The No. 1 seed FGCU women's basketball team (28-4) punched their way to the semifinals in the A-SUN Conference Tournament as they defeated No. 8 seed NJIT (4-26) by a score of 83-62 in the quarterfinals of the tournament. With the win, the Eagles are now 9-0 against the Highlanders and the Highlanders are now eliminated from the conference tournament.
"I thought we got off to a fast start offensively in the first quarter," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "We hit a bunch of (3-pointers) early. Tay (Gradinjan) was hot early, which really helped us get a little of a cushion. I give NJIT credit. They played well today, and there was stretches where they outplayed us. It showed us some things we got to get cleaned up before we play the next game."
Before the game started, I was blessed to get the opportunity to sing the national anthem for the first time at a basketball game at FGCU. Now I'm proud to say I did the national anthem at every athletic event on campus: volleyball, men's and women's soccer, baseball, softball, swimming and diving, men's and women's tennis, and now I can add women's basketball.
After returning to the student section during the game and after our win, I got so many compliments on my singing and even some of the basketball players from NJIT gave me compliments after the game. Even the basketball players, coaches and most of the cheerleaders (mainly the new ones) were in surprise and awe, and they didn't even know I could sing too.
In my mind, I felt extremely confident, but my body was shaking like a leaf, my hands were trembling and my heart felt like it skipped every other beat when I spoke.
Of course, I was also trying to recover quickly after the men's semifinals game last night from cheering so much. I literally had to gargle four or five swigs of warm salt, consume about four or five cough drops and drink plenty of hot tea to keep my voice in order.
In the end, we won and I got to do the national anthem for the basketball and it was a moment I will cherish for a long time.
Getting back on track, leading the way for the Eagles offensively was redshirt senior A-SUN All-Academic Team member Taylor Grandijan. Grandijan finished with 20 points (7-for13 FG, 6-for-11 3FG), seven rebounds, one assist and one steal. With her 20 points, Grandijan reached 1,210 career points and is 54 points away from passing Kelsey Jacobsen (1,263) for fifth all-time.
In addition, Grandijan's six 3-pointers tied Whitney Knight (294) for second all-time in career 3-pointers made. The Cudahy, Wisconsin native's seven rebounds put her at 483 career rebounds and she needs 26 to pass Kaniesha Atwater for seventh all-time. Since all of her rebounds were from the defensive end, Grandijan now has 367 career defensive boards.
Senior A-SUN All-Conference First Team member Rose Julien had 16 points (4-for-12 FG, 2-for-7 3FG, 6-for-7 FT), three rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Sophomore Nasrin Ulel had 13 points (5-for-11 FG, 3-for-9 3FG) and two steals.
Senior Erica Nelson had 11 points (3-for-5 FG, 1-for-1 3FG, 4-for-6 FT), two rebounds, seven assists, one block and two steals.
Sophomore A-SUN All-Conference Second Team member Tytionia Adderly had nine points, 13 rebounds (7 offensive, 6 defensive), four assists, one block and two steals. With 13 total boards, Adderly has 532 career rebounds and remains fifth all-time.
In addition, Adderly's seven offensive boards put her at 223 career offensive rebounds and is 14 away from passing Robyn Swain (236) for third all-time.
Off the bench, redshirt senior A-SUN All-Conference First Team member China Dow had four points, three rebounds and one assist. Dow made her mark as she reached 1,000 points in her NCAA career.
"Obviously it was a great career milestone for China," Smesko said. "I'm sure she's excited about it, and it shows what a great player she's been throughout her career."
Redshirt junior Lisa Zderadicka had three points, two rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Redshirt senior Jessica Cattani had five points and one rebound.
Freshman Alyssa Blair had two points while redshirt freshman Chandler Ryan added one assist.
For the Highlanders, redshirt junior A-SUN All-Academic Team member Kelly Gaurino had 17 points, two rebounds, one assist and two steals.
Redshirt sophomore Jillian Libby had eight points, two rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal.
Redshirt junior Tatianna Torres had 14 points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Sophomore Amber Morgan contributed with two assists and one steal.
Sophomore Danielle Tunstall had three points, four rebounds and one block.
Off the bench, freshman Ellyn Stoll had seven points, three rebounds and three assists.
Freshman Dez Allen had eight points, eight rebounds, one assist, one block and two steals.
Senior Taj Lewis had three points.
Redshirt sophomore Amarri Trueheart had two points and one assist.
In addition, the Eagles broke their own program and A-SUN record for most 3-point field goals made in a season. Following Saturday's performance, the team sits at 380 this year, just 44 shy of Sacramento State's all-time NCAA record of 424 set in 2014-15.
Additionally, the team's 11.9 3-point field goals per game is currently tied for the best in the nation with DePaul and would rank fourth best all-time in NCAA Division I women's basketball history if the season ended today.
From the other conference tournament games, No. 2 seed Jacksonville defeated No. 7 seed Kennesaw 79-52, No. 6 seed UNF upset No. 3 seed Stetson 63-55 in overtime, and No. 4 seed Lipscomb defeated No. 5 seed Upstate 95-53. This was Upstate's last women's basketball game as part of the A-SUN Conference as they will be moving to the Big South Conference.
As it sits in the semifinals, No. 1 FGCU will play No. 4 seed Lipscomb while No. 2 seed Jacksonville plays No. 6 seed.
FGCU will return to action on Wednesday, March 7 at 7 P.M. in the semifinals against No. 4 seed Lipscomb. Along with live stats, the game will air on ESPN3 and will be dubbed as a Green Out.
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