Redshirt senior Davion Wingate poured in a single-game record 38 points, while classmate Ashli O'Neal had a season-high 21 points as the No. 24 FGCU women's basketball team (29-3) routed Lipscomb (7-23) 105-71 in an A-SUN quarterfinal matchup inside Alico Arena on Saturday night in front of 1,710 fans.
With the win, the top-seeded Eagles advance to Wednesday's semifinal against fifth-seeded North Florida, who knocked off Jacksonville in overtime on Saturday for their first A-SUN tournament win in 10 years. No. 2 North Alabama and No. 3 Liberty will meet in the other semifinal. The Green and Blue are now 23-2 all-time in the A-SUN tournament.
"Obviously, the first quarter, we came out with good energy. We shared the ball, took good shots and shot an exceptional percentage," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "Davion really got us going. She was aggressive and finding good opportunities from the start. And then Ashli, in that first half, came off the bench and immediately started knocking down shots and doing good things for us. It's a great start to the tournament. I like the way we came out. Now we're going to going to have to prepare for a really good team and compete again."
Wingate finished 13-for-16 from the field, including 6-for-7 from 3-point range while adding five rebounds, three assists and one steal. It was her third 30-point outing of the season, and her 38 points eclipsed the program's previous Division I era single-game scoring record of 36 set by Rosemarie Julien and senior Nasrin Ulel. Furthermore, the team's 105 points ties an A-SUN tournament single-game team record that was coincidentally set by the Eagles two years ago against Lipscomb.
O'Neal tallied her season-high 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting, including a 4-for-5 finish from long distance. She added a pair of steals and rebounds over 20 minutes and topped her previous season-high of 20 set against Saint Francis. Ulel added 10 points, five assists and two rebounds, while nine others also scored.
On the glass, senior Tytionia Adderly had a game-high 12 rebounds while adding seven points, four assists, two steals and a block. It was her third straight game in double-figure rebounds, and she needed just 15 minutes of play to accomplish it. Overall, she pushed her career total to 1,171, which is 72 shy of eclipsing Georgia Southern product Phylette Blake's all-time A-SUN record of 1,242 from 1985-89). Ulel, meanwhile, now sits at 225 career made 3-pointers after her two against Lipscomb. She needs two more to move into a tie for 10th-place in A-SUN history.
As a team, FGCU finished 36-for-75 (.480) from the field, including a 16-for-37 (.432) performance from 3-point range. With those 16, the Eagles have now made 386 this year, which gives them the second-most in a single-season in program history and moves them into a tie with the 2016 Sacramento State squad for fifth-most in a single-season in NCAA Division I history. Only three teams have ever made 400 in a season, including the 2017-18 version of the Green and Blue, who hold the all-time record with 431.
Adderly, who poured in a career-high seven 3-pointers in the last meeting against Lipscomb, drained a left-wing 3-pointer just over a minute into the game to open the scoring. The Eagles continued to pour it on, jumping out to a 16-0 lead to open the game in a run that featured buckets from four different players along with four points, two rebounds and an assist from Wingate.
After Lipscomb's Taylor Clark drove the left side for a layup with 4:33 left in the opening quarter for her team's first points of the game, the Eagles scored the next 14 points with five more from Wingate. By the time the dust settled, FGCU led 30-2 and eventually held a 31-point advantage at the end of the quarter.
In the second quarter, Wingate put on a show by scoring 18 of her 29 first-half points on 6-for-6 shooting. She made all four of her 3-point attempts in the quarter, including one from straightaway as time expired. She also assisted on two of the five other field goals for the Eagles in the frame and converted a pair of old-fashioned three-point plays.
The visiting Bisons, featuring a young and up-and-coming roster, didn't back down in the second half despite the score as they outscored FGCU 49-40 over the final 20 minutes. Lipscomb's Jalyn Holcomb, who became the first player in program history to be named the A-SUN's Freshman of the Year, finished with a team-high 15 points.
FGCU is now 28-0 all-time against Lipscomb, including three wins in the A-SUN tournament, and every win has been by double-digits.
Tickets for Wednesday's quarterfinal can be purchased online here, or by stopping by the FGCU ticket office Monday through Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
A-SUN Quarterfinal Results
No. 5 North Florida 77, No. 4 Jacksonville 67 (OT)
No. 2 North Alabama 70, No. 7 Stetson 60
No. 3 Liberty 91, No. 6 Kennesaw State 86
No. 1 FGCU 105, No. 8 Lipscomb 71
A-SUN Semifinal Matchups
Wednesday, March 11
No. 1 FGCU vs No. 5 North Florida, 7 p.m.
No. 2 North Alabama vs No. 3 Liberty, 7 p.m.
Bracket Updates:
Two teams have punched in their tickets so far for the national tournament: Boise State (MWC) and Southeast Missouri State (OVC).
No comments:
Post a Comment