"I thought it was a really good performance," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "We got off to a slow start offensively, but our defense was excellent. So, even though we had a slow start, we were able to get a little bit of a lead early just because we were executing on the defensive side of the ball."
"We really struggled executing today. They really got into us physically and we didn't respond the way we needed to," said UNF head coach Darrick Gibbs. "Our turnovers led directly to points for them and you can't give a good team like FGCU easy opportunities."
Early on, redshirt junior Keri Jewett-Giles scored five straight and eight of the first 10 points for the Eagles, who combined with North Florida to shoot 1-for-11 to open the game. Defensively, though, they held the Ospreys scoreless for the game's first 7:49 before taking a 14-7 lead through one. The second quarter featured a pair of 3-point field goals from redshirt sophomore Chandler Ryan as FGCU took a 17-point lead midway through the game.
At the half, FGCU had more points from the 3-point line (18) than UNF did as a team (17), and they forced 12 turnovers, which led to a 12-0 advantage in points going the other way.
Junior Nasrin Ulel then opened the second half with a pair of 3-pointers as the Eagles shot 10-for-15 in the third quarter alone, including 6-for-9 from 3-point range, to outscore UNF 30-12 in the frame and take a 64-29 lead.
Overall, FGCU outscored UNF 28-5 in points off turnovers, including 27-0 through three quarters. They forced a total of 23 turnovers on 11 steals, and they're now giving up just 50.3 points per game over the past six contests.
"We've definitely improved dramatically on the defensive end," Smesko said. "To start the season, we were not very good. It started with a lot of communication errors, not getting back on defense and then we really didn't guard a lot with the right technique. We've spent some time on it. The players have put forth a great effort to improve on the defensive side of the ball, and we look like a much different team on that side of the ball than we did a month ago."
Jewett-Giles tallied a team-high 16 points with a season-high seven assists. Jewett-Giles is up to 750 points in her career.
Ulel added 13 points. Ulel now has 722 points in the Green and Blue is 14th-most in the program's Division-I era, just 28 short of passing China Dow (749, 2016-18) for 13th.
Tytionia Adderly was the fourth player in double-figures with 10, along with a team-high seven rebounds. Adderly eclipsed 500 career points and now sits at 508, while her seven rebounds give her 711 in the Green and Blue, just 25 shy of moving past Whitney Knight (735, 2011-16) for second-most in program history.
With her one offensive rebound, Adderly now has 293 in her career, while with her six defensive rebounds, she tied Adrianne McNally (418, 2002-04) for fourth all-time.
Lisa Zderadicka added eight points and three assists. With her eight points, Zderadicka now has 966 points in her NCAA career. With her three assists, the "Empress of Assists" now has 324 in her career.
Redshirt senior Destiny Washington is up to 924 after scoring two points. Washington also added four rebounds. With her four boards, Washington now has 612 career rebounds.
Redshirt junior Davion Wingate finished with six points, which put her at 764 in her career.
Meanwhile for the Ospreys, redshirt sophomore Jazz Bond finished with a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds.
The Eagles entered the game ranked among the nation's top 25 in scoring margin (21st), scoring offense (22nd), turnover margin (25th).
Up Next:
FGCU now has a quick turnaround with a 7 p.m. matchup on the road against NJIT on Tuesday.
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