In a wave of ugly Christmas sweaters, the FGCU women's basketball team (9-2) fought in their second Battle of the Eagles as they clipped Coppin State (0-10) 93-61 on day one of the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic.
"I thought we had a really good first half," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "I thought our defense was good, and as soon as we put Chandler in, she just really went off and got us going. She just caught the ball ready to shoot, got to open areas and was hunting shots. She really got us going offensively, and Davion came in and picked up where Chandler left off. Nas was also attacking the rim and making good decisions. I was really happy with the majority of this game. I thought we played really well for a lot of stretches, and you always look better when you shoot it this well, too."
Offensively, it was redshirt junior Davion Wingate and redshirt sophomore Chandler that would steal the show as the duo finished with 21 points each. Wingate (7-10 FG, 6-7 3PT) would add four rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal.
Ryan (7-7 FG, 7-7 3PT) added one rebound and one steal while tying her career-high in points and 3-pointers made.
Junior Nasrin Ulel led all the starters with 15 points (6-12 FG, 2-7 3PT), three rebounds, and four assists.
Junior Tytionia Adderly had two points and eight rebounds with six being on the offensive side. With her six offensive boards, Adderly now has 268 in her career and remains 62 away from passing Sarah Hansen (329, 2010-14) as the all-time leader while her two defensive boards put her at 372 and remains 10 shy of passing Taylor Grandijan (381, 2012-13, 2014-18) for sixth all-time. In overall rebounds, Adderly's eight put her at 640, which ties Robyn Swain (640, 2002-04) for fourth-place on the program's all-time career rebounding list. Adderly is 19 shy of passing Adrienne McNally (658, 2006-10) for third all-time.
Zderadicka had nine points and a team-high five rebounds.
Junior Chance Graham led the Golden Eagles with a double-double of 18 points and 15 rebounds while senior Brooke Fields added 15 points and six assists.
Redshirt freshman Tsahai Corbie and freshman Jalynda Salley finished with 10 points each.
GCU appeared out of sorts by opening the game 0-for-8 from the field and trailing 5-0, but Nasrin Ulel got the Eagles on the board with a layup just under three and a half minutes in - and then Ryan took over. Ryan made five 3-pointers over the final six minutes and helped her team finish 10-for-12 from the field in the quarter.
The 3-point barrage continued in the second quarter as Ryan, Wingate and redshirt senior Lisa Zderadicka combined for four of them over the first two and a half minutes. In all, the Green and Blue finished 18-for-26 from the field after the tough start to take a 51-22 lead at the half.
Ryan got some rest in the second half by playing only three minutes, but Wingate took control with 11 points on 4-for-7 shooting, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range. In all, eight players recorded at least five points for FGCU, while 11 players reached the scoring column.
The Eagles finished 19-for-49 (38.8%) at the 3-point line while the Golden Eagles were 5-for-17 (29.4%).
"From day one, the 3-point shot has been a major part of our style of play," Smesko said. "Our players like playing that style. They know the difference between a good three and a bad three. It's been something we've consistently done pretty well at, and hopefully we can continue to shoot the ball well throughout the rest of the season."
Up Next:
The Eagles will return to action for day three of the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic against UAB on Friday, December 21 at 7 P.M. UAB will be playing Coppin State in the Alico Arena on Thursday, December 20 at 7 P.M.
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