 on the clock and added two free throws late in the quarter but were unable to stop the Eagle momentum as the home team went into the final quarter with a 43-29 lead.
Gradinjan led the Eagles with 11 points in the third quarter as the Eagles outscored Stetson 19-5 with 14 points on six Stetson turnovers.
FGCU and Stetson both increased their offensive output in the final period and combined for 37 points over the 10-minute span but the Eagles maintained the double-figure lead until the final whistle and finished with a 13-point advantage.
With the win, the Eagles begin A-Sun play at 1-0 for the seventh-consecutive season. The team continues the conference slate next Saturday, Jan. 16 with a 4 p.m. contest against USC Upstate and welcomes the league’s newest member, NJIT, to Alico Arena for a 7 p.m. tilt on Monday, Jan. 18.