Grad student Ashli O'Neal went coast-to-coast for a game-winning layup with 4.7 seconds left to give the FGCU women's basketball team (8-1) a 71-70 win over South Dakota State (5-3) in the championship game of the Cancun Challenge at the Hard Rock Hotel on Saturday.
"Somehow we found a way to beat another great team today," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "Keri and Davion made big plays late in the game, and Ashli made a game-winning play for the second day in a row."
FGCU has now won five straight games, including three straight over the defending national runner-up (Notre Dame), No. 20 USF and reigning NCAA Sweet 16 participant South Dakota State. The Eagles will not have much time to celebrate as they will travel to face Houston on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
O'Neal's basket came after South Dakota State's Myah Selland gave the Jackrabbits a one-point lead with nine seconds left. Tori Nelson missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, capping a wild final quarter and setting off a celebration at center court for the Green and Blue.
The Eagles entered the final quarter with a seven-point deficit, but redshirt senior Keri Jewett-Giles sank a pair of 3-pointers and hit a short jumper from the left side of the rim to give her team a 57-56 lead with 7:31 left.
Despite Jewett-Giles scoring 14 straight points for FGCU to open the quarter, the Jackrabbits battled four lead changes and a tie to take a 68-63 lead with 33 seconds left.
Following a timeout, redshirt senior Davion Wingate made a 3-pointer from the right wing to pull the Eagles within two. On the ensuing possession, Selland was called for an offensive foul on the mid-court inbounds pass. Wingate was then fouled attempting another 3-pointer and sank all three free throws to give FGCU a 69-68 lead with 13 seconds left.
South Dakota State then used its final timeout to set up the inbounds play for Selland before O'Neal's game winner.
In the fourth quarter alone, which featured seven lead changes and two ties, FGCU shot 7-for-13 from the field, including 5-for-10 from 3-point range.
Jewett-Giles, who was named to the All-Cancun Challenge team, scored a game-high 24 points and added two steals on 8-for-13 shooting, including a 6-for-8 finish from 3-point range. Senior Nasrin Ulel finished second in scoring with 16 while adding three rebounds and a steal, and Wingate chipped in 13 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Redshirt junior Kerstie Phills, who made two big 3-pointers early in the third quarter, finished with eight points, while O'Neal tallied seven.
Senior Tytionia Adderly, who was named the MVP of the Cancun Challenge, added a game-high 11 rebounds along with a team-high four assists, two steals and two points. She totaled double-digit rebounds in each game while pushing her overall streak to four straight and six of seven. This weekend, she averaged nine points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals per game.
FGCU was aided by a 16-for-17 (.941) performance from the foul line, which is the fifth-best percentage in a game in the program's Division I era.
Cancun Challenge All-Tournament Team:
Tytionia Adderly (FGCU) - MVP
Keri Jewett-Giles (FGCU)
Myah Selland (South Dakota State)
Paiton Burckhard (South Dakota State)
Anaya Peoples (Notre Dame)
Elena Tieneke (USF)
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