Redshirt senior Keri Jewett-Giles led all scorers with 22 points as the No. 28 FGCU women's basketball team (20-2, 7-0 A-SUN) defeated NJIT (3-16, 0-6 A-SUN) on Saturday inside Alico Arena. The Eagles have won nine straight overall and pushed the nation's third-longest conference winning streak to 35 straight.
"I was really pleased with our defensive intensity in the first quarter," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "We definitely picked it up a notch and made a lot of defensive plays. We didn't give up very many good looks at the basket. We're trying to increase how long we're able to keep that type of intensity going, but that was a step in the right direction."
The Eagles not only forced a season-high in turnovers against a Division I opponent this year with 27, but they held an A-SUN opponent under 40 points for the 20th time since joining the conference in 2007-08. Three of the past four such performances have come against NJIT. Furthermore, the team's three points allowed in the first quarter is tied for the fifth-fewest allowed in any quarter in program history, and it was the second fewest given up in an opening quarter.
With the victory, FGCU clinched its 16th-straight season with at least 20 victories. Now, they'll look to extend their streak of seasons with at least 25 victories to 10 straight.
Jewett-Giles finished with 22 points on 9-for-14 shooting while adding four rebounds, four assists and four steals. It was her eighth 20-point effort of the season and the 15th of her career. She now has 1,277 points in her NCAA career, which moves her past Kelsey Jacobson (1,263, 2008-12) for sixth-most by a player to wear the Green and Blue.
Redshirt senior Davion Wingate added 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting off the bench. Similar to Jewett-Giles, she also moved up the NCAA scoring list among players to wear the Green and Blue, reaching 1,241 and surpassing Taylor Gradinjan (1,234, 2012-18) for eighth-place.
Redshirt junior Kerstie Phills and redshirt sophomore Emma List added nine and eight points, respectively. For List, it was the most points she has scored in an FGCU uniform. Senior Tytionia Adderly tied List for the team-high in rebounds with five and added four steals. She also made her 112th career start, breaking a tie for third-most in program history with Courtney Chihil (111, 2008-12).
After the first 10 minutes in which FGCU outscored NJIT 18-3, the Green and Blue took a 20-point lead for the first time following a three-point play from Wingate with 50 seconds left in the half. A 51-24 game through three, the two teams combined for 46 points in the final frame.
That late scoring surge allowed 12 players to reach the scoring column, and the Green and Blue finished 11-for-36 from 3-point range, which was the team's 14th game with double-digit makes this year.
FGCU produced a new-look starting lineup as redshirt senior Ashli O'Neal and redshirt sophomore Tyra Cox made their first starts of the season. O'Neal scored five points and contributed a pair of steals as the Eagles improved to 10-1 in Alico Arena this year, improving their all-time record at home to 276-20 since 2002-03.
The Eagles will now have a week to prepare for a tough road matchup against Liberty next Saturday at 2 p.m.
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