The FGCU men's basketball team (4-8) return home to the Alico Arena as they welcome NAIA Keiser University (4-9, 2-4 TSC) on Wednesday, December 19 at 7:30 P.M. for their first ever matchup of their final home game of the new year. The game will also be as part of a doubleheader as the women's basketball team (8-2) faces Coppin State (0-9) in the opening game of the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic.
As usually noted, since Keiser is an NAIA team, the game will be listed as an exhibition for them and will not affect their season record, while for the Eagles it will be a season game but will not affect their RPI ranking.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles are entering with a two-game winning streak after they defeated Oral Roberts in a rematch (96-76) and fellow Cinderella team UMBC (76-53) as part of their two-game road trip and snapping a six-game losing streak.
It was redshirt senior Schadrac Casimir that led the way for the Eagles as he is averaging 12.2 points per game. Casimir had 14 points against UMBC. As a result to go along the 24 point he had against Oral Roberts, the Iona transfer was named A-SUN Newcomer of the Week.
As far as big men, redshirt junior Brady Ernst and sophomore Brian Thomas have also came in clutch.
Ernst has started eight of his 12 games played and is averaging 5.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Although he did not score any points against UMBC, The double transfer from Iowa State and Indian Hills had eight rebounds and two blocks.
Despite only playing three games, Thomas has been a good factor defensively and it shows even if he's averaging 2.7 points per game. As far as rebounding and blocking, Thomas is averaging 4.3 rebounds and two blocks per game. In his return game against Colgate, he had three rebounds and four blocks, while on the road he had 10 combined rebounds and two blocks.
End of the Season:
It was announced that redshirt senior Hannif Cheatham will be ruled out for the remainder of the season due to a shoulder injury. Cheatham was leading the Eagles in points per game (13.2).
"Though I'm really frustrated for Haanif and our program, knowing his character and his competitive drive, he will be back on the court stronger than ever," head coach Michael Fly said. "I'm confident he'll have the opportunity to continue his career at a professional level when he is fully healthy. Haanif has our program's full support and his FGCU family will encourage him throughout the rehab process. Though he's only been at FGCU a short time, he has demonstrated our program's standard of toughness by playing with this lingering injury throughout the season."
Scouting Keiser:
Yes, this is the same Keiser that you would see in commercials for their culinary program with their main campus in Fort Lauderdale, but for the athletics, it is located in West Palm Beach.
The Seahawks are led by interim head coach Bob Starkman and are coming off winning two of their last three games at home where they defeated Florida Memorial (74-63) and Carolina Christian (2-0 via forfeit) before losing to Florida National (79-77). Now in fairness, that is disappointing that they would win one game by forfeit because I'm sure that the Seahawks were looking forward to facing Carolina Christian.
Currently, the Seahawks sit in seventh place in the Sun Conference and will play Mitchell College Tuesday, December 18 at 7 P.M. for non-conference play prior to playing FGCU.
Senior Andrija Matic and freshman Aaron Gedeon lead the way for the Seahawks.
Matic is averaging 15.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. In his last game against Florida National, the Serbian had a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds. In fact, the American University transfer has five double-double for the season.
Gedeon is averaging 11.5 points per game. In his last game, Gedeon also had a double-double of 2 points and 12 rebounds.
Sophomore Marko Radulovic and junior Marko Orlic also contribute profoundly.
Radulovic is averaging 10.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game while Orlic is averaging 10.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Against Florida National, Radulovic had 13 points and nine rebounds while Orlic had 10 points and five rebounds.
How to Keep Up:
The game will have livestats and will air on ESPN+. The commentary at FGCU will be led by play-by-play commentator David Moulton and color commentator J. Webb Horton.
Fans can also keep up on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_MBB
Keiser: @KUSeahawksMBB
ESPN+:
FGCU will air on the subscription-based digital platform ESPN+, the new home for all A-SUN sports. Subscribers can try the new app for free for 30 days, which follows to $4.99 a month fee afterwards.
Promotions:
There will be an ugly Christmas sweater contest for the doubleheader.
Livestats link: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=238815
Livestream link: http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/915b9f4c-2bfc-45f7-96ad-b25a3137038f/keiser-vs-florida-gulf-coast
About Me
FGCU S&D vs UNC Asheville Preview
After a month's worth of practice, the FGCU swimming and diving team (3-5, 1-0 CCSA) prepare for their first CCSA Conference matchup as they welcome UNC Asheville (3-3, 1-2 CCSA) to the FGCU Aquatics Complex on Monday, December 17 at noon.
"We are very excited to welcome UNC Asheville this week," said head coach Dave Rollins. "It's a special rivalry as coach [Elizabeth] Lykins was our first-ever assistant coach. She's done an incredible job building the Bulldog program, and to have divers for the first time is exciting from a conference point of view. We're swimming some shorter events which allow us to change our lineup a bit. Plus, with Christina [Elmgreen] and Tori [Czarnecka] at their National Championships and Rebecca [Moynihan] at the World Championships, it's a great opportunity for us to have our team step up in new ways. It'll be great to race again after about a month off from competition."
UNC Asheville is led by Elizabeth Lykins. Lykins enter her sixth season as head swimming coach. In fact, Lykins was an assistant coach for FGCU for five seasons under then head coach Neal Studd before landing the job.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles are coming off of a ninth place finish in the Georgia Tech Invitational, but prior to that, they are also coming off of a split in a tri-meet as they defeated host FAU 185-115 and lost 170-129 against Princeton.
International Losses:
The Eagles will be without three of their swimmers as they will compete in various international swim meets: senior Christina Kaas Elmgreen, sophomore Rebecca Moynihan and freshman Wiktoria Czarnecka.
Kaas Elmgreen competed in the 50 yard fly and 100 meter individual medley at the Denmark National Championship. She finished fourth in the 50 fly before earning a silver medal in the 100 IM.
Moynihan was competing in the World Championship in Hangzhou, China representing Swimming New Zealand. There she finished 14th in the mixed 4x50 medley relay, 15th in the women's 4x50 medley relay, 20th in the mixed medley relay and 28th in the 50 meter freestyle. The New Zealander even set lifetime best records.
Czarnecka will be competing in the Poland National Championship next week.
Key Swimmers and Divers:
Swimmers to watch for include sophomore Petra Halmai and seniors Linda Shaw and Doris Eichorn while for divers include sophomore Megan Wakefield and Melissa Novak and lone senior diver Margot Kessler.
Scouting UNC Asheville:
The Bulldogs are coming off of third place out of 14 teams at the Fall Frenzy Invite on November 16.
Morgan Rulevich broke the program's 100 free record as she was the leadoff leg in the 400 free relay where she clocked in a mark of 51.12 seconds. She would go on to medal on day two placing second in the 100 breast and also on day three, coming in third in the 200 breast.
The Bulldogs' three victories have come against UNF (141-121), VMI (216-63), and Gardner-Webb (115.5-89.5).
Monday's meeting will mark the second time both teams have met. The first time both teams met was on December 18, 2016 in which FGCU came out on top, 154-51 at home.
Order of Events:
"We are very excited to welcome UNC Asheville this week," said head coach Dave Rollins. "It's a special rivalry as coach [Elizabeth] Lykins was our first-ever assistant coach. She's done an incredible job building the Bulldog program, and to have divers for the first time is exciting from a conference point of view. We're swimming some shorter events which allow us to change our lineup a bit. Plus, with Christina [Elmgreen] and Tori [Czarnecka] at their National Championships and Rebecca [Moynihan] at the World Championships, it's a great opportunity for us to have our team step up in new ways. It'll be great to race again after about a month off from competition."
UNC Asheville is led by Elizabeth Lykins. Lykins enter her sixth season as head swimming coach. In fact, Lykins was an assistant coach for FGCU for five seasons under then head coach Neal Studd before landing the job.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles are coming off of a ninth place finish in the Georgia Tech Invitational, but prior to that, they are also coming off of a split in a tri-meet as they defeated host FAU 185-115 and lost 170-129 against Princeton.
International Losses:
The Eagles will be without three of their swimmers as they will compete in various international swim meets: senior Christina Kaas Elmgreen, sophomore Rebecca Moynihan and freshman Wiktoria Czarnecka.
Kaas Elmgreen competed in the 50 yard fly and 100 meter individual medley at the Denmark National Championship. She finished fourth in the 50 fly before earning a silver medal in the 100 IM.
Moynihan was competing in the World Championship in Hangzhou, China representing Swimming New Zealand. There she finished 14th in the mixed 4x50 medley relay, 15th in the women's 4x50 medley relay, 20th in the mixed medley relay and 28th in the 50 meter freestyle. The New Zealander even set lifetime best records.
Czarnecka will be competing in the Poland National Championship next week.
Key Swimmers and Divers:
Swimmers to watch for include sophomore Petra Halmai and seniors Linda Shaw and Doris Eichorn while for divers include sophomore Megan Wakefield and Melissa Novak and lone senior diver Margot Kessler.
Scouting UNC Asheville:
The Bulldogs are coming off of third place out of 14 teams at the Fall Frenzy Invite on November 16.
Morgan Rulevich broke the program's 100 free record as she was the leadoff leg in the 400 free relay where she clocked in a mark of 51.12 seconds. She would go on to medal on day two placing second in the 100 breast and also on day three, coming in third in the 200 breast.
The Bulldogs' three victories have come against UNF (141-121), VMI (216-63), and Gardner-Webb (115.5-89.5).
Monday's meeting will mark the second time both teams have met. The first time both teams met was on December 18, 2016 in which FGCU came out on top, 154-51 at home.
Order of Events:
- 200 MR
- 1650 Free
- 1m Diving
- 50 Back
- 50 Breast
- 100 Fly
- 50 Free
- 100 Free
- 100 Back
- 100 Breast
- 200 Free
- 50 Fly
- 100 IM
- 200 Free Relay
How to Keep Up:
Fans can also keep up on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_WSwim
UNC Asheville: @UNCAvlSwimDive
Fans can also keep up on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_WSwim
UNC Asheville: @UNCAvlSwimDive
FGCU MBB @ UMBC Recap
In the battle of Cinderellas, the FGCU men's basketball team (4-8) managed to topple UMBC (6-6) with a 76-53 win Sunday night inside UMBC Event Center.
"I was really proud of our guys tonight. We came out sluggish, which I'm always concerned about when we're on the road. But when we put that press on them, we started to play like the way we want to play," FGCU coach Michael Fly said. "I think UMBC is going to have a really good year. That was a good win for us over a really good team. I was impressed with what I saw on film. I would like to take some of their stuff and implement it into our offense."
The two teams struggled to get into a rhythm out of the gates, as the scoreline read just 3-3 at the first media timeout. Redshirt senior Joe Sherburne caught fire from behind the arc and helped the Retrievers venture on an 8-0 run. UMBC maintained a solid cushion at 15-9, but the Eagles changed up the game plan following a much-needed media timeout.
The Eagles ratcheted up the defense and switched to a full-court press coming out of the under-12 break. That, coupled with an improved effort on the offensive side of the ball, helped the visitors mount a 31-11 run to close out the opening stanza. FGCU entered the locker room on top 40-26.
The Retrievers were able to remain within 14 at 50-36 with 14:40 to play, but a 16-4 surge would create enough separation for the visitors to close out the lopsided triumph.
FGCU committed 13 turnovers to just 11 for UMBC, but the visitors held a huge 44-26 rebounding margin and also led in points in the paint (22-20), second-chance points (10-7), fast-break points (11-4), and bench production (42-16). UMBC was held to just 30.6 percent (19-for-62) overall, 25 percent (8-for-32) from deep and 87.5 percent (7-for-8) at the charity stripe.
Redshirt senior Schadrac Casimir and junior Decardo Day led the way with 14 points and three rebounds apiece. Casimir also added four assists while Day added three rebounds and one steal.
Junior Christian Carlyle and redshirt senior Dinero Mercurius finished with nine points each. Carlyle added four rebounds, two assists and two steals while Mercurius added two rebounds.
Junior RaySean Scott Jr. and freshman Caleb Cotto finished with seven points each. Scott Jr. also added eight rebounds and an assist before fouling out while Cotto added four assists and a steal.
Defensively, sophomore Brian Thomas and redshirt junior Brady Ernst added two blocks each. Thomas also added four points, five rebounds and a steal while Ernst added eight rebounds and an assist.
FGCU shot 51 percent (26-for-51) overall for the game, 52 percent (13-for-25) from behind the 3-point arc and 73.3 percent (11-for-15) at the free-throw line.
Sherburne led the Retrievers with 14 points, while junior K.J. Jackson added 12 for the home side.
Up Next:
The Eagles return to the Alico Arena as they welcome NAIA Keiser University on Wednesday, December 19 at 7:30 P.M.
"I was really proud of our guys tonight. We came out sluggish, which I'm always concerned about when we're on the road. But when we put that press on them, we started to play like the way we want to play," FGCU coach Michael Fly said. "I think UMBC is going to have a really good year. That was a good win for us over a really good team. I was impressed with what I saw on film. I would like to take some of their stuff and implement it into our offense."
The two teams struggled to get into a rhythm out of the gates, as the scoreline read just 3-3 at the first media timeout. Redshirt senior Joe Sherburne caught fire from behind the arc and helped the Retrievers venture on an 8-0 run. UMBC maintained a solid cushion at 15-9, but the Eagles changed up the game plan following a much-needed media timeout.
The Eagles ratcheted up the defense and switched to a full-court press coming out of the under-12 break. That, coupled with an improved effort on the offensive side of the ball, helped the visitors mount a 31-11 run to close out the opening stanza. FGCU entered the locker room on top 40-26.
The Retrievers were able to remain within 14 at 50-36 with 14:40 to play, but a 16-4 surge would create enough separation for the visitors to close out the lopsided triumph.
FGCU committed 13 turnovers to just 11 for UMBC, but the visitors held a huge 44-26 rebounding margin and also led in points in the paint (22-20), second-chance points (10-7), fast-break points (11-4), and bench production (42-16). UMBC was held to just 30.6 percent (19-for-62) overall, 25 percent (8-for-32) from deep and 87.5 percent (7-for-8) at the charity stripe.
Junior Christian Carlyle and redshirt senior Dinero Mercurius finished with nine points each. Carlyle added four rebounds, two assists and two steals while Mercurius added two rebounds.
Junior RaySean Scott Jr. and freshman Caleb Cotto finished with seven points each. Scott Jr. also added eight rebounds and an assist before fouling out while Cotto added four assists and a steal.
Defensively, sophomore Brian Thomas and redshirt junior Brady Ernst added two blocks each. Thomas also added four points, five rebounds and a steal while Ernst added eight rebounds and an assist.
FGCU shot 51 percent (26-for-51) overall for the game, 52 percent (13-for-25) from behind the 3-point arc and 73.3 percent (11-for-15) at the free-throw line.
Sherburne led the Retrievers with 14 points, while junior K.J. Jackson added 12 for the home side.
Up Next:
The Eagles return to the Alico Arena as they welcome NAIA Keiser University on Wednesday, December 19 at 7:30 P.M.
SCF Basketball Makes Successful Comeback vs Gordon State
In the wake of a phenomenal second half comeback, the SCF basketball team (8-7) fought tooth and nail to the end as they defeated Gordon State College (6-3) 76-72 for their last home game before the new year and before Suncoast Conference play at Hal Chasey Gymnasium on Friday night.
"We were down with two of our starters and we needed the next man to step it up," said head coach Tom Parks. "We dug ourselves a hole early in the game, but our guys fought as hard as they could, especially in the last 10 minutes. In the last seven minutes on defensive, we held them for three points, and that's what helped us win that game."
Going into the first half, the Highlanders shot 3-pointer after 3-pointer, predominately from sophomore Seth Brown-Carter. The Manatees did manage to cut the deficit briefly, but the Highlanders were barely fazed as they pulled away in the first half leading 50-36.
"We just wanted to keep chipping away a little bit at a time," said Parks on the overall game. "We talked about what we needed the score to be after 15 (minutes) and in the next 10 minutes in the game. We didn't accomplish the goal for the game, but what we talked about was rebounding and containing the ball, and those are two things we didn't control. Those are what we didn't do in the first half. In the second half, especially 10 minutes into the second half, we cleaned up the glass and played our hearts out,"
Going into the second half, despite struggling, the Manatees took advantages of some of the Highlanders costly mistakes, including several fouls, bad passes and poor shot decisions.
On the offensive front, it was the duo of freshman Isiah Dasher and sophomore DeAndre Osuigwe that stepped it up a notch for the Manatees as they took advantage of set screens from freshman Christnoff Scarborough. Along with Dasher and Osuigwe, sophomores Cyrus Barnes and Tre Alexandrea also played key elements as all four cut the deficit to three points and eventually tied the score 70-70 before taking their first lead of the game to make it 72-70 SCF.
"We were down with two of our starters and we needed the next man to step it up," said head coach Tom Parks. "We dug ourselves a hole early in the game, but our guys fought as hard as they could, especially in the last 10 minutes. In the last seven minutes on defensive, we held them for three points, and that's what helped us win that game."
Going into the first half, the Highlanders shot 3-pointer after 3-pointer, predominately from sophomore Seth Brown-Carter. The Manatees did manage to cut the deficit briefly, but the Highlanders were barely fazed as they pulled away in the first half leading 50-36.
"We just wanted to keep chipping away a little bit at a time," said Parks on the overall game. "We talked about what we needed the score to be after 15 (minutes) and in the next 10 minutes in the game. We didn't accomplish the goal for the game, but what we talked about was rebounding and containing the ball, and those are two things we didn't control. Those are what we didn't do in the first half. In the second half, especially 10 minutes into the second half, we cleaned up the glass and played our hearts out,"
Going into the second half, despite struggling, the Manatees took advantages of some of the Highlanders costly mistakes, including several fouls, bad passes and poor shot decisions.
On the offensive front, it was the duo of freshman Isiah Dasher and sophomore DeAndre Osuigwe that stepped it up a notch for the Manatees as they took advantage of set screens from freshman Christnoff Scarborough. Along with Dasher and Osuigwe, sophomores Cyrus Barnes and Tre Alexandrea also played key elements as all four cut the deficit to three points and eventually tied the score 70-70 before taking their first lead of the game to make it 72-70 SCF.
After another basket, Gordon State then issued a costly technical foul, which sent freshman Remy Robert II to the line to make one of his two free throws before the Highlanders cut it back to two after a Manatee foul and a pair of free throws to make it 73-72.
With less than 30 seconds left in the game, Osuigwe was sent to the line to make one of two free throws. 11 seconds later, Brown-Carter attempted a 3-point shot at the wing for the win, but to no success as Scarborough secured the final rebound and was sent to the line with 1.3 seconds left in the game. With a final push, Scarborough made both free throws in success for the Manatee won.
Dasher and Osuigwe led the Manatees with a combined 46 points (Dasher, 24; Osuigwe, 22) while Barnes followed with 14, Alexandrea with 10 and Scarborough with three. Dasher, Osuigwe, Barnes and Scarborough each had seven rebounds. Scarborough also added four blocks.
Robert II was held to only one point while fellow freshman Max Richards added two points and four rebounds. Both had the only points off the bench.
"Hats off to guys like Remy, Cyrus, DeAndre and Chris for getting that last rebound and two free throws, but the boards from Isiah really did stepped up to help us get the win," said Parks on his players.
The Manatees, who snapped a two-game losing streak, played without sophomores D'Moi Hodge and Joel Coffey. Hodge is averaging 18.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.
"D'Moi is such a versatile player. He does so much for us as one of our best rebounders and one of our best offensive players," said Parks on Hodge. "One of our deficiencies on our team is rebounding and it was tough without him and we struggled earlier on the glass and we're use to having him clean up on that, but he wasn't there to do it, but we found a way in the second half to make our rebounding more effective."
Up Next:
The Manatees head back to Ocala as they face College of Central Florida (CCF) (8-7) on Saturday, December 15 at 4 P.M. for their final game before the winter break.
"Despite their record, CCF is a good team," said Parks on CCF. "They played a lot of good opponents, and right now, they're really hungry to get the win before winter break, so by no means it's not gonna be an easy game. Right now, our focus is getting better every single day, and if we play our best and we lose, we can't hang our heads because we got better and our goal is to play the best possible basketball when we go to the Suncoast Conference Tournament."
*side note: This was my first interview with coach Parks and the first recap for SCF.
With less than 30 seconds left in the game, Osuigwe was sent to the line to make one of two free throws. 11 seconds later, Brown-Carter attempted a 3-point shot at the wing for the win, but to no success as Scarborough secured the final rebound and was sent to the line with 1.3 seconds left in the game. With a final push, Scarborough made both free throws in success for the Manatee won.
Dasher and Osuigwe led the Manatees with a combined 46 points (Dasher, 24; Osuigwe, 22) while Barnes followed with 14, Alexandrea with 10 and Scarborough with three. Dasher, Osuigwe, Barnes and Scarborough each had seven rebounds. Scarborough also added four blocks.
Robert II was held to only one point while fellow freshman Max Richards added two points and four rebounds. Both had the only points off the bench.
"Hats off to guys like Remy, Cyrus, DeAndre and Chris for getting that last rebound and two free throws, but the boards from Isiah really did stepped up to help us get the win," said Parks on his players.
The Manatees, who snapped a two-game losing streak, played without sophomores D'Moi Hodge and Joel Coffey. Hodge is averaging 18.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.
"D'Moi is such a versatile player. He does so much for us as one of our best rebounders and one of our best offensive players," said Parks on Hodge. "One of our deficiencies on our team is rebounding and it was tough without him and we struggled earlier on the glass and we're use to having him clean up on that, but he wasn't there to do it, but we found a way in the second half to make our rebounding more effective."
Up Next:
The Manatees head back to Ocala as they face College of Central Florida (CCF) (8-7) on Saturday, December 15 at 4 P.M. for their final game before the winter break.
"Despite their record, CCF is a good team," said Parks on CCF. "They played a lot of good opponents, and right now, they're really hungry to get the win before winter break, so by no means it's not gonna be an easy game. Right now, our focus is getting better every single day, and if we play our best and we lose, we can't hang our heads because we got better and our goal is to play the best possible basketball when we go to the Suncoast Conference Tournament."
*side note: This was my first interview with coach Parks and the first recap for SCF.
Raining 3s vs Johnson and Wales Recap
The FGCU women's basketball team (7-2) opened their four-game homestead with a 109-64 win over Johnson and Wales (3-8, 0-6 TSC). With the win, the Eagles are now 3-0 against the Lions. The Eagles' 109 points broke the D1 single-game program record (108 vs Lipscomb 2/27/14) and tied the single-game program record (109 vs Puerto Rico- Cayey 11/22/05)*.
*Side note: The game vs PRC was when FGCU was a Division II team.
"I thought we shot the ball exceptionally well in the first half," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "Even though we turned it over quite a few times, we were able to get a pretty substantial lead because we shot it so well. Then, in the second half, we got to look a lot of players, some who have been in the rotation and others who haven't played very much. So, they got a chance to go out there and show what they can do."
As noted, the game is listed as an exhibition/season game. The game was ruled an exhibition for the Lions and would not effect their overall record and a season game for the Eagles, but would not effect their RPI ranking.
The lineup had a little tweak as redshirt sophomore Chandler Ryan was placed in the starting lineup for redshirt senior Lisa Zderadicka. Zderadicka was getting much needed rest.
Offensively, it was redshirt junior Davion Wingate that led the team. Playing off the bench, the Stony Brook transfer finished with a career-high 28 points (11-16 FG, 3-6 3PT), five rebounds and four steals. For Wingate, this topped her career high when she was playing at Stony Brook (25 points vs FAMU, 12/20/16) and became one of just 12 players in program history to produce at least 28 points at least once.
Following Wingate was Ryan as she passed her career-high in points for the third time (21) and 3-pointers made (7) for the second time. Ryan also added five assists to the mix. Ryan is averaging 18.3 points over the past three contests on 16-for-29 shooting from long range.
Another players that played phenomenally off the bench were sophomore Sheahen Dowling, freshman Tanner Bryant and redshirt freshman Tyra Cox
In 25 minutes, Dowling finished with a career-high 10 points with four rebounds and three assists.
Bryant also topped her career-high with 16 points (5-8 FG, 2-5 3PT, 4-6 FT) and seven rebounds.
Cox finished with eight points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Redshirt junior Keri Jewett-Giles played only nine minutes as she finished with six points and three assists.
Although she did not score any points, junior Tytionia Adderly managed to secure four rebounds and two assists. Adderly four defensive rebounds put her at 366 in her career and is 16 away from passing Taylor Grandijan (381, 2012-13, 2014-18) for sixth all-time. In overall rebounds, Adderly now has 623 and is 18 shy of passing Robyn Swain (340, 2002-04) for fourth all-time.
FGCU opened the game on a 10-0 run and led by as many as 23 in the opening quarter following Ulel's steal and fast break layup with 44 seconds left. In the second, Wingate scored eight points during a 13-3 run. Bryant then gave the Eagles a 32-point lead in the final minute with a 3-pointer. The lead grew to as many as 49 in the second half with 1:22 left.
In the first 20 minutes alone, the Eagles shot 22-for-30 (.733) from the field and 10-for-18 (.556) from 3-point range.
The Eagles, who had four of five starters play 13 minutes or less and never trailed against the Wildcats, got 64 points from the bench and forced 20 turnovers, which led to 27 points the other way. New season-highs were set for field goals made (40), field goal percentage (.588) and 3-point field goal percentage (.439).
Sophomore Tianna Ayulo led Johnson and Wales with 25 points, while senior JoNae Gonzales-Smith added 14.
Up Next:
The Eagles remain at home as they welcome Abilene Christian (7-2) to the Alico Arena on Monday, December 17 at 7 P.M.
*Side note: The game vs PRC was when FGCU was a Division II team.
"I thought we shot the ball exceptionally well in the first half," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "Even though we turned it over quite a few times, we were able to get a pretty substantial lead because we shot it so well. Then, in the second half, we got to look a lot of players, some who have been in the rotation and others who haven't played very much. So, they got a chance to go out there and show what they can do."
As noted, the game is listed as an exhibition/season game. The game was ruled an exhibition for the Lions and would not effect their overall record and a season game for the Eagles, but would not effect their RPI ranking.
The lineup had a little tweak as redshirt sophomore Chandler Ryan was placed in the starting lineup for redshirt senior Lisa Zderadicka. Zderadicka was getting much needed rest.
Offensively, it was redshirt junior Davion Wingate that led the team. Playing off the bench, the Stony Brook transfer finished with a career-high 28 points (11-16 FG, 3-6 3PT), five rebounds and four steals. For Wingate, this topped her career high when she was playing at Stony Brook (25 points vs FAMU, 12/20/16) and became one of just 12 players in program history to produce at least 28 points at least once.
Following Wingate was Ryan as she passed her career-high in points for the third time (21) and 3-pointers made (7) for the second time. Ryan also added five assists to the mix. Ryan is averaging 18.3 points over the past three contests on 16-for-29 shooting from long range.
Another players that played phenomenally off the bench were sophomore Sheahen Dowling, freshman Tanner Bryant and redshirt freshman Tyra Cox
In 25 minutes, Dowling finished with a career-high 10 points with four rebounds and three assists.
Bryant also topped her career-high with 16 points (5-8 FG, 2-5 3PT, 4-6 FT) and seven rebounds.
Cox finished with eight points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Redshirt junior Keri Jewett-Giles played only nine minutes as she finished with six points and three assists.
Although she did not score any points, junior Tytionia Adderly managed to secure four rebounds and two assists. Adderly four defensive rebounds put her at 366 in her career and is 16 away from passing Taylor Grandijan (381, 2012-13, 2014-18) for sixth all-time. In overall rebounds, Adderly now has 623 and is 18 shy of passing Robyn Swain (340, 2002-04) for fourth all-time.
FGCU opened the game on a 10-0 run and led by as many as 23 in the opening quarter following Ulel's steal and fast break layup with 44 seconds left. In the second, Wingate scored eight points during a 13-3 run. Bryant then gave the Eagles a 32-point lead in the final minute with a 3-pointer. The lead grew to as many as 49 in the second half with 1:22 left.
In the first 20 minutes alone, the Eagles shot 22-for-30 (.733) from the field and 10-for-18 (.556) from 3-point range.
The Eagles, who had four of five starters play 13 minutes or less and never trailed against the Wildcats, got 64 points from the bench and forced 20 turnovers, which led to 27 points the other way. New season-highs were set for field goals made (40), field goal percentage (.588) and 3-point field goal percentage (.439).
Sophomore Tianna Ayulo led Johnson and Wales with 25 points, while senior JoNae Gonzales-Smith added 14.
Up Next:
The Eagles remain at home as they welcome Abilene Christian (7-2) to the Alico Arena on Monday, December 17 at 7 P.M.
SCF Basketball Readies for Gordon State
For this post, I decided to do something outside of FGCU athletics and go local in my own backyard: Bradenton, Florida. I know what my readers are probably thinking: "Why are you doing a story outside of FGCU?" My answer is this: I just wanted to. I want to go outside of the NCAA and look at teams at the NJCAA level.
This will be about the men's basketball team at my junior college (JUCO), State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota (SCF). The Manatees (7-7) prepared for another home game as they welcome Gordon State College (6-2) to Hal Chasey Gymnasium on Friday, December 14 at 6 P.M. The Manatees are led by first year head coach Tom Parks. Prior to SCF, Parks served as associate head coach for NJCAA Sheridan College in Wyoming before becoming assistant coach for Eastern Florida State College.
Last Time Out:
The Manatees, who are in the Suncoast Conference in the NJCAA Region 8 (FCSAA), are coming off of two losses in the JUCO Shootout in Ocala, hosted by College of Central Florida (CCF). They would fall to Miami-Dade (110-101) and Indian River State (98-82).
Leading the way for the Manatees are freshmen Isiah Dasher and D'Moi Hodge. Although he was suspended from the game against Miami Dade, Dasher remains in tact. The New Jersey native is averaging 16.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. In the game against Indian River, Dasher was held six points and two rebounds. Hodge is averaging 18.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. Against Miami, he scored a season-high 50 points, seven rebounds and four blocks while against Indian River, he was pulled out due to an injury while finishing with nine points, two rebounds and one block. Because of his performances, the native of Tortola, British Virgin Islands was named FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 Player of the Week.
Another freshman that has been hot lately is Remy Robert II. Robert is averaging eight points per game and is predominantly the 3-point specialist on the team. At the JUCO Shootout, Robert II had 10 points against Miami-Dade and 17 against Indian River. In fact, the Baton Rouge native has scored at least 10 points in four straight games.
From the sophomore class, DeAndre Osuigwe is averaging 13.1 points per game and leads the team in assists per game (6.4). The Nyack College transfer (NCAA DII) had 11 points and nine assists against Miami-Dade and 16 points and eight assists against Indian River. Miles Wilson has also been a good factor defensively as he averages 5.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Wilson had 11 points and five rebounds assists against Miami-Dade and six points and two rebounds against Indian River.
Scouting Gordon State:
Gordon State College is located in Barnesville, Georgia and are a part of NJCAA Region 17/GCAA. The Highlanders are coming off of a 73-69 win against St. Pete College and enter the matchup with a three-game winning streak.
Sophomores Oronte' Anderson and Seth Brown-Carter lead the way for the Highlanders. Anderson is averaging 14.9 points and 4.6 assists per game while Brown-Carter is averaging 13.8 points per game. Against SPC, Anderson had 13 points and five assists while Brown-Carter had 19 points.
Freshman Tre GoMillion is also leading the way for the Highlanders as he averages 12 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. GoMillion did not play against SPC, but in his last game against South Carolina Salkehatchie he had nine points and three rebounds.
How to Keep Up:
Fans can watch the game livestream on the SCF athletics YouTube page and can also keep up on Twitter:
SCF: @SCF_Basketball
Gordon State: @gordonbasketbal
Promos:
General admission is $5 and for kids, it's $4, but fans can get in for free if they wear an ugly Christmas sweater to the game. Students and staff with an SCF I.D. will get in for free regardless.
*YouTube Page Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFpxyXJqcQVkozbVYacR26g
*side note: Once the game ends, there will be no replay afterwards.
For my JUCO alma mater, I've actually been scouting some of these players, and I see a lot of potential in some of them that would be perfect for Dunk City. I'd love to have Dasher, Hodge, Robert II and Osuigwe play. The three freshman do need time to grow when they reach the end of their sophomore years. Dasher is like John Wall, a slasher, Hodge can throw down dunks (perfect fit) and Robert II is a sharp 3-point shooter, just like FGCU's redshirt senior Dinero Mercurius. I think Osuigwe would be a good fit too. He can pass the ball really well hence he has a lot of assists per game, and you rarely see pass first guard nowadays, but he has those elements that can fit for Dunk City.
It would really be great to have coach Michael Fly added a Manatee to the team. Softball coach Dave Deiros signed Erica Ward last year and baseball coach Dave Tollett signed Hunter McGarry and Anthony Gonnella this year, so why not sign an SCF basketball player on the team?
This will be about the men's basketball team at my junior college (JUCO), State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota (SCF). The Manatees (7-7) prepared for another home game as they welcome Gordon State College (6-2) to Hal Chasey Gymnasium on Friday, December 14 at 6 P.M. The Manatees are led by first year head coach Tom Parks. Prior to SCF, Parks served as associate head coach for NJCAA Sheridan College in Wyoming before becoming assistant coach for Eastern Florida State College.
Last Time Out:
The Manatees, who are in the Suncoast Conference in the NJCAA Region 8 (FCSAA), are coming off of two losses in the JUCO Shootout in Ocala, hosted by College of Central Florida (CCF). They would fall to Miami-Dade (110-101) and Indian River State (98-82).
Leading the way for the Manatees are freshmen Isiah Dasher and D'Moi Hodge. Although he was suspended from the game against Miami Dade, Dasher remains in tact. The New Jersey native is averaging 16.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. In the game against Indian River, Dasher was held six points and two rebounds. Hodge is averaging 18.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. Against Miami, he scored a season-high 50 points, seven rebounds and four blocks while against Indian River, he was pulled out due to an injury while finishing with nine points, two rebounds and one block. Because of his performances, the native of Tortola, British Virgin Islands was named FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 Player of the Week.
Another freshman that has been hot lately is Remy Robert II. Robert is averaging eight points per game and is predominantly the 3-point specialist on the team. At the JUCO Shootout, Robert II had 10 points against Miami-Dade and 17 against Indian River. In fact, the Baton Rouge native has scored at least 10 points in four straight games.
From the sophomore class, DeAndre Osuigwe is averaging 13.1 points per game and leads the team in assists per game (6.4). The Nyack College transfer (NCAA DII) had 11 points and nine assists against Miami-Dade and 16 points and eight assists against Indian River. Miles Wilson has also been a good factor defensively as he averages 5.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Wilson had 11 points and five rebounds assists against Miami-Dade and six points and two rebounds against Indian River.
Scouting Gordon State:
Gordon State College is located in Barnesville, Georgia and are a part of NJCAA Region 17/GCAA. The Highlanders are coming off of a 73-69 win against St. Pete College and enter the matchup with a three-game winning streak.
Sophomores Oronte' Anderson and Seth Brown-Carter lead the way for the Highlanders. Anderson is averaging 14.9 points and 4.6 assists per game while Brown-Carter is averaging 13.8 points per game. Against SPC, Anderson had 13 points and five assists while Brown-Carter had 19 points.
Freshman Tre GoMillion is also leading the way for the Highlanders as he averages 12 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. GoMillion did not play against SPC, but in his last game against South Carolina Salkehatchie he had nine points and three rebounds.
How to Keep Up:
Fans can watch the game livestream on the SCF athletics YouTube page and can also keep up on Twitter:
SCF: @SCF_Basketball
Gordon State: @gordonbasketbal
Promos:
General admission is $5 and for kids, it's $4, but fans can get in for free if they wear an ugly Christmas sweater to the game. Students and staff with an SCF I.D. will get in for free regardless.
*YouTube Page Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFpxyXJqcQVkozbVYacR26g
*side note: Once the game ends, there will be no replay afterwards.
For my JUCO alma mater, I've actually been scouting some of these players, and I see a lot of potential in some of them that would be perfect for Dunk City. I'd love to have Dasher, Hodge, Robert II and Osuigwe play. The three freshman do need time to grow when they reach the end of their sophomore years. Dasher is like John Wall, a slasher, Hodge can throw down dunks (perfect fit) and Robert II is a sharp 3-point shooter, just like FGCU's redshirt senior Dinero Mercurius. I think Osuigwe would be a good fit too. He can pass the ball really well hence he has a lot of assists per game, and you rarely see pass first guard nowadays, but he has those elements that can fit for Dunk City.
It would really be great to have coach Michael Fly added a Manatee to the team. Softball coach Dave Deiros signed Erica Ward last year and baseball coach Dave Tollett signed Hunter McGarry and Anthony Gonnella this year, so why not sign an SCF basketball player on the team?
Raining 3s vs Johnson and Wales; Abilene Christian Preview
After a brief road trip from Loretto, the FGCU women's basketball team (6-2) return home for a four-game homestead as they first welcome NAIA Johnson & Wales (3-8, 0-6 TSC) on Friday, December 14 and Abilene Christian (7-2) on Monday, December 17 to the Alico Arena.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles traveled on a brief road trip to Loretto, Pennsylvania (an hour and a half west of Pittsburgh) to face Saint Francis University Wednesday night, December 5 at the DeGol Arena. The Eagles defeated the Red Flashes 83-69.
Key Players:
Redshirt junior Keri Jewett-Giles and junior Nasrin Ulel lead the way on offense. Both are averaging 16 points per game. Jewett-Giles is also averaging 2.8 assists per game while Ulel is averaging 3.4 rebounds per game. Should Jewett-Giles and Ulel both finish above 14 PPG, it would represent just the third time since 2007-08 that the team has achieved that - joining the 2008-09 (Adrianne McNally - 14.6, Chelsea Lyles - 14.0) and 2014-15 (Whitney Knight - 14.8, Kaneisha Atwater - 14.2) teams.
In the game against Saint Francis, Jewett-Giles had 18 points and three assists while Ulel had 26 points and six rebounds.
Junior Tytionia Adderly is leading the Eagles with 7.5 rebounds per game while averaging 5.6 points per game. Adderly had 14 rebounds along with five points. Five of her rebounds were on the offensive side as she remains second all-time in offensive rebounds (257) behind Sarah Hansen (329, 2010-14) while for defense she has 362 (seventh overall) and is 20 shy of passing Taylor Grandijan (381, 2012-13, 2014-2018) for sixth all-time.
In overall rebounds, the Jupiter native has 619 in her career (fifth all-time) and is 22 away from passing Robyn Swain (640, 2002-04) for fifth all-time. She became the sixth Eagle in program history to achieve 600 career rebounds after the win against Houston.
Redshirt senior Lisa Zderadicka has also been key in the starting lineup. Although she was held to only three points, Zderadicka is still averaging 9.4 points and 3.3 assists per game which included six assists against Saint Francis.
Bench Sparks:
Off the bench, it's redshirt sophomore Chandler Ryan and redshirt senior Destiny Washington that lead the way for the Eagles.
Ryan is averaging 9.6 points and leads the team in 3-pointers made (23). In the game against Saint Francis, Ryan had 15 points with all of them behind the 3-point line. Ryan had a career-high five 3-pointers in the game.
After her second straight start, Washington is averaging 5.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. The double transfer from Ball State and Loyola Chicago had nine points, six rebounds and three blocks against Saint Francis.
Among The Nation's Best:
FGCU will enter Friday ranked among the top 50 teams in the nation in eight categories:
Fewest turnovers per game - 14th, 12.8
Fewest turnovers - 16th, 102
Assist/turnover ratio - 20th, 1.24
Scoring offense - 26th, 81.0
Turnover margin - 40th, 5.00
In addition, the Eagles who were ranked #8 last week, are ranked #7 in the CollegeInsider.com Top 25 Mid-Major Poll.
Scouting J&W:
The game will be listed as an exhibition for the Lions and as a season game for the Eagles, but it will not effect the Eagles RPI ranking.
The Lions are currently in last place in The Sun Conference and are on a four-game losing streak with four straight conference losses to #3 Southeastern (90-58), Ave Maria (61-52), Florida Memorial (106-77), and St. Thomas (78-66). FGCU played FMU in their home opener.
Offensively, sophomore Tianna Ayulo and senior JoNae Gonzales-Smith lead the Lions.
Ayulo is averaging 19.3 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Ayulo had 11 points, five rebounds and eight assists against #3 Southeastern, 23 points and seven rebounds against Ave Maria, 27 points, four rebounds and five assists against Florida Memorial and 14 points, seven rebounds and seven assists against St. Thomas.
Gonzales-Smith is averaging 16.8 points and 3.1 assists per game. Gonzales-Smith had 19 points and six assists against #3 Southeastern, 12 points and one assist against Ave Maria, 17 points, six rebounds and three assists against Florida Memorial and 15 points, five rebounds and three assists against St. Thomas.
Sophomore Alexis McClain has also been effective for the Lions as she averages 11.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. McClain had 16 points and seven rebounds against #3 Southeastern, nine points and five rebounds against Ave Maria, and a double against Florida Memorial (25 points and 11 rebounds) and St. Thomas (25 points and 11 rebounds).
Series History:
This will be the second time both teams meet. The first time both teams played was on February 24, 2006 where the Eagles won 66-31 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA DII National Independent Tournament.
Scouting Abilene Christian:
The Wildcats are coming off of a 90-43 win against NCAA DIII Schreiner University at home and a 80-68 loss to Power 5 Arkansas.
The Wildcats are led offensively by juniors Dominique Golightly and Breanna Wright.
Golightly is averaging 12.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. In the game against Schreiner, Golightly had 10 points and nine rebounds while against Arkansas she was held to eight points and six rebounds.
Wrght is averaging 12.7 points and 5.3 assists per game. Wright was held scoreless, but had five rebounds and four assists last game before recovering in the loss to Arkansas with 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Senior Sara Williamson and junior Lexie Ducat are also big factors for the Wildcats. Williamson is averaging 11.2 points and four assists per game while Ducat is averaging 11.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
Williamson had 18 points and five assists against Schreiner and 12 points and three assists against Arkansas while Ducat had 25 points and eight rebounds against Schreiner and 19 points and eight rebounds.
Series History:
This will be the second time both teams have met. Last season was the first time where the Eagles won 94-55 at Abilene Christian.
It was the same game that former player and rare sixth year senior Taylor Grandijan shot 18 points, all from the three point line for her 981st-999th career points before earning her 1,000th point at home against NAIA Southeastern University.
How to Keep Up:
Both games will have livestats available and will air on ESPN+. The commentary at FGCU will be led by play-by-play commentator Tom James and color commentator Pete Lonergan for the game against J&W and play-by-play commentator David Moulton and color commentator J. Webb Horton.
In addition, the game against Abilene Christian can also be heard on iHeart Radio.
Fans can also keep up on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_WBB
Abilene Christian: @ACUWBB
Johnson and Wales: @JWUWBasketball
ESPN+:
FGCU will air on the subscription-based digital platform ESPN+, the new home for all A-SUN sports. Subscribers can try the new app for free for 30 days, which follows to $4.99 a month fee afterwards.
Promotions:
1. Snow Ball and Basketball: fans are encouraged to dress up and dance on the court at halftime with FGCU cheerleaders and E'Gals (vs J&W)
2. Toy Drive for Golisano's Children's Hospital (vs Abilene Christian)
3. The Barron Collier High School Drum Line will also be in attendance (vs J&W)
Livestats Links:
vs J&W- http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=242052
vs Abilene Christian- http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=242053
Livestream Link:
vs J&W- http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/40bb4b24-8b7d-4d35-b8c4-e2733ff6f742/johnson--wales-vs-florida-gulf-coast
vs Abilene Christian: http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/bc99a123-89af-4034-b079-cddcb7696b6f/abilene-christian-vs-florida-gulf-coast
Audio Link: https://www.iheart.com/live/981-the-ticket-5696/
Last Time Out:
The Eagles traveled on a brief road trip to Loretto, Pennsylvania (an hour and a half west of Pittsburgh) to face Saint Francis University Wednesday night, December 5 at the DeGol Arena. The Eagles defeated the Red Flashes 83-69.
Key Players:
Redshirt junior Keri Jewett-Giles and junior Nasrin Ulel lead the way on offense. Both are averaging 16 points per game. Jewett-Giles is also averaging 2.8 assists per game while Ulel is averaging 3.4 rebounds per game. Should Jewett-Giles and Ulel both finish above 14 PPG, it would represent just the third time since 2007-08 that the team has achieved that - joining the 2008-09 (Adrianne McNally - 14.6, Chelsea Lyles - 14.0) and 2014-15 (Whitney Knight - 14.8, Kaneisha Atwater - 14.2) teams.
In the game against Saint Francis, Jewett-Giles had 18 points and three assists while Ulel had 26 points and six rebounds.
Junior Tytionia Adderly is leading the Eagles with 7.5 rebounds per game while averaging 5.6 points per game. Adderly had 14 rebounds along with five points. Five of her rebounds were on the offensive side as she remains second all-time in offensive rebounds (257) behind Sarah Hansen (329, 2010-14) while for defense she has 362 (seventh overall) and is 20 shy of passing Taylor Grandijan (381, 2012-13, 2014-2018) for sixth all-time.
In overall rebounds, the Jupiter native has 619 in her career (fifth all-time) and is 22 away from passing Robyn Swain (640, 2002-04) for fifth all-time. She became the sixth Eagle in program history to achieve 600 career rebounds after the win against Houston.
Redshirt senior Lisa Zderadicka has also been key in the starting lineup. Although she was held to only three points, Zderadicka is still averaging 9.4 points and 3.3 assists per game which included six assists against Saint Francis.
Bench Sparks:
Off the bench, it's redshirt sophomore Chandler Ryan and redshirt senior Destiny Washington that lead the way for the Eagles.
Ryan is averaging 9.6 points and leads the team in 3-pointers made (23). In the game against Saint Francis, Ryan had 15 points with all of them behind the 3-point line. Ryan had a career-high five 3-pointers in the game.
After her second straight start, Washington is averaging 5.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. The double transfer from Ball State and Loyola Chicago had nine points, six rebounds and three blocks against Saint Francis.
Among The Nation's Best:
FGCU will enter Friday ranked among the top 50 teams in the nation in eight categories:
Fewest turnovers per game - 14th, 12.8
Fewest turnovers - 16th, 102
Assist/turnover ratio - 20th, 1.24
Scoring offense - 26th, 81.0
Turnover margin - 40th, 5.00
3-point field goals attempted - 4th, 292
3-point field goals made - 4th, 98
3-point field goals made per game - 2nd, 12.3
In addition, the Eagles who were ranked #8 last week, are ranked #7 in the CollegeInsider.com Top 25 Mid-Major Poll.
Scouting J&W:
The game will be listed as an exhibition for the Lions and as a season game for the Eagles, but it will not effect the Eagles RPI ranking.
The Lions are currently in last place in The Sun Conference and are on a four-game losing streak with four straight conference losses to #3 Southeastern (90-58), Ave Maria (61-52), Florida Memorial (106-77), and St. Thomas (78-66). FGCU played FMU in their home opener.
Offensively, sophomore Tianna Ayulo and senior JoNae Gonzales-Smith lead the Lions.
Ayulo is averaging 19.3 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Ayulo had 11 points, five rebounds and eight assists against #3 Southeastern, 23 points and seven rebounds against Ave Maria, 27 points, four rebounds and five assists against Florida Memorial and 14 points, seven rebounds and seven assists against St. Thomas.
Gonzales-Smith is averaging 16.8 points and 3.1 assists per game. Gonzales-Smith had 19 points and six assists against #3 Southeastern, 12 points and one assist against Ave Maria, 17 points, six rebounds and three assists against Florida Memorial and 15 points, five rebounds and three assists against St. Thomas.
Sophomore Alexis McClain has also been effective for the Lions as she averages 11.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. McClain had 16 points and seven rebounds against #3 Southeastern, nine points and five rebounds against Ave Maria, and a double against Florida Memorial (25 points and 11 rebounds) and St. Thomas (25 points and 11 rebounds).
Series History:
This will be the second time both teams meet. The first time both teams played was on February 24, 2006 where the Eagles won 66-31 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA DII National Independent Tournament.
Scouting Abilene Christian:
The Wildcats are coming off of a 90-43 win against NCAA DIII Schreiner University at home and a 80-68 loss to Power 5 Arkansas.
The Wildcats are led offensively by juniors Dominique Golightly and Breanna Wright.
Golightly is averaging 12.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. In the game against Schreiner, Golightly had 10 points and nine rebounds while against Arkansas she was held to eight points and six rebounds.
Wrght is averaging 12.7 points and 5.3 assists per game. Wright was held scoreless, but had five rebounds and four assists last game before recovering in the loss to Arkansas with 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Senior Sara Williamson and junior Lexie Ducat are also big factors for the Wildcats. Williamson is averaging 11.2 points and four assists per game while Ducat is averaging 11.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
Williamson had 18 points and five assists against Schreiner and 12 points and three assists against Arkansas while Ducat had 25 points and eight rebounds against Schreiner and 19 points and eight rebounds.
Series History:
This will be the second time both teams have met. Last season was the first time where the Eagles won 94-55 at Abilene Christian.
It was the same game that former player and rare sixth year senior Taylor Grandijan shot 18 points, all from the three point line for her 981st-999th career points before earning her 1,000th point at home against NAIA Southeastern University.
How to Keep Up:
Both games will have livestats available and will air on ESPN+. The commentary at FGCU will be led by play-by-play commentator Tom James and color commentator Pete Lonergan for the game against J&W and play-by-play commentator David Moulton and color commentator J. Webb Horton.
In addition, the game against Abilene Christian can also be heard on iHeart Radio.
Fans can also keep up on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_WBB
Abilene Christian: @ACUWBB
Johnson and Wales: @JWUWBasketball
FGCU will air on the subscription-based digital platform ESPN+, the new home for all A-SUN sports. Subscribers can try the new app for free for 30 days, which follows to $4.99 a month fee afterwards.
Promotions:
1. Snow Ball and Basketball: fans are encouraged to dress up and dance on the court at halftime with FGCU cheerleaders and E'Gals (vs J&W)
2. Toy Drive for Golisano's Children's Hospital (vs Abilene Christian)
3. The Barron Collier High School Drum Line will also be in attendance (vs J&W)
Livestats Links:
vs J&W- http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=242052
vs Abilene Christian- http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=242053
Livestream Link:
vs J&W- http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/40bb4b24-8b7d-4d35-b8c4-e2733ff6f742/johnson--wales-vs-florida-gulf-coast
vs Abilene Christian: http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/bc99a123-89af-4034-b079-cddcb7696b6f/abilene-christian-vs-florida-gulf-coast
Audio Link: https://www.iheart.com/live/981-the-ticket-5696/
FGCU MBB @ UMBC Preview
In their first ever matchup of Cinderellas, the FGCU men's basketball team (3-8) wrap up their two-game road trip as they travel to face UMBC (6-5) on Sunday, December 16 at 7 P.M. at the UMBC Event Center in Baltimore, Md.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles opened their two-game road trip with a 96-76 win over Oral Roberts in the "Battle of the Eagles". The win for the Eagles was their first one since November 16 against South Dakota State as they entered with a six-game losing streak until they beat Oral Roberts in a rematch from last year.
Offensively, it's redshirt senior Schadrac Casimir and junior Raysean Scott Jr that lead the team.
Casimir, who went on a tear against Oral Roberts, is averaging 12 points per game. The Iona transfer had 24 points and was 7-for-8 at the three point line.
Despite only play four games, Scott Jr., who returned from injury, is averaging 10.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Scott had 16 points and eight rebounds against Oral Roberts.
Since start seven of his 11 games played, redshirt junior Brady Ernst has improved drastically compared to last year. The Clinton, Iowa native who usually played backup center for redshirt senior Ricky Doyle, is averaging 5.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game (last year: 2.1 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. Against Oral Roberts, the double transfer from Iowa State and NJCAA Indian Hills Community College had eight points and four rebounds.
Two other players that have been on a roll are junior Decardo Day and redshirt senior Dinero Mercurius.
Although averaging 4.6 points per game, Day is averaging 3.3 assists per game. Against Oral Roberts, Day had his best game against Oral Roberts as he finished with a career-high 16 points and six assists.
Mercurius is averaging 9.9 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. Mercurius had 13 points and two rebounds against Oral Roberts.
Redshirt senior Haanif Cheatham did not play in the game. The Marquette transfer is averaging 13.2 points per game, but is also averaging 2.4 turnovers per game.
Scouting UMBC:
Just like the birth of Dunk City in 2013, everyone know UMBC as the biggest bracket buster team in the nation from last year. The defending America East Conference champions, who were the #16 seed in the 2018 NCAA National Tournament South Region defeated Virginia Tech, the #1 team in the nation in the first round of the tournament, becoming the first #16 seed to defeat a #1 seed in any regional before falling to Kansas State in the second round.
Getting back on track, the Retrievers are coming off of an 80-76 loss in double overtime to Towson at home.
Redshirt senior Joe Sherburne and junior K.J. Jackson lead the way offensively for the Retrievers.
Sherburne leads the team with 13.9 points and 3.3 assists per game. Sherburne had 14 points and six assists against Towson.
Jackson is averaging 12 points and 4.3 assists per game. Jackson had 17 points and four assists.
Sophomore Brandon Horvath and juniors Max Curran and Arkel Lamar.
Horvath, who primarily plays off the bench as a role player, is averaging 11.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Horvath had 19 points and six rebounds off the bench against Towson.
Despite being held to two points and one rebound, Curran is still averaging 8.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
Lamar, who also plays both on and off the bench, is averaging 10.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Against Towson, Lamar had 15 points and six rebounds.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available and will air on ESPN+. The commentary at UMBC will be led Gary Stein, John Feinstein and Paul Mittermeier.
Fans can also keep up on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_MBB
UMBC: @UMBC_MBB
ESPN+:
FGCU will air on the subscription-based digital platform ESPN+, the new home for all A-SUN sports. Subscribers can try the new app for free for 30 days, which follows to $4.99 a month or $49.99 yearly afterwards.
Livestats Link: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=238955
Livestream Link: http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/378cc507-9950-4e78-a3ac-86984430312c/florida-gulf-coast-vs-umbc
Last Time Out:
The Eagles opened their two-game road trip with a 96-76 win over Oral Roberts in the "Battle of the Eagles". The win for the Eagles was their first one since November 16 against South Dakota State as they entered with a six-game losing streak until they beat Oral Roberts in a rematch from last year.
Offensively, it's redshirt senior Schadrac Casimir and junior Raysean Scott Jr that lead the team.
Casimir, who went on a tear against Oral Roberts, is averaging 12 points per game. The Iona transfer had 24 points and was 7-for-8 at the three point line.
Despite only play four games, Scott Jr., who returned from injury, is averaging 10.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Scott had 16 points and eight rebounds against Oral Roberts.
Since start seven of his 11 games played, redshirt junior Brady Ernst has improved drastically compared to last year. The Clinton, Iowa native who usually played backup center for redshirt senior Ricky Doyle, is averaging 5.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game (last year: 2.1 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. Against Oral Roberts, the double transfer from Iowa State and NJCAA Indian Hills Community College had eight points and four rebounds.
Two other players that have been on a roll are junior Decardo Day and redshirt senior Dinero Mercurius.
Although averaging 4.6 points per game, Day is averaging 3.3 assists per game. Against Oral Roberts, Day had his best game against Oral Roberts as he finished with a career-high 16 points and six assists.
Mercurius is averaging 9.9 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. Mercurius had 13 points and two rebounds against Oral Roberts.
Redshirt senior Haanif Cheatham did not play in the game. The Marquette transfer is averaging 13.2 points per game, but is also averaging 2.4 turnovers per game.
Scouting UMBC:
Just like the birth of Dunk City in 2013, everyone know UMBC as the biggest bracket buster team in the nation from last year. The defending America East Conference champions, who were the #16 seed in the 2018 NCAA National Tournament South Region defeated Virginia Tech, the #1 team in the nation in the first round of the tournament, becoming the first #16 seed to defeat a #1 seed in any regional before falling to Kansas State in the second round.
Getting back on track, the Retrievers are coming off of an 80-76 loss in double overtime to Towson at home.
Redshirt senior Joe Sherburne and junior K.J. Jackson lead the way offensively for the Retrievers.
Sherburne leads the team with 13.9 points and 3.3 assists per game. Sherburne had 14 points and six assists against Towson.
Jackson is averaging 12 points and 4.3 assists per game. Jackson had 17 points and four assists.
Sophomore Brandon Horvath and juniors Max Curran and Arkel Lamar.
Horvath, who primarily plays off the bench as a role player, is averaging 11.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Horvath had 19 points and six rebounds off the bench against Towson.
Despite being held to two points and one rebound, Curran is still averaging 8.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
Lamar, who also plays both on and off the bench, is averaging 10.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Against Towson, Lamar had 15 points and six rebounds.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available and will air on ESPN+. The commentary at UMBC will be led Gary Stein, John Feinstein and Paul Mittermeier.
Fans can also keep up on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_MBB
UMBC: @UMBC_MBB
ESPN+:
FGCU will air on the subscription-based digital platform ESPN+, the new home for all A-SUN sports. Subscribers can try the new app for free for 30 days, which follows to $4.99 a month or $49.99 yearly afterwards.
Livestats Link: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=238955
Livestream Link: http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/378cc507-9950-4e78-a3ac-86984430312c/florida-gulf-coast-vs-umbc
Raining 3s @ Saint Francis Recap
After a brief road trip, the FGCU women's basketball team (6-2) return home after defeating Saint Francis (2-5) 83-69 Wednesday night at the DeGol Arena in Loretto, Pennsylvania. With the win, the Eagles are now 2-0 against the Red Flash.
"I thought it was a little bit of an uneven performance," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "We had some really good stretches. At the same time, we had some lapses and Saint Francis kept coming at us and would make some runs on us to make it a tight game in the fourth quarter. Fortunately, Chandler hit some big shots and Nas had some really good plays. And Ty's work on the boards was really a difference maker for us."
"I thought it was good overall team effort tonight," said Saint Francis interim head coach Susan Robinson-Fruchtl. "We put of things in this week that extended 2-3 zone with man principles, but I thought our team did a really good job with being active in it."
"FGCU is a really good team. They have a great history, a great legacy being in the NCAA Tournament and Karl (Smesko) does an awesome job with his players. They're very disciplined. They only take layups or threes. They stuck to their game plan and I give them credit, but I thought our biggest battle that we won was on the boards. It was the first time we out-rebounded a team."
"FGCU is a really good team. They have a great history, a great legacy being in the NCAA Tournament and Karl (Smesko) does an awesome job with his players. They're very disciplined. They only take layups or threes. They stuck to their game plan and I give them credit, but I thought our biggest battle that we won was on the boards. It was the first time we out-rebounded a team."
Saint Francis had just trimmed its deficit to five on a 3-pointer from senior Jess Kovatch with 6:16 left in the fourth when redshirt sophomore Ryan drew a charge on a play where the hosts could have cut it to a one possession game. In doing so, it ignited her offensively as the redshirt sophomore scored 12 points, while junior Nasrin Ulel added a pair of layups in a 16-2 run that put the game away.
"One thing I like about Chandler is even though she was missing early, it didn't faze her," Smesko said. "She knows if she's open, she should shoot it, and she did a good job with that tonight."
In addition to producing her second 20 plus point effort over the past three games, Ulel added six rebounds and three assists while finishing 8-for-22 from the field. She attempted 15 3-point field goals, which was one shy of matching the program's single-game record.
Redshirt junior Keri Jewett-Giles added 18 points, a game-high four steals, three assists and three rebounds.
Ryan finished with 15 points, all from 3-point range.
Junior Tytionia Adderly pulled down a season-high 14 rebounds while tying a career-high in assists (5) and scoring five points. With her 14 rebounds, Adderly now has 619 career rebounds and is 22 shy of passing Robyn Swain (640, 2002-04) for fourth all-time. For her five offensive boards, she now has 257 while her nine defensive rebounds put her at 362 and is 20 away from passing Taylor Grandijan (381, 2012-13, 14-18) for sixth all-time.
Redshirt senior Destiny Washington-Mabon tied her season-high with nine points while adding six rebounds and a game-high three blocks.
Redshirt sophomore Kerstie Phills made some key plays, as well, before finishing with seven points, three rebounds and two blocks. After previously making a single 3-pointer eight times in her career, she recorded a pair of long distance makes for the first time.
Redshirt senior Lisa Zderadicka, who was the seventh player to reach the scoring column, finished with a game-high six assists and three rebounds.
FGCU led by four through the opening quarter and stretched it to as many as 11 in the second quarter on a 3-pointer from Ulel with 2:47 left. The Eagles then opened the second half on a 12-0 run that featured five points from Jewett-Giles. Ulel converted a layup to conclude the run and give her team a 53-35 lead with 3:28 left in the quarter.
Saint Francis then went on a 13-4 run, but Ulel made a pair of free throws with 0.7 seconds left in the quarter to keep the advantage in double digits.
Phills had a big 3-pointer and a block early in the final quarter before Saint Francis trimmed it to five, setting up the final six minutes of action.
As a team, the Eagles assisted on 21 of 29 field goals and finished 18-for-52 from 3-point range. It was a season-high for made shots from long distance, and it was the 11th time in program history the team has recorded that many in a game. In fact, four of those have come since the start of the 2017-18 season, and they finished three attempts short of matching the team's single-game record in that category.
The Eagles also had nine turnovers in contrast to Saint Francis's 19.
Kovatch led the Red Flashes with 21 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double.
Sophomore Karson Swogger followed Kovatch with 12 points and three rebounds. Swogger had seven of the Red Flashes 19 turnovers.
Senior Courtney Zezza was one point shy of a double-double as she finished with nine points and 10 rebounds before fouling out of the game.
Up Next:
The Eagles will look to push its winning streak to five when they host Johnson and Wales (Fla.) on Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. It represents the first of four games for the Eagles in Alico Arena over a seven-day stretch.
"One thing I like about Chandler is even though she was missing early, it didn't faze her," Smesko said. "She knows if she's open, she should shoot it, and she did a good job with that tonight."
In addition to producing her second 20 plus point effort over the past three games, Ulel added six rebounds and three assists while finishing 8-for-22 from the field. She attempted 15 3-point field goals, which was one shy of matching the program's single-game record.
Redshirt junior Keri Jewett-Giles added 18 points, a game-high four steals, three assists and three rebounds.
Ryan finished with 15 points, all from 3-point range.
Junior Tytionia Adderly pulled down a season-high 14 rebounds while tying a career-high in assists (5) and scoring five points. With her 14 rebounds, Adderly now has 619 career rebounds and is 22 shy of passing Robyn Swain (640, 2002-04) for fourth all-time. For her five offensive boards, she now has 257 while her nine defensive rebounds put her at 362 and is 20 away from passing Taylor Grandijan (381, 2012-13, 14-18) for sixth all-time.
Redshirt senior Destiny Washington-Mabon tied her season-high with nine points while adding six rebounds and a game-high three blocks.
Redshirt sophomore Kerstie Phills made some key plays, as well, before finishing with seven points, three rebounds and two blocks. After previously making a single 3-pointer eight times in her career, she recorded a pair of long distance makes for the first time.
Redshirt senior Lisa Zderadicka, who was the seventh player to reach the scoring column, finished with a game-high six assists and three rebounds.
FGCU led by four through the opening quarter and stretched it to as many as 11 in the second quarter on a 3-pointer from Ulel with 2:47 left. The Eagles then opened the second half on a 12-0 run that featured five points from Jewett-Giles. Ulel converted a layup to conclude the run and give her team a 53-35 lead with 3:28 left in the quarter.
Saint Francis then went on a 13-4 run, but Ulel made a pair of free throws with 0.7 seconds left in the quarter to keep the advantage in double digits.
Phills had a big 3-pointer and a block early in the final quarter before Saint Francis trimmed it to five, setting up the final six minutes of action.
As a team, the Eagles assisted on 21 of 29 field goals and finished 18-for-52 from 3-point range. It was a season-high for made shots from long distance, and it was the 11th time in program history the team has recorded that many in a game. In fact, four of those have come since the start of the 2017-18 season, and they finished three attempts short of matching the team's single-game record in that category.
The Eagles also had nine turnovers in contrast to Saint Francis's 19.
Kovatch led the Red Flashes with 21 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double.
Sophomore Karson Swogger followed Kovatch with 12 points and three rebounds. Swogger had seven of the Red Flashes 19 turnovers.
Senior Courtney Zezza was one point shy of a double-double as she finished with nine points and 10 rebounds before fouling out of the game.
Up Next:
The Eagles will look to push its winning streak to five when they host Johnson and Wales (Fla.) on Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. It represents the first of four games for the Eagles in Alico Arena over a seven-day stretch.
FGCU MBB @ Oral Roberts Recap
In the Battle of the Eagles, the FGCU men's basketball team (3-8) redeemed themselves in their rematch with a 96-76 victory over Oral Roberts (3-8) Wednesday night inside Mabee Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. With the win, the Eagles snapped their six-game losing streak.
"Because of the way we've been struggling, that was probably the best win from an emotional standpoint in my time here. That looked like what our program is supposed to look like," FGCU head coach Michael Fly said. "(ORU) played really hard and attacked us on the glass, but our guys made shots tonight. Schadrac and Decardo came up big at the point guard position."
The opening 13 minutes saw a whopping 12 lead changes as the two sides fought to pull away from one another. FGCU used a brief 7-0 run to peek on top 40-32 with five minutes remaining in the opening stanza. ORU kept the Eagles within striking distance and held the halftime deficit down to 52-45.
The home team dwindled the FGCU advantage to four at one point early in the second half. The Golden Eagles remained close down just 70-62 with 11:16 remaining, but the Eagles went on an 11-0 run to take a commanding lead. That push deflated the home crowd and was all the visitors needed to seize control. FGCU led by as much as 25 points before settling for the final 20-point cushion.
Redshirt senior Casimir led four FGCU players in double figures with a season-high 24 points and was 6-for-7 at the three-point line.
Juniors Decardo Day and RaySean Scott Jr. both registered a season-best 16 points, and senior Dinero Mercurius added 13 off the bench. In total, 10 different Eagles scored in the victory.
Redshirt junior Brady Ernst came in clutch with eight points and four rebounds in his fifth straight start of the season (sixth this season) while being 4-for-4 at the free throw line.
Freshman Caleb Cotto had nine points and was 3-for-3 at the three-point line.
Sophomore Brian Thomas finished with two points and five rebounds.
Despite only playing one minute, redshirt sophomore Kyle Hoffman played with senior Dolan Mahoney and redshirt freshman Ryan Roucant. Hoffman made his debut as a walk-on double transfer spending his freshman year on the JV team at NAIA Ottowa University (Ok) prior to his transfer to Kansas before sitting out the 2017-18 season per the NCAA transfer rule.
FGCU shot 60 percent both overall (33-for-55) and behind the 3-point line (15-for-25), while hitting at an 88.2 percent clip at the free-throw line (15-for-17). The 15 made 3-pointers broke the Mabee Center single-game record by an opponent.
ORU shot 51.7 percent (31-for-60) overall, 31.8 percent (7-for-22) from distance and 53.8 percent (7-for-13) at the line. The Golden Eagles were paced by 16 points from redshirt junior Emmanuel Nzekwesi.
Junior Aidan Saunders chipped in 14, while freshman DeShang Weaver added 11.
Up Next:
FGCU continues its brief two-game road swing with a game at UMBC. The two mid-major powers will face off at 7 p.m. Dec. 16 in Baltimore. The contest will be the first between the two programs.
"Because of the way we've been struggling, that was probably the best win from an emotional standpoint in my time here. That looked like what our program is supposed to look like," FGCU head coach Michael Fly said. "(ORU) played really hard and attacked us on the glass, but our guys made shots tonight. Schadrac and Decardo came up big at the point guard position."
The opening 13 minutes saw a whopping 12 lead changes as the two sides fought to pull away from one another. FGCU used a brief 7-0 run to peek on top 40-32 with five minutes remaining in the opening stanza. ORU kept the Eagles within striking distance and held the halftime deficit down to 52-45.
The home team dwindled the FGCU advantage to four at one point early in the second half. The Golden Eagles remained close down just 70-62 with 11:16 remaining, but the Eagles went on an 11-0 run to take a commanding lead. That push deflated the home crowd and was all the visitors needed to seize control. FGCU led by as much as 25 points before settling for the final 20-point cushion.
Redshirt senior Casimir led four FGCU players in double figures with a season-high 24 points and was 6-for-7 at the three-point line.
Juniors Decardo Day and RaySean Scott Jr. both registered a season-best 16 points, and senior Dinero Mercurius added 13 off the bench. In total, 10 different Eagles scored in the victory.
Redshirt junior Brady Ernst came in clutch with eight points and four rebounds in his fifth straight start of the season (sixth this season) while being 4-for-4 at the free throw line.
Freshman Caleb Cotto had nine points and was 3-for-3 at the three-point line.
Sophomore Brian Thomas finished with two points and five rebounds.
Despite only playing one minute, redshirt sophomore Kyle Hoffman played with senior Dolan Mahoney and redshirt freshman Ryan Roucant. Hoffman made his debut as a walk-on double transfer spending his freshman year on the JV team at NAIA Ottowa University (Ok) prior to his transfer to Kansas before sitting out the 2017-18 season per the NCAA transfer rule.
FGCU shot 60 percent both overall (33-for-55) and behind the 3-point line (15-for-25), while hitting at an 88.2 percent clip at the free-throw line (15-for-17). The 15 made 3-pointers broke the Mabee Center single-game record by an opponent.
ORU shot 51.7 percent (31-for-60) overall, 31.8 percent (7-for-22) from distance and 53.8 percent (7-for-13) at the line. The Golden Eagles were paced by 16 points from redshirt junior Emmanuel Nzekwesi.
Junior Aidan Saunders chipped in 14, while freshman DeShang Weaver added 11.
Up Next:
FGCU continues its brief two-game road swing with a game at UMBC. The two mid-major powers will face off at 7 p.m. Dec. 16 in Baltimore. The contest will be the first between the two programs.
FGCU MBB @ Oral Roberts Preview
Returning on the road in the "Battle of the Eagles", the FGCU men's basketball team (2-8) travel for a rematch against Oral Roberts (3-7) on Wednesday, December 5 at the Mabee Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles suffered their sixth-straight loss of the season after losing their second straight home game to Colgate (7-1) this past Sunday inside Alico Arena, and are looking to end the skid.
FGCU shot 32.4 percent from the field as Colgate connected 44.8 percent of its shots.
Freshman Zach Scott scored a career-high 13 points off the bench. Scott is averaging 6.5 points per game.
Junior RaySean Scott, Jr., who returned from injury, had a 11 points and nine rebounds. Scott Jr. is averaging 8.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game in three games.
Leading the team overall are redshirt seniors Haneef Cheatham and Schadrac Casimir.
Although he was held to two points against Colgate, Cheatham still leads the time in points per game (13.2) while Casimir had eight points and is averaging 10.8 points per game.
After getting a career-high 15 points against FIU, redshirt junior Brady Ernst has gotten more effective crashing the boards. Ernst is averaging 5.3 points and five rebounds per game. Against Colgate, the native of Clinton, Iowa had eight points and eight rebounds.
Sophomore Brian Thomas returned from injury and played his first game of the season. Despite only two points, Thomas added three rebounds and four blocks. Personally, he should start this season.
I don't care if he plays at the four or the five, he deserves to start at least one game this season. I mean Ernst is doing a great job, don't get me wrong, but Thomas needs to start ahead of
Scouting Oral Roberts:
Oral Roberts, whose mascot is also the Eagles, are coming off of a 79-67 loss to Southern Methodist. The Eagles are led offensively by redshirt junior Emmanuel Nzekwesi, who had 18 points and eight rebounds against SMU. Nzekwesi is averaging 14.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
Following Nzekwesi are senior Kaelen Malone and redshirt freshman Kevin Obanor.
Malone, who is averaging 9.9 points and 4.1 assists per game, had five points and eight assists while Obanor, who is averaging 9.1 points per game, had four points against SMU.
ORU defeated the Eagles 83-64 in the first meeting between the programs on Dec. 16 of last season, so this will be a rematch for FGCU, hence the "Battle of the Eagles"
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available and will air on ESPN3. The commentary at Oral Roberts will be led by play-by-play commentator and color commentator.
In addition, the game will also be featured in audio on 107.9 MHZ or KRXO 1270 AM (The Franchise), led by Adam Hildebrandt.
Fans can also keep up on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_MBB
Oral Roberts: @ORUMBB
ESPN+:
FGCU will air on the subscription-based digital platform ESPN+, the new home for all A-SUN sports. Subscribers can try the new app for free for 30 days, which follows to $4.99 a month fee afterwards.
Livestats link: http://www.oruathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2018-19/boxscores/20181205_pyeu.xml
ESPN3 link: http://www.espn.com/watch
Radio Link: http://player.listenlive.co/48101
Last Time Out:
The Eagles suffered their sixth-straight loss of the season after losing their second straight home game to Colgate (7-1) this past Sunday inside Alico Arena, and are looking to end the skid.
FGCU shot 32.4 percent from the field as Colgate connected 44.8 percent of its shots.
Freshman Zach Scott scored a career-high 13 points off the bench. Scott is averaging 6.5 points per game.
Junior RaySean Scott, Jr., who returned from injury, had a 11 points and nine rebounds. Scott Jr. is averaging 8.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game in three games.
Leading the team overall are redshirt seniors Haneef Cheatham and Schadrac Casimir.
Although he was held to two points against Colgate, Cheatham still leads the time in points per game (13.2) while Casimir had eight points and is averaging 10.8 points per game.
After getting a career-high 15 points against FIU, redshirt junior Brady Ernst has gotten more effective crashing the boards. Ernst is averaging 5.3 points and five rebounds per game. Against Colgate, the native of Clinton, Iowa had eight points and eight rebounds.
Sophomore Brian Thomas returned from injury and played his first game of the season. Despite only two points, Thomas added three rebounds and four blocks. Personally, he should start this season.
I don't care if he plays at the four or the five, he deserves to start at least one game this season. I mean Ernst is doing a great job, don't get me wrong, but Thomas needs to start ahead of
Scouting Oral Roberts:
Oral Roberts, whose mascot is also the Eagles, are coming off of a 79-67 loss to Southern Methodist. The Eagles are led offensively by redshirt junior Emmanuel Nzekwesi, who had 18 points and eight rebounds against SMU. Nzekwesi is averaging 14.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
Following Nzekwesi are senior Kaelen Malone and redshirt freshman Kevin Obanor.
Malone, who is averaging 9.9 points and 4.1 assists per game, had five points and eight assists while Obanor, who is averaging 9.1 points per game, had four points against SMU.
ORU defeated the Eagles 83-64 in the first meeting between the programs on Dec. 16 of last season, so this will be a rematch for FGCU, hence the "Battle of the Eagles"
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available and will air on ESPN3. The commentary at Oral Roberts will be led by play-by-play commentator and color commentator.
In addition, the game will also be featured in audio on 107.9 MHZ or KRXO 1270 AM (The Franchise), led by Adam Hildebrandt.
Fans can also keep up on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_MBB
Oral Roberts: @ORUMBB
ESPN+:
FGCU will air on the subscription-based digital platform ESPN+, the new home for all A-SUN sports. Subscribers can try the new app for free for 30 days, which follows to $4.99 a month fee afterwards.
Livestats link: http://www.oruathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2018-19/boxscores/20181205_pyeu.xml
ESPN3 link: http://www.espn.com/watch
Radio Link: http://player.listenlive.co/48101
Raining 3s @ St. Francis Preview
The FGCU women's basketball team (5-2) briefly head on the road as they travel to face St. Francis (2-4) on Wednesday, December 5 at 5 p.m. at the DeGol Arena in Loretto, Pennsylvania.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles are coming off of a 76-71 game at home against Houston on Wednesday, November 28. This will be the Eagles' third road trip of the season. The win was head coach Karl Smesko's 501st win of his career as he remains the third highest active winning coach in the nation
Leading the way for the Eagles is redshirt junior Keri Jewett-Giles and junior Nasrin Ulel.
Since transferring from Southern Miss, Jewett-Giles has led the Eagles on the tear. The hometown hero of Ft. Myers is averaging 15.7 points per game, along with 2.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Jewett-Giles had 14 points, three rebounds and five assists
Ulel is averaging 14.6 points per game. In five straight games, she has scored at least 10 points or higher. The Murrieta, California native had 17 points and three rebounds.
Redshirt senior Lisa Zderadicka has also been a key factor for the Eagles offensively. Zderadicka is averaging 10.3 points and leads the team in steals (12). The Vienna, Austria native had 15 points and one steal against Houston.
Although she's had some foul trouble recently, junior Tytionia Adderly is still averaging 6.6 rebounds per game. In her last game against Houston, Adderly had eight rebounds with two being on the offensive end before fouling out.
With her two offensive rebounds against Houston, the Jupiter native has 252 in her career, and already passed Adrianne McNally (240, 2006-10) for second all-time and is 78 away from passing Sarah Hansen (329, 2010-14) as the all-time leader in career offensive rebounds.
Adderly's eight rebounds passed Courtney Chihil (603, 2008-12) for fifth all-time as she became the sixth player in program history to record at least 600 career rebounds.
Off the bench, it's been redshirt sophomore Chandler Ryan and redshirt senior Destiny Washington that have helped balance the bench.
Ryan was named A-SUN Player of the Week as a result of her performance as she had one of her best games against Houston, finishing with a career-high 19 points with 12 being behind the arc. Ryan is averaging 8.9 points per game and leads the team in three pointers made (18).
“Chandler really came up big for us against Houston," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "It wasn't just her offense. She really competed on the defensive end, as well."
Washington has been on roll defensively. The Ball State/Loyola Chicago transfer, who earned her first start of the season as an Eagle, is averaging 5.3 points per game, leads the team in blocks (10) and is second in rebounds per game (5). Washington finished with four points, seven rebounds and two blocks against Houston.
Two other players that have been effective off the bench are sophomore Alyssa Blair and redshirt sophomore Kerstie Phills.
Blair is averaging 5.1 points per game. In the game against Houston, Blair had two points and two rebounds.
Starting six of the team's seven games, Phills is averaging 4.7 points per game. Although she was held scoreless, Phills was able to get two rebounds and an assist against Houston.
Among The Nation's Best:
FGCU will enter Wednesday ranked among the top 50 teams in the nation in:
Fewest turnovers per game - 28th, 13.3
Scoring offense - 30th, 80.7
Assist/turnover ratio - 40th, 1.13
Fewest turnovers - 48th, 93
Field goal percentage - 49th, 45.0
In addition, the Eagles are ranked 13th in the CollegeInsider.com Top 25 Mid-Major Poll.
Scouting Saint Francis:
The Red Flash are coming off of a 73-93 loss to Duquesne at home and a 91-88 win against Longwood University on the road. The Red Flash's first win was against DII Seton Hill (86-74).
Offensively, senior Jess Kovatch and sophomore Karson Swogger lead the team. Kovatch had 20 points against Duquesne and was 7-7 at the free throw line while against Longwood, she had 22 points.
Kovatch is averaging 17.2 points while also being named a senior candidate for the 2018-19 Senior CLASS Award. The award honors a student-athlete who must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. Kovatch is one of thirty NCAA women's basketball student-athletes and the only Northeast Conference player selected as a candidate today.
Swogger is averaging 12 points per game. She had 21 points against Duquesne and was 5-7 at the three point line and 17 points and five rebounds against Longwood.
Senior Courtney Zezza has also been effective for the Red Flash as she averages five rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game while scoring 8.5 points per game. Zezza had four points, eight rebounds and three blocks against Duquesne while against Longwood she had 18 points and four rebounds.
Series History:
This will be the second time both teams play each other. The first time was on December 20, 2013 where the Eagles defeated the Red Flash 75-68 at the Alico Arena when assistant coach Jenna Cobb, now Ohio assistant coach Stephanie Haas and professional player Whitney Knight were playing.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available and will air on NEC Front Row. The commentators for the game will be Bernie Jubeck and Matt Popelka.
Fans can also keep up on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_WBB
Saint Francis: @RedFlashWBB
For Saint Francis, they will be doing Toys for Tots Day as they give back to the community with a toy drive for kids.
ESPN+:
FGCU will air on the subscription-based digital platform ESPN+, the new home for all A-SUN sports. Subscribers can try the new app for free for 30 days, which follows to $4.99 a month fee afterwards.
Livestats Link: https://sfuathletics.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
Livestream link: http://necfrontrow.com/webcast.php/SFPA-5956/
Audio Link: https://www.iheart.com/live/the-sports-animal-1390-2760/
Last Time Out:
The Eagles are coming off of a 76-71 game at home against Houston on Wednesday, November 28. This will be the Eagles' third road trip of the season. The win was head coach Karl Smesko's 501st win of his career as he remains the third highest active winning coach in the nation
Since transferring from Southern Miss, Jewett-Giles has led the Eagles on the tear. The hometown hero of Ft. Myers is averaging 15.7 points per game, along with 2.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Jewett-Giles had 14 points, three rebounds and five assists
Ulel is averaging 14.6 points per game. In five straight games, she has scored at least 10 points or higher. The Murrieta, California native had 17 points and three rebounds.
Redshirt senior Lisa Zderadicka has also been a key factor for the Eagles offensively. Zderadicka is averaging 10.3 points and leads the team in steals (12). The Vienna, Austria native had 15 points and one steal against Houston.
Although she's had some foul trouble recently, junior Tytionia Adderly is still averaging 6.6 rebounds per game. In her last game against Houston, Adderly had eight rebounds with two being on the offensive end before fouling out.
With her two offensive rebounds against Houston, the Jupiter native has 252 in her career, and already passed Adrianne McNally (240, 2006-10) for second all-time and is 78 away from passing Sarah Hansen (329, 2010-14) as the all-time leader in career offensive rebounds.
Adderly's eight rebounds passed Courtney Chihil (603, 2008-12) for fifth all-time as she became the sixth player in program history to record at least 600 career rebounds.
Off the bench, it's been redshirt sophomore Chandler Ryan and redshirt senior Destiny Washington that have helped balance the bench.
Ryan was named A-SUN Player of the Week as a result of her performance as she had one of her best games against Houston, finishing with a career-high 19 points with 12 being behind the arc. Ryan is averaging 8.9 points per game and leads the team in three pointers made (18).
“Chandler really came up big for us against Houston," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "It wasn't just her offense. She really competed on the defensive end, as well."
Washington has been on roll defensively. The Ball State/Loyola Chicago transfer, who earned her first start of the season as an Eagle, is averaging 5.3 points per game, leads the team in blocks (10) and is second in rebounds per game (5). Washington finished with four points, seven rebounds and two blocks against Houston.
Two other players that have been effective off the bench are sophomore Alyssa Blair and redshirt sophomore Kerstie Phills.
Blair is averaging 5.1 points per game. In the game against Houston, Blair had two points and two rebounds.
Starting six of the team's seven games, Phills is averaging 4.7 points per game. Although she was held scoreless, Phills was able to get two rebounds and an assist against Houston.
Among The Nation's Best:
FGCU will enter Wednesday ranked among the top 50 teams in the nation in:
Fewest turnovers per game - 28th, 13.3
Scoring offense - 30th, 80.7
Assist/turnover ratio - 40th, 1.13
Fewest turnovers - 48th, 93
Field goal percentage - 49th, 45.0
In addition, the Eagles are ranked 13th in the CollegeInsider.com Top 25 Mid-Major Poll.
The Red Flash are coming off of a 73-93 loss to Duquesne at home and a 91-88 win against Longwood University on the road. The Red Flash's first win was against DII Seton Hill (86-74).
Offensively, senior Jess Kovatch and sophomore Karson Swogger lead the team. Kovatch had 20 points against Duquesne and was 7-7 at the free throw line while against Longwood, she had 22 points.
Kovatch is averaging 17.2 points while also being named a senior candidate for the 2018-19 Senior CLASS Award. The award honors a student-athlete who must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. Kovatch is one of thirty NCAA women's basketball student-athletes and the only Northeast Conference player selected as a candidate today.
Senior Courtney Zezza has also been effective for the Red Flash as she averages five rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game while scoring 8.5 points per game. Zezza had four points, eight rebounds and three blocks against Duquesne while against Longwood she had 18 points and four rebounds.
Series History:
This will be the second time both teams play each other. The first time was on December 20, 2013 where the Eagles defeated the Red Flash 75-68 at the Alico Arena when assistant coach Jenna Cobb, now Ohio assistant coach Stephanie Haas and professional player Whitney Knight were playing.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available and will air on NEC Front Row. The commentators for the game will be Bernie Jubeck and Matt Popelka.
Fans can also keep up on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_WBB
Saint Francis: @RedFlashWBB
For Saint Francis, they will be doing Toys for Tots Day as they give back to the community with a toy drive for kids.
ESPN+:
FGCU will air on the subscription-based digital platform ESPN+, the new home for all A-SUN sports. Subscribers can try the new app for free for 30 days, which follows to $4.99 a month fee afterwards.
Livestats Link: https://sfuathletics.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
Livestream link: http://necfrontrow.com/webcast.php/SFPA-5956/
Audio Link: https://www.iheart.com/live/the-sports-animal-1390-2760/
FGCU MBB vs Colgate Recap
The FGCU men's basketball team (2-8) dropped a 74-56 decision to Colgate (6-3) Sunday afternoon inside Alico Arena.
The Eagles were led by a season-best performance from freshman Zach Scott, who dropped 13 points off the bench. He also added five rebounds, four steals and a pair of assists.
Junior RaySean Scott, Jr. followed up his monster 12-point, 14-rebound effort from Wednesday with a solid 11-point, nine-rebound outing against the Raiders as he works to return from injury.
Colgate received a double-double from junior Rapolas Ivanauska, who finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan Burns posted a game-high 19 points, and Will Rayman added 11.
"Colgate is a really good team, but we came out a little flat. That's something we are going to work to improve on going forward," FGCU coach Michael Fly said. "Zach did some really positive things for a freshman. He's earned more playing time because he's playing with effort."
"I was extremely proud of our determination and discipline coming off a tough loss Friday night and a quick turnaround today," said Colgate head coach Matt Langel. "We were locked in on defense and shared the ball extremely well."
FGCU shot 32.4 percent (23-for-71) overall, 19.2 percent (5-for-26) from behind the 3-point line and 62.5 percent (5-for-8) at the free-throw line. The Raiders finished with a 44.8 percent (26-for-58) shooting clip overall, 36.8 percent (7-for-19) from distance and 78.9 percent (15-for-19) at the charity stripe.
The contest was a back-and-forth affair through the opening 10 minutes, as the visitors carried a singular 16-15 advantage. The Eagles hit a cold spell for the remainder of the half, as the Raiders were able to use a 14-2 run to build a 30-17 lead. A putback layup from Scott at the end of the opening 20 minutes pushed the first-half score to 30-19 in favor of the visitors.
FGCU hung tough in the early stages of the second half, whittling the deficit down to 12 at 40-28 with 16 minutes remaining in the contest. The home side hit another wall, however, as Colgate went on a 25-6 run to create a 31-point gap. The Eagles had plenty of open looks throughout the contest, but just could not get shots to fall.
A ferocious full-court press in the final five minutes helped FGCU go on a 22-7 run of its own to cut the deficit down to the final 18-point margin.
Up Next:
FGCU heads to the Midwest for a bout with Oral Roberts that will serve as a return trip from last year's meeting in Fort Myers. The game is slated for an 8 p.m. tip Dec. 5 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. ORU defeated the Eagles 83-64 in the first meeting between the programs on Dec. 16 of last season.
The Eagles were led by a season-best performance from freshman Zach Scott, who dropped 13 points off the bench. He also added five rebounds, four steals and a pair of assists.
Junior RaySean Scott, Jr. followed up his monster 12-point, 14-rebound effort from Wednesday with a solid 11-point, nine-rebound outing against the Raiders as he works to return from injury.
Colgate received a double-double from junior Rapolas Ivanauska, who finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan Burns posted a game-high 19 points, and Will Rayman added 11.
"Colgate is a really good team, but we came out a little flat. That's something we are going to work to improve on going forward," FGCU coach Michael Fly said. "Zach did some really positive things for a freshman. He's earned more playing time because he's playing with effort."
"I was extremely proud of our determination and discipline coming off a tough loss Friday night and a quick turnaround today," said Colgate head coach Matt Langel. "We were locked in on defense and shared the ball extremely well."
FGCU shot 32.4 percent (23-for-71) overall, 19.2 percent (5-for-26) from behind the 3-point line and 62.5 percent (5-for-8) at the free-throw line. The Raiders finished with a 44.8 percent (26-for-58) shooting clip overall, 36.8 percent (7-for-19) from distance and 78.9 percent (15-for-19) at the charity stripe.
The contest was a back-and-forth affair through the opening 10 minutes, as the visitors carried a singular 16-15 advantage. The Eagles hit a cold spell for the remainder of the half, as the Raiders were able to use a 14-2 run to build a 30-17 lead. A putback layup from Scott at the end of the opening 20 minutes pushed the first-half score to 30-19 in favor of the visitors.
FGCU hung tough in the early stages of the second half, whittling the deficit down to 12 at 40-28 with 16 minutes remaining in the contest. The home side hit another wall, however, as Colgate went on a 25-6 run to create a 31-point gap. The Eagles had plenty of open looks throughout the contest, but just could not get shots to fall.
A ferocious full-court press in the final five minutes helped FGCU go on a 22-7 run of its own to cut the deficit down to the final 18-point margin.
Up Next:
FGCU heads to the Midwest for a bout with Oral Roberts that will serve as a return trip from last year's meeting in Fort Myers. The game is slated for an 8 p.m. tip Dec. 5 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. ORU defeated the Eagles 83-64 in the first meeting between the programs on Dec. 16 of last season.
FGCU MBB vs Colgate Preview
The FGCU men's basketball team (2-7) is set to play host to Colgate (5-3) out of the Patriot League at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 2 inside Alico Arena.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles suffered their fifth-straight loss of the season in a narrow 81-80 setback to Florida International (7-1) this past Wednesday inside Alico Arena, and are looking to end a five-game losing streak
FGCU shot 47.6 percent from the field as Florida International connected on nearly 50 percent of its shots. Redshirt junior Brady Ernst led FGCU with a career-high 15 points.
Junior RaySean Scott, Jr. had a career-high 14 rebounds and added 12 points for the first double-double of his career.
Scouting Colgate:
Last Time Out:
The Eagles suffered their fifth-straight loss of the season in a narrow 81-80 setback to Florida International (7-1) this past Wednesday inside Alico Arena, and are looking to end a five-game losing streak
FGCU shot 47.6 percent from the field as Florida International connected on nearly 50 percent of its shots. Redshirt junior Brady Ernst led FGCU with a career-high 15 points.
Junior RaySean Scott, Jr. had a career-high 14 rebounds and added 12 points for the first double-double of his career.
Scouting Colgate:
This will be the first time both teams will face each other. The Raiders are coming off of a 73-63 loss to USF in Tampa.
Sophomore Jordan Burns led the Raiders in the loss to USF as he finished with 17 points and leads the team with 16.6 points per game.
Another player for the Raiders that has been a factor is junior Rapolas Ivanauskas. Ivanauskas is averaging 16.1 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. The Lithuanian had 14 points and seven rebounds against USF and had a double-double in all but two games (@Syracuse and @USF)
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available and will air on ESPN+. The commentary at FGCU will be led by by play-by-play commentator Tom James and color commentator J. Webb Horton.
Fans can also keep up on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_MBB
Colgate: @ColgateMBB
Promotions:
The theme for Sunday's game will be Deck the Nest as the Eagles will hold a toy drive and Eagle Reading.
ESPN+:
FGCU will air on the subscription-based digital platform ESPN+, the new home for all A-SUN sports. Subscribers can try the new app for free for 30 days, which follows to $4.99 a month fee afterwards.
Livestats link: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=238814
ESPN+ link: http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/68ace327-e982-4d27-bb00-e60b9ca42c8f/colgate-vs-florida-gulf-coast
Livestats will be available and will air on ESPN+. The commentary at FGCU will be led by by play-by-play commentator Tom James and color commentator J. Webb Horton.
Fans can also keep up on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_MBB
Colgate: @ColgateMBB
Promotions:
The theme for Sunday's game will be Deck the Nest as the Eagles will hold a toy drive and Eagle Reading.
ESPN+:
FGCU will air on the subscription-based digital platform ESPN+, the new home for all A-SUN sports. Subscribers can try the new app for free for 30 days, which follows to $4.99 a month fee afterwards.
Livestats link: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=238814
ESPN+ link: http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/68ace327-e982-4d27-bb00-e60b9ca42c8f/colgate-vs-florida-gulf-coast
FGCU VB: National Tournament Second Round Recap
And the Cinderella story has come to an end for the FGCU volleyball team (27-7) as they were shutout by #16 Florida (26-6) 3-0 (17-25, 13-25, 17-25) at the Venue at UCF in Orlando. With the win for the Gators, they advance to the Sweet 16 while the season for the Eagles has ended, but what an incredible journey they had this season. I'm very proud of them and what they've done.
"I thought Florida played tremendously well," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "They served the ball great. That was really the story of the match and put us in some pretty big holes pretty early in each of those sets. I was really impressed with that. I don't think we were as prepared for that facet of their game, and they did it extremely well. We knew they were going to be big and physical at the net, but I thought the way they managed from the service line and their first contact had us on our heels from the beginning."
"After Friday and Sunday matches, when we're on the floor doing autographs, we are meeting people from all over the state," said head coach Mary Wise. Maybe there were many Gators fans that did not have to travel that far. This is a great venue for volleyball – the size of it. Credit Gator Nation for the atmosphere this evening."
Offensively, it was sophomore Cortney VanLiew that led the Eagles offensively as she finished with 12 kills and five digs. With her 12 kills, VanLiew ended her sophomore year with 790 career kills and remains 10 shy of becoming the seventh Eagle to reach 800, and with her five digs, she finished with 535.
Fellow sophomore Snowy Burnam finished behind VanLiew with seven kills, four digs and a block. With her seven kills, Burnam ends her sophomore year with 446 in her career.
Senior Maggie Rick and freshman Chelsea Lockey finished with 12 assists each. Rick added five digs while Lockey added two. For Rick, she ends her career with 4,540 career assists and 834 career digs, while Lockey ends with 475 assists for the season. In the end, Rick's 4,540 is good for fifth all-time in the A-SUN Volleyball record books.
"I'm incredibly proud of my teammates," said Rick. "I think all season, since the first day, we worked so hard to accomplish our goals, winning the conference tournament and getting to the NCAA tournament was a huge goal for us. The fact that we were able to not only meet that goal, but exceed it is incredible and I'm so proud of my teammates."
Senior Sharonda Pickering finished with six kills, a dig and a blocks and ended her senior year in the top five in the nation in hitting percentage (.419), which breaks the program's single-season record previously held by Cara Ziegler (.416, 2007). She fell just shy of Ziegler's (.403, 2006-07) career record, though, and finished her career at .399.
Junior Giovanna "Giogio" Borgiotti finished with two kills and ended her junior campaign with 495 career kills and remains five shy of becoming the 16th player to reach 500 career kills.
Fellow junior Dani Serrano was held to one kill and one block. Serrano finishes her junior year with 614 career kills, 309 block assists and 363 total blocks.
Seniors Karissa Rhoades (one dig) and Kaiti Krivdo (one kill and two blocks) ended their senior years with their final contributions. For Rhoades, her last dig was her 877th. For Krivdo, she finishes 14th all-time in career block assists (129) and total blocks (139).
Defensively, freshman Dana Axner finished with 17 digs, two assists and an ace. Axner ends her freshman year as the all-time single season record holder for most digs in a single season (624, 5.20 per set). In addition, Axner passed Jelena Simic (615, 2009, 2011) for 13th all-time in career digs.
Freshman Tori Morris also contributed with a solo block.
"Our players would have liked to have performed at a higher level in an environment like this, but I know they gave everything they had," Botsford said. "We just didn't execute. I'm certainly proud of the effort and trying to take a step back and reflect on the job they've done all season and really celebrate that."
For the Gators, it was sophomore Paige Hammons that took most of the reins on offense. Hammons finished with 14 kills, eight digs, an ace and a block.
Junior Rachael Kramer finished with seven kills, an ace and two blocks.
"This crowd was great," said Kramer. "It honestly felt like a home match. You look around and just see Orange & Blue throughout the entire stadium. I cannot thank Gator Nation enough for them to come down all the way to Orlando. That is what pushed us over the edge this weekend – their support was incredible."
Redshirt sophomore Holly Carlton finished behind Hammons with nine kills, five blocks and two assists.
Assisting-wise, the Monserez sisters, redshirt senior Marlie and freshman Allie, had a combined 34 assists (14 for Marlie, 20 for Allie).
"I thought Florida played tremendously well," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "They served the ball great. That was really the story of the match and put us in some pretty big holes pretty early in each of those sets. I was really impressed with that. I don't think we were as prepared for that facet of their game, and they did it extremely well. We knew they were going to be big and physical at the net, but I thought the way they managed from the service line and their first contact had us on our heels from the beginning."
"After Friday and Sunday matches, when we're on the floor doing autographs, we are meeting people from all over the state," said head coach Mary Wise. Maybe there were many Gators fans that did not have to travel that far. This is a great venue for volleyball – the size of it. Credit Gator Nation for the atmosphere this evening."
Offensively, it was sophomore Cortney VanLiew that led the Eagles offensively as she finished with 12 kills and five digs. With her 12 kills, VanLiew ended her sophomore year with 790 career kills and remains 10 shy of becoming the seventh Eagle to reach 800, and with her five digs, she finished with 535.
Fellow sophomore Snowy Burnam finished behind VanLiew with seven kills, four digs and a block. With her seven kills, Burnam ends her sophomore year with 446 in her career.
Senior Maggie Rick and freshman Chelsea Lockey finished with 12 assists each. Rick added five digs while Lockey added two. For Rick, she ends her career with 4,540 career assists and 834 career digs, while Lockey ends with 475 assists for the season. In the end, Rick's 4,540 is good for fifth all-time in the A-SUN Volleyball record books.
"I'm incredibly proud of my teammates," said Rick. "I think all season, since the first day, we worked so hard to accomplish our goals, winning the conference tournament and getting to the NCAA tournament was a huge goal for us. The fact that we were able to not only meet that goal, but exceed it is incredible and I'm so proud of my teammates."
Senior Sharonda Pickering finished with six kills, a dig and a blocks and ended her senior year in the top five in the nation in hitting percentage (.419), which breaks the program's single-season record previously held by Cara Ziegler (.416, 2007). She fell just shy of Ziegler's (.403, 2006-07) career record, though, and finished her career at .399.
Junior Giovanna "Giogio" Borgiotti finished with two kills and ended her junior campaign with 495 career kills and remains five shy of becoming the 16th player to reach 500 career kills.
Fellow junior Dani Serrano was held to one kill and one block. Serrano finishes her junior year with 614 career kills, 309 block assists and 363 total blocks.
Seniors Karissa Rhoades (one dig) and Kaiti Krivdo (one kill and two blocks) ended their senior years with their final contributions. For Rhoades, her last dig was her 877th. For Krivdo, she finishes 14th all-time in career block assists (129) and total blocks (139).
Defensively, freshman Dana Axner finished with 17 digs, two assists and an ace. Axner ends her freshman year as the all-time single season record holder for most digs in a single season (624, 5.20 per set). In addition, Axner passed Jelena Simic (615, 2009, 2011) for 13th all-time in career digs.
Freshman Tori Morris also contributed with a solo block.
"Our players would have liked to have performed at a higher level in an environment like this, but I know they gave everything they had," Botsford said. "We just didn't execute. I'm certainly proud of the effort and trying to take a step back and reflect on the job they've done all season and really celebrate that."
For the Gators, it was sophomore Paige Hammons that took most of the reins on offense. Hammons finished with 14 kills, eight digs, an ace and a block.
Junior Rachael Kramer finished with seven kills, an ace and two blocks.
"This crowd was great," said Kramer. "It honestly felt like a home match. You look around and just see Orange & Blue throughout the entire stadium. I cannot thank Gator Nation enough for them to come down all the way to Orlando. That is what pushed us over the edge this weekend – their support was incredible."
Redshirt sophomore Holly Carlton finished behind Hammons with nine kills, five blocks and two assists.
Assisting-wise, the Monserez sisters, redshirt senior Marlie and freshman Allie, had a combined 34 assists (14 for Marlie, 20 for Allie).
"Having our band here was great," said Allie Monserez. "We get to hear all of the chants going, it brings a familiar feeling. It was really awesome."
Junior Allie Gregory finished with 16 digs and two assists.
Early on, FGCU handled any nerves they had pretty well by jumping out to a 7-3 lead. Florida responded with five straight to force a timeout before the teams went back-and-forth with the Gators holding a 15-14 lead midway through the set. At that point, however, four straight kills spurred a 9-1 run for Florida that allowed them to eventually claim the opening set.
The teams exchanged the first four points of the next set, but Florida scored four straight and 14 of the next 19 to seize a 16-7 lead. Following that, they closed the set on a 6-2 run to take a 2-0 lead.
The final set featured a 7-0 run from the Gators late in the set after FGCU pulled within 17-15 on a kill from Burnam. Hammons sent Florida to the round of 16 with the match-winning attack.
FGCU concluded its season by tying the 2016 team's Division-I era single-season wins record. It was their first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history while earning the conference's first tournament win since 2003. Additionally, the team's 16-match winning streak was snapped, but not before tying the Division-I era record - joining the 2012 and 2016 teams.
I'm very proud of what they've accomplish and they did phenomenal this season. For Karissa, Maggie, Kaiti, and Sharonda, thank you for being a great part of the FGCU volleyball team. For Amanda Carroll, be ready for your return next season.
For Coach Botsford, he finishes his fifth season at 116-45 overall and 60-15 in the A-SUN.
For the new players, Aja Jones, Shelby Besiner, Erin Shomaker, and Emma Szypszak, your collegiate journey will begin soon.
Thank you FGCU volleyball for a wonderful season.
Early on, FGCU handled any nerves they had pretty well by jumping out to a 7-3 lead. Florida responded with five straight to force a timeout before the teams went back-and-forth with the Gators holding a 15-14 lead midway through the set. At that point, however, four straight kills spurred a 9-1 run for Florida that allowed them to eventually claim the opening set.
The teams exchanged the first four points of the next set, but Florida scored four straight and 14 of the next 19 to seize a 16-7 lead. Following that, they closed the set on a 6-2 run to take a 2-0 lead.
The final set featured a 7-0 run from the Gators late in the set after FGCU pulled within 17-15 on a kill from Burnam. Hammons sent Florida to the round of 16 with the match-winning attack.
FGCU concluded its season by tying the 2016 team's Division-I era single-season wins record. It was their first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history while earning the conference's first tournament win since 2003. Additionally, the team's 16-match winning streak was snapped, but not before tying the Division-I era record - joining the 2012 and 2016 teams.
I'm very proud of what they've accomplish and they did phenomenal this season. For Karissa, Maggie, Kaiti, and Sharonda, thank you for being a great part of the FGCU volleyball team. For Amanda Carroll, be ready for your return next season.
For Coach Botsford, he finishes his fifth season at 116-45 overall and 60-15 in the A-SUN.
For the new players, Aja Jones, Shelby Besiner, Erin Shomaker, and Emma Szypszak, your collegiate journey will begin soon.
Thank you FGCU volleyball for a wonderful season.
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