South Dakota State (1-1), the No. 2 ranked mid-major team in the nation according to CollegeInsider.com, used a 21-2 run midway through the game to hand the FGCU women's basketball team (0-1) a season-opening 80-62 loss in Frost Arena on Friday night.
"We gave up some easy baskets," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said of his team's performance. "On offense, we were standing around too much and holding the ball too long. We weren't really moving it, working together to create shots. And (SDSU) went on that big run to start the second half and then the crowd got behind them. They started playing with a lot of energy, and we never really made a run to get back into the game after the first few minutes of the second half."
After a great start that saw, the Eagles jump out to a 22-12 lead through one, South Dakota State trimmed its deficit to one with three minutes left in the first half.
Redshirt senior Lisa Zderadicka responded with a pair of free throws, and after a defensive stop that included a block from redshirt senior Destiny Washington, the Eagles got a 3-pointer from redshirt sophomore Chandler Ryan to take a 35-29 lead with 2:02 left.
Following that, however, the Jackrabbits scored 21 of the game's next 23 points. The only points during the run came on a pair of free throws from redshirt junior Keri Jewett-Giles with seven seconds left in the second quarter. Behind a game-high 25 points from Macy Miller, South Dakota State then scored the first 14 points of the second half.
The Eagles never got the deficit into single digits the rest of the way. FGCU appeared to have a chance to make a push following a 6-0 run late in the third quarter that included a bucket and a free throw from redshirt sophomore Kerstie Phills and another 3-pointer from Ryan cut it to 10, but a quick 4-0 run in the final 38 seconds squelched that.
After the team's 22-point first quarter in which they shot 6-for-12 from the field, FGCU went 13-for-41 the rest of the way for just 40 points. The Green and Blue was aided by a 14-for-16 performance from the foul line, led by a 6-for-8 finish from Zderadicka.
FGCU was led in scoring by Ryan, who had 12 points, all from the 3-point line. Zderadicka added 10 points, four rebounds and a team-high four assists, while four others scored at least seven.
Junior Tytionia Adderly led the team in rebounds with six along with her nine points, while Washington had a game-high five blocks along with three points and four rebounds. Her effort represented the most blocks in a game by an FGCU player since April 2, 2016 when Whitney Knight had nine against South Dakota in the WNIT championship game.
Freshman forward Tanner Bryant came off the bench in the fourth quarter and scored five points, including the game's final points via a 3-pointer at the buzzer. She also grabbed three rebounds.
Phills and Jewett-Giles tied for fourth on the team in scoring with eight apiece. They were two of four players to score their first points in an Eagles uniform.
FGCU did finish 10-for-34 from the 3-point line, which represented the program's 238th time with 10 or more in a game, which includes a school record 25 times last year. They entered this season with at least 15 games in double figures in each of the past 10 seasons.
FGCU, who fell to 12-5 all-time in season openers, will be back in action on Monday at 7 p.m. in Alico Arena when they host Florida Memorial. Three of those five losses have occurred on the road, joining previous defeats from Seton Hall and Quinnipiac.
Outside of Miller's game-high 25 points, the Jackrabbits also got double-figures from Myah Selland (15), Madison Guebert (12) and Tagyn Larson (10). They outscored FGCU 46-18 in the paint and picked up their first win all-time against the Eagles in three tries.
Washington, Jewett-Giles, Phills, Bryant, redshirt junior Davion Wingate, and redshirt freshman Tyra Cox all made their FGCU debuts.
Washington joined FGCU as a grad student/double transfer after spending her freshman year at Loyola-Chicago and sophomore and junior years at Ball State.
Jewett-Giles (Southern Miss), Phills (Wagner), Wingate (Stony Brook) and Cox (William and Mary) all made their debuts after sitting out the 2017-18 season per the NCAA transfer rule.
Bryant was the only freshman that played in the opening game.
Up Next:
The Eagles return home for their home opener as they welcome NAIA Florida Memorial (3-1) to the Alico Arena on Monday, November 12 at 7 P.M.
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