Last Time Out:
The Eagles wrapped up the regular season with a 61-42 win over Stetson in their last regular season home game. As a result, the Eagles were named the #1 seed in the conference tournament and A-SUN Regular Season Champions with a 16-0 record in the A-SUN. This was the first time since 2015 they went undefeated in A-SUN Regular Season play and the 5th time in program history to do so.
Final A-SUN Standings (listed by tournament seed):
1. FGCU - 25-4, 16-0
2. Stetson - 16-14, 11-5
3. Liberty - 14-15, 10-6
4. North Alabama - 19-7, 10-6
5. North Florida - 14-13, 9-7
6. Jacksonville - 14-15, 7-9
7. Kennesaw State - 8-21, 4-12
8. NJIT - 6-23, 3-13
9. Lipscomb - 4-25, 2-14
Since the tournament can only have eight teams compete, Lipscomb is ineligible to play due to their conference record.
A-SUN Award Winners:
Before the main awards were issued, senior Keri Jewett-Giles earned the final A-SUN Player of the Week award. It was her third in an Eagle uniform.
"Keri had another great week for us," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "Her performance against Jacksonville was possibly her best of the season."
A-SUN Coach of the Year:
Smesko was named A-SUN Coach of the Year for the ninth time in his coaching career at FGCU. This is his second-straight and ninth-career A-SUN Coach of the Year award. In his 17th season, Smesko achieved his 500th career victory in a 90-71 win over American University on Nov. 25 while leading the Eagles to a 16-0 regular season conference record. It was the fifth time since 2011-12 he has led the program to such an accomplishment. The team has won 16 straight games under his leadership, which is the fourth-longest streak in the nation. With an .815 career winning percentage, he is the fifth-winningest head coach of all-time behind Geno Auriemma (.883), Leon Barmore (.869), Kim Mulkey (.846) and Pat Summitt (.841).
A-SUN Player of the Year:
In a unanimous landslide, junior Nasrin Ulel was named A-SUN Player of the Year. Ulel was also named a member on the A-SUN All-Conference First Team. In fact, she was the only Eagle on the first team.
"Nas has improved so much the past two seasons," Smesko said. "She has worked very hard on becoming a complete and continuous player."
A-SUN Defensive Player of the Year:
Earning A-SUN Defensive Player of the Year was junior Tytionia Adderly. Adderly finished the regular season averaging 6.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Adderly is still on pace to pass Hansen (329) as the all-time leader in career offensive rebounds as she is 10 shy in doing so, while in defensive rebounds she remains third overall. In overall rebounds, Adderly (798) is two rebounds away from becoming the second Eagle to reach 800 career rebounds (first: Hansen 887).
"I am really happy for Ty," Smesko said. "She is a tremendous defensive player and rebounder, and it's good to see her recognized for her efforts."
A-SUN All-Conference Second Team:
Redshirt senior Lisa Zderadicka was named the only Eagle on the A-SUN All-Conference Second Team despite her knee injury ending her career. Zderadicka was averaging 9.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.8 steals per game. Zderadicka was the fourth player in program history with double-digit assists against an A-SUN team. She concluded her career with 1,035 points. Zderadicka was also named a member of the A-SUN All-Academic Team after compiling a 3.77 GPA
"Lisa is an exceptional player who had an outstanding season," Smesko said. "She is a player who always plays with great energy and intelligence."
A-SUN All-Freshman Team:
Redshirt freshman Tyra Cox was the lone player to be named on the A-SUN All-Freshman Team. The transfer from William & Mary, who started the last two games of the season, is averaging 2.4 points and 1.1 rebounds per game
"Tyra has had more of an opportunity to contribute the past couple of weeks, and she has done really well," Smesko said. "I am looking forward to seeing her continued improvement."
A-SUN All-Academic Team:
Along with Zderadicka, fellow redshirt senior Destiny Washington was also named on the A-SUN All-Academic Team.
Washington, a double graduate transfer forward from Loyola Chicago and Ball State, has compiled a 4.0 GPA in her time with the Eagles while pursuing a masters of arts degree in educational technology. On the court, she is a three-time A-SUN newcomer of the week and shot .514 in conference play, which is among the best seasons in program history. In A-SUN games alone, she finished a team-best .404 from 3-point range and is averaging career-highs in 3-point percentage, free throw percentage, rebounds per game, blocks and steals overall. She scored 10 plus points in 13 of 15 A-SUN games with five double-doubles. If she played 40 minutes per game, her conference averages would be 19.6 PPG, 12.3 RPG, 2.6 BPG, 2.0 SPG and 1.8 APG.
Some of Washington's best performances have come in the biggest games - 17 PPG, 10.5 RPG in two games against North Alabama, 11.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG vs Stetson, 13 PPG, 8 RPG vs Liberty. She has 1,042 career points and is only the second player in program history to reach at least 1,000 points, 600 rebounds, 100 blocks, 100 steals and 100 assists in an NCAA career.
Scouting NJIT:
The Highlanders secured the #8 spot in the ASUN tournament with a victory at Lipscomb, 69-53, on Feb. 27.
Senior Kelly Guarino's 23 points on 3-for-6 shooting from 3-point range and a perfect 14-of-14 from the free throw line led the charge. The 14 free throws made tied NJIT's Division I single-game record. Guarino, who was named a member of the A-SUN All-Academic Team and A-SUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year paces the Highlanders in points per game (11.3) and three-pointers made (69) while posting double-digits in 17 games, including four 20+ performances.
Junior Danielle Tunstall is second on the team with 11.4 PPG. She leads the Highlanders on the glass with 7.5 RPG, which ranks fifth in the A-SUN.
Senior Tatianna Torres paces NJIT with a team-high 68 assists on the season.
Torres and sophomore Ellyn Stoll are both averaging 8.0 PPG. Stoll is second on the team in three-point field goals (37) and assists (62).
Series History:
FGCU is 11-0 all-time against NJIT, including a 2-0 record in A-SUN tournament play. The Eagles knocked off the Highlanders in last year's quarterfinal. In fact, this will be the third time in program history that both teams played each in the quarterfinals (2016, 2018, 2019).
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available for the game and will air on ESPN+. Commentary will be done by play-by-play commentator Tom James and color commentator J. Webb Horton.
Fans can also keep updated on the teams' Twitter accounts:
FGCU: @FGCU_WBB
NJIT: @NJITWBB
The game will be dubbed as a greenout as marketing is encouraging fans to wear green to the game.
ESPN+:
The A-SUN will air on the new, subscription-based digital platform ESPN+, which will be the new home for select FGCU and A-SUN games and event broadcasts. Subscribers can try the new app for free for 30 days, which follows to $4.99 a month fee afterwards or can pay $39.99 per-year based on the viewers subscription choice.
ESPN+ Link: http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/97b7bf20-f02f-450e-aea9-682e79d1417f/asun-womens-basketball-tournament
No comments:
Post a Comment