By: Dick Allen<\/strong> Special Correspondent<\/strong><\/p>\n Photos By: James Schubert<\/strong> Pro Image Sports Photography<\/strong><\/p>\n And who could question the\u00a0basketball\u00a0Gods themselves\u00a0who delivered to the Eagles\u00a0two of\u00a0the most critical\u00a0victories all year against\u00a0their bitter rival\u00a0the Stetson Hatters. The first, was a season ending\u00a0overtime victory on Stetson’s home floor to clinch the\u00a0Atlantic Sun Conference Championship.\u00a0Then eight days later, beating Stetson again in overtime to win the Conference Tournament paving the way\u00a0for the Eagles second trip to the\u00a0Big Dance.\u00a0Both nail biting, overtime\u00a0victories, but indeed, the\u00a0Gods were smiling, the KARMA was flowing!<\/p>\n All Cinderella needs to put on the magic glass slipper\u00a0is a solid\u00a0game plan\u00a0from the\u00a0 coaching staff and\u00a0a\u00a0team effort\u00a0matching the last two games against Stetson.\u00a0In\u00a0the pre-game press conference coach\u00a0Smesko addressed both of these keys to victory.<\/p>\n He spoke\u00a0of stopping Tiffany Bias, an all-American\u00a0candidate guard who averages 14.2 points, 6.0 assists, 2.1 steals, and 3.2 rebounds per game for Oklahoma State. He called it “our\u00a0priority No. 1”. Then he added “Whitney Knight must lead the way, but we\u00a0need five, six,\u00a0or seven\u00a0kids to play really well if we’re going to beat Oklahoma State.”\u00a0 “And we need to limit second chance shots,” he concluded. The\u00a0game plan was drawn. The gauntlet has been cast down.\u00a0And let’s not\u00a0forget, it was the\u00a0women <\/strong>who became the\u00a0first<\/strong>\u00a0NCAA basketball team to qualify for the big dance in school history.<\/p>\n The\u00a0memories of\u00a0two years ago, the heartbreaking\u00a0overtime loss in Tallahassee\u00a0to #5 seed St. Bonaventure is just a footnote in the program now. Second guessing\u00a0Coach\u00a0Smesko’s\u00a0inbound play call in the last\u00a0seconds is a\u00a0distant memory to finally be put to rest.\u00a0This is a new day. KARMA is on our side.<\/p>\n Time for the jump ball!\u00a0Their six-foot three girl vs. our six-foot three girl.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Fgcu-1wbb-214x300.jpg\" "\\"Fgcu")
Webster defines KARMA as fate or destiny.\u00a0Certainly the stars were lining up. Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana was a short drive for the over 150 family members, friends, and old school mates\u00a0of the 5 mid-western born and raised Lady Eagles.\u00a0Add another 350 or more fans who took 2 buses,\u00a0a chartered plane,\u00a0and who knows how many more planes and trains, blimps and cars to see their girls play. Add the band, cheerleaders,\u00a0University administrators, and even the President of the University, and you have a huge sea of green and blue ready to raise the roof off the arena.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Fgcu-2-wbb-214x300.jpg\" "\\"Fgcu")
Then\u00a0let’s not forget that today, gameday,\u00a0is the anniversary of the start of last year’s historic\u00a0run. The 15th seeded Men’s basketball team upset \u00a0#2\u00a0\u00a0seed\u00a0Georgetown\u00a0Hoya’s and two days later they upset\u00a0#\u00a07 seed\u00a0San Diego State\u00a0Aztecs putting the\u00a0\u00a0Eagles into the “sweet sixteen”.\u00a0“DUNK<\/strong>\u00a0CITY”<\/strong>\u00a0was born and\u00a0had captivated the imagination of the nation.\u00a0Men, women, and children of all ages\u00a0were clamoring for Eagle shirts,\u00a0hats, and anything with “Dunk City” on it!. The Sweet 16, winning the ESPY awarded by ESPN as the biggest upset in sports, that single weekend changed the University and\u00a0FGCU basketball\u00a0forever.\u00a0And\u00a0NOW, feel the KARMA, it’s the women’s turn to dance!<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Fgcu-3-wbb-coach-214x300.jpg\" "\\"Fgcu")
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