The FGCU women's basketball team (12-2) bounced back from their home loss to LSU as they defeated Temple University (6-6) 93-67 in their first ever matchup at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia.
"We played a very good first half," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "We moved the ball well and passed it to open teammates who were ready to shoot. Offensively, Keri and Davion were outstanding, and I am also happy with the contributions of Emma and Erna off the bench. Defensively, Nasrin, Ty and Kerstie set the tone."
Four Eagles scored in double figures. It was redshirt senior Davion Wingate that led the Eagles as she finished with a career-high 31 points (10-for-15 FG, 6-for-8 3PT, 5-for-5 FT), two rebounds, two assists and one steal. Classmate Keri Jewett-Giles followed with 20 points (8-for-18, 2-for-5 3PT, 2-for-4 FT), four rebounds, a season-high nine assists and two steals.
Senior Nasrin Ulel added 16 points (6-for-15 FG, 3-for-11 3PT, 1-for-1 FT), four rebounds and two assists, while redshirt junior Kerstie Phills rounded out the lineup with 11 points (3-for-8 FG, 3-for-6 3PT, 2-for-2 FT), four rebounds and four assists.
Senior Tytionia Adderly had maybe the most complete all-around performance with six points, nine rebounds, six steals and two assists. Redshirt junior Erna Normil had three points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal in a season-high 21 minutes off the bench as the Eagles lineup was without the services of redshirt senior Ashli O'Neal, redshirt sophomore Tyra Cox, redshirt junior Chandler Ryan and junior Alyssa Blair.
The Green and Blue got off to a bit of a slow start offensively by scoring just five points over the first four minutes. Wingate, though, made her first of six 3-pointers with 5:24 left in to give FGCU a lead they wouldn't relinquish as they finished 6-for-15 from long distance in the first 10 minutes alone and opened up a 26-14 lead behind an 8-2 run to finish the quarter.
Following that, Wingate scored five points during a 13-2 run to open the second quarter. Redshirt sophomore Emma List capped the run with a pull-up 3-pointer to give FGCU a 39-19 lead with 5:24 left in the half.
After Temple ended that run, Normil capped a 9-2 run as the Eagles eventually led by 23 at the break.
Over the first five minutes of the second half, Temple was able to trim its deficit by six to 17, but back-to-back 3-pointers from Jewett-Giles calmed things down. In fact, Jewett-Giles finished the third quarter with a layup in the final seconds to give the Eagles a 22-point advantage.
A 13-2 run to open the fourth, capped by a 3-pointer from Ulel, signaled the end for most of FGCU's starters. Wingate made all three free throws with 5:32 left after getting fouled on a 3-point attempt to eclipse the 30-point plateau and exited following the final make as the Eagles slowed every possession following that.
Sophomore Marissa Mackins led the Owls with 19 points, while junior Mia Davis finished with a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds. In fact, Davis became the
Notes:
With her nine rebounds, Adderly pushed her career total to 982, which is 18 shy of allowing her to become just the 12th player in A-SUN history to reach the 1,000 milestone - including the first such player in FGCU history. She is also now 14 defensive rebounds shy of surpassing Whitney Knight (621, 2011-16) for the most in program history.
With her 20 points, Jewett-Giles (1,146) passed Stephanie Haas (1,138, 2012-16) for the ninth-most NCAA points scored by a player to wear the Green and Blue. Wingate, meanwhile, now has 1,113 and passed China Dow (1,093, 2013-18) for 11th place on the same list.
FGCU is now 4-0 against American Athletic Conference (AAC) teams this year with wins over USF, UCF, Houston and now Temple - all of which were picked to finish among the top six in the AAC preseason poll.
Up Next:
FGCU will be back in action against Duke (7-4) on Dec. 29 at 2 p.m. inside Alico Arena.
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