Senior Nasrin Ulel poured in a game-high 23 points to lead four in double-figures as the FGCU women's basketball team (11-1) routed Central Connecticut State 94-60 inside Alico Arena on Tuesday.
With the victory, FGCU has won eight straight overall as well as 16 in a row in Alico Arena, which is the fourth-longest home streak in the nation. The Eagles are now set up for a home showdown with LSU (8-2) on Thursday at 7 p.m.
"I thought Central Connecticut State came out really strong in the first quarter," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "They executed well offensively, and we made some defensive mistakes. Fortunately, we forced some turnovers in the second quarter and were able to turn them into some points. I thought Nasrin (Ulel) and (Kerstie) Phills gave us a big lift, especially in that second quarter, and that helped us get some separation. Fortunately, we were able to extend the lead at the start of the third quarter, which allowed us to get everyone in the game."
Ulel matched her season-highs in points (23) and field goals made (9) while adding four assists. It was the fifth career 20 plus point effort of her career and her second of the season (Nov. 29 vs USF).
Meanwhile, the trio of redshirt seniors Davion Wingate (15) and Keri Jewett-Giles (14) and redshirt junior Kerstie Phills (14) combined for 43 points.
Wingate was an efficient 7-for-10 from the field, while Jewett-Giles had a season-high six steals along with three rebounds.
For Phills, she set a new scoring-high while wearing the Green and Blue and matched her season-high in rebounds. She finished a perfect 6-for-6 from the field, grabbed three of her rebounds on the offensive glass and is averaging 13.5 points and eight rebounds over the past two games.
Senior Tytionia Adderly produced another solid all-around performance. She shot 3-for-4 from the field and finished with seven points, seven rebounds, a team-high five assists and a steal.
Early on, FGCU struggled to pull away from the winless Blue Devils, who trailed the Eagles by just four through the first 10 minutes. They even held three leads early, but Wingate hit a driving layup in the final 30 seconds, and redshirt senior Ashli O'Neal drew a charge on the next possession and made 1-for-2 at the foul line with 0.4 seconds left to give FGCU a four-point lead.
The Green and Blue led by six with 6:09 left in the half, but a 13-3 run that was started and capped by a jumper and a 3-pointer from Phills pushed the margin to 44-28 with 2:10 remaining. Following a pair of free throws from CCSU's Ashley Forker, Ulel scored five straight points and Phills hit a driving layup to beat the buzzer and cap a 7-0 run to close the half and give FGCU a 21-point lead at the break.
FGCU continued the surge by scoring 15 of the next 20 points to open the second half, opening up a 66-35 lead with 4:31 left following a layup from Ulel. An old-fashioned 3-point play from sophomore Tanner Bryant gave the Eagles their largest lead, 37, with 5:27 left in the game.
Other contributors in the win included: redshirt sophomore Emma List, who made all five of her free throw attempts en route to seven points and Bryant, who had seven points in eight minutes off the bench. Junior Sheahen Dowling had three assists in 12 minutes off the bench.
Defensively, FGCU held CCSU to a 2-for-12 finish from 3-point range. They also forced 19 turnovers, scored 23 going the other way and contributed 56 points in the paint, including 13 of the second-chance variety.
Notes
Prior to the game, the trio of Ulel, Wingate and Jewett-Giles were honored for recently eclipsing 1,000 career NCAA points. The Eagles are one of only three schools nationally with three such players, joining Oregon (4) and James Madison (3).
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