"I was really pleased with our defense in the first half," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "I thought everybody competed. Everybody was doing their job defensively. I thought that put us in a really good position."
It was junior Nasrin Ulel that paved the way offensively for the Eagles. Ulel produced 21 points, which was her fourth 20 plus point game of the season. She made 3-for-6 from 3-point range and 8-for-9 from the foul line. With her performance, Ulel moved into the program's top 20 all-time in points (662), field goals made (231) and field goals attempted (543). She now trails DyTiesha Dunson (673, 2012-16) for 19th place in the scoring column. In addition to the overall record book, she also ranks 15th, 14th and 15th in those three categories, respectively, in the Division-I era.
Redshirt junior Keri Jewett-Giles (13) and redshirt senior Destiny Washington (10) also tallied double figures in scoring. Jewett-Giles made 5-for-6 from the foul line while adding five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Washington fell just one rebound shy of a double-double while recording her 11th career game with one 3-pointer made.
Overall, nine players reached the scoring column. Junior Tytionia Adderly, who recently moved into third place on the program's career rebounding list, finished with eight points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. She tied her career-high with a pair of 3-pointers, while sophomore Alyssa Blair also went 2-for-2 from long range. Adderly continues to inch toward 700 career rebounds. The junior forward has 668 and trails only Sarah Hansen (887) and Whitney Knight (735) on the program's career rebounding list. On top of that, she's also just 12 rebounds shy of 400 in Alico Arena alone. In fact, nobody in program history has averaged more rebounds per game at home (9.0) than Adderly.
With her six total rebounds, Adderly now has 668 in her career. Adderly's lone offensive put her 276 while her five defensive boards put her at 392 (6th all-time) and is 13 shy of passing Robyn Swain (404, 2002-04) for fifth all-time.
Despite limited minutes, redshirt sophomore Kerstie Phills had four points and five rebounds, and redshirt freshman Tyra Cox added one point. Despite just 98 minutes over 11 games this year, she's reached the scoring column six times now.
Defensively, the Eagles held the visiting Flames to just 14 first-half points, including six on 3-for-16 shooting in the second quarter. That scoring output was one shy of the program record for fewest points allowed in the game's second 10 minutes since the women switched to quarters in 2015-16.
Sophomore Bridgette Rettstatt (12) and junior Kierra Johnson-Graham (11) led Liberty in scoring.
With her performance, Ulel moved into the program's top 20 all-time in points (662), field goals made (231) and field goals attempted (543). She now trails DyTiesha Dunson (673, 2012-16) for 19th place in the scoring column. In addition to the overall record book, she also ranks 15th, 14th and 15th in those three categories, respectively, in the Division-I era.
FGCU's 18 free throws made is a new season-high, topping the 17 made against Hawaii on Nov. 24. They snapped a two-game losing streak, trailed just once, led for all but two and a half minutes and led by as many as 31 with three and a half minutes left in the third before emptying the bench.
The Eagles, despite an 0-for-3 start in the first quarter, finished 10-for-30 from 3-point range, giving the team at least 10 3-point field goals for the 246th time in program history, including nine this year.
The Green and Blue are now 91-2 all-time at home against A-SUN opponents in regular season play.
Up Next:
The Eagles will be on the road as they travel to face North Alabama (Jan 8), UNF (Jan 12) and Kennesaw (Jan 19).
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