Redshirt senior Lisa Zderadicka corralled the game-clinching steal as time expired to give the FGCU women's basketball team (19-4, 10-0 A-SUN) a 65-64 win over Liberty (9-14, 5-5 A-SUN) on the road in the Vines Center Saturday afternoon.
"Liberty played a great game," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "They made us pay for every defensive mistake. Kerstie Phills came up big off the bench for us."
"I'm real proud of the effort our girls gave today,"said Liberty head coach Carey Green. "They gave a championship effort, but we just came up a little short. It was good to have a majority of our team back, and it was great to see Ashtyn [Baker] back in action. It was a great effort from a defensive perspective. We're sad because we had an opportunity to play and beat the No. 1 seed in our conference right now. We just came up a little short, but hopefully this will be a confidence builder."
With the win, the Green and Blue have now won 10 straight, which represents the 15th double-digit winning streak in program history, as well as just the eighth encompassing only regular season games.
Zderadicka starred for the Eagles with 15 points, a game-high eight steals, four rebounds and four assists. Her steal total is the most for an opponent in Vines Center history, and it ties Brittany Kennedy's (Jan. 4, 2012 vs Lipscomb) program record for the most in a conference game.
Additionally, Zderadicka eclipsed 1,000 points in her NCAA career, which started at Houston Baptist, with a late fourth-quarter layup that put her team up 63-60. She becomes the 13th player to wear the Green and Blue to achieve the honor.
Redshirt senior Destiny Washington led FGCU in scoring with 16 points and seven rebounds, while junior Nasrin Ulel (11) and redshirt sophomore Kerstie Phills (10) also reached double figures.
The Eagles led by nine entering the fourth before Liberty trimmed its deficit to one with just under four minutes left. Ulel answered with a 3-pointer, but Kierra Johnson-Graham produced a steal, a fast-break layup and a free throw to pull Liberty back within one with 1:49 left.
After three combined failed possessions for both teams, Liberty's Bridgett Rettstatt banked a jumper off the glass to give her team a one-point lead with 43 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, however, Phills took a feed from Ulel and converted what turned out to be the game-winning bucket.
In the final seconds, Liberty's Ria Gulley missed a contested layup, but there was a tie up on the rebound, which resulted in another chance for the Flames. The ball wasn't inbounded cleanly and found its way to Zderadicka as time expired.
Earlier in the game, Liberty led by as many as seven in the opening seconds of the second quarter. Following that, Ulel and redshirt junior Keri Jewett-Giles converted back-to-back layups to gain momentum, and Ulel followed with a 3-pointer that concluded a 7-0 run to tie the game at 19 apiece less than three minutes later. Redshirt sophomore Chandler Ryan gave FGCU a 29-26 lead at the half on a 3-pointer with less than a minute left.
The game-tying 3-pointer from Ulel was FGCU's 2,000th all-time in A-SUN play. They are now 2,006-for-5,663 (.354) since joining the conference in 2007-08.
The Eagles led by no fewer than four and as many as 11 on two occasions in the third frame to set up the final 10 minutes.
Up Next:
FGCU will return home on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. matchup against NJIT. Fans are encouraged to wear green and it's Superhero Night, where you can dress up like your favorite superhero for a chance to win prizes.
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