FGCU women win Hawk Classic, improve to 12-2

PHILADELPHIA – In another close battle, the FGCU women’s basketball team defeated Quinnipiac University 71-65 Monday afternoon at Saint Joseph’s Hagan Arena as part of the 2014 Hawk Classic. With the win, the Eagles secured the tournament championship and moved to 12-2 on the season, while the Bobcats took second place and fell to 10-3.

The Bobcats, who entered the game ranked 26th in the official RPI, maintained control for the majority of the game and led the Eagles for 20 minutes in Philadelphia. Quinnipiac maintained a five-point advantage with eight minutes to play but with a 9-1 run over just two minutes, the Eagles reclaimed the lead and held onto the momentum through the end of the contest. FGCU sank 13-of-14 free throws in the final four minutes to seal the six-point victory and earn its second tournament crown this season. The Eagles entered the game ranked 22nd in the RPI.

Kaneisha Atwater (Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce Westwood High School/VCU) led the team with 23 points on the day and was in turn named Tournament MVP, while Whitney Knight (Winston-Salem, N.C./R.J. Reynolds High School) added 16 points and 11 rebounds for her third double-double of the season and also earned a position on the All-Tournament Team. Senior Anthi Chatzigiakoumi (Athens, Greece/General Senior High School of Kallithea) contributed double figures to the Eagles’ total with 11 points in 19 minutes on the court. Knight’s 11 boards and four assists were also team bests.

As a unit, the Eagles recorded their lowest shooting percentage of the season at 33.3 percent with just four made shots from the perimeter but went 27-for-34 from the free-throw line and outrebounded the Bobcats 47-35.

“I give Quinnipiac a lot of credit. Their game plan was to not give us any good looks on the perimeter and they did a great job defensively,” said head coach Karl Smesko. “To win a game where we didn’t shoot the three very well is tough to do. We had to get to the foul line and do some other things. Overall, it’s a great win and we’re happy to get out of here with a tournament championship.”

The teams traded baskets to open the contest before the Bobcats pulled ahead 9-4 with a five-point streak. Sparked by two free throws from junior Stephanie Haas (Avon Lake, Ohio/Magnificat High School), the Eagles produced their own five-point run to tie the contest before Knight’s first 3-pointer gave the Green and Blue the lead with 12 minutes to play in the half.

FGCU’s lead was short lived as the Bobcats used a jumper to reclaim the advantage and turned the bucket into a 13-2 run to take their largest lead of the game at 23-14. Chatzigiakoumi stopped the QU streak with a drive to the left side of the rim before classmate Jenna Cobb (New Holland, Ohio/Miami Trace High School/Butler) contributed with a 3-pointer from the right side. The duo’s combination cut the deficit to four points with fewer than five minutes to play and set up a run to end the half.

QU added two free throws in the final four minutes but the Eagles outscored their opposition 7-2 in that span to reclaim control. With two minutes left to play, Atwater tied the game at 27 on a layup and banked in a shot at the buzzer to push the Eagles ahead at the break.

After holding a 29-27 lead at halftime, the Eagles allowed the Bobcats to tie the contest right out of the gates. The teams traded the lead eight times in the second stanza and tied at 29, 32, 38, 40 and 42 points early in the second half. The Bobcats used a seven-point run midway through the half to take a 52-47 lead, the largest of either team after the break.

The Eagles responded to the deficit with strong defensive pressure and held the Bobcats without a field goal for over five minutes of action as time wound down. The span allowed the Eagles to produce a 14-1 run that included back-to-back buckets from Chatzigiakoumi and five points from Atwater to take back the lead with three minutes to play.

While holding a 61-53 advantage, the Eagles allowed QU to cut the deficit to four points with 2:41 on the clock but stopped their 3-point attempt at the two-minute mark. After four made free throws from Knight, the Bobcats sank two consecutive 3-pointers to bring the score to 65-63 with 47 seconds left to play.

Atwater was called for two offensive fouls on the team’s next possession but both were overturned after the officials reviewed the plays. The junior went on to pull down two offensive rebounds to burn time off the clock and went to the free-throw line with 24 ticks on the board. Atwater sank both shots to move the score to 67-63 and blocked the Bobcats’ 3-point attempt on the other end to give the Eagles the ball with 14 seconds left to play.

Knight added to her free-throw efficiency with four made shots on four attempts in the last 11 seconds, sealing the victory for the Eagles.

The Eagles will wrap up nonconference action Friday, Jan. 2 at Harvard before heading back to Alico Arena to open Atlantic Sun action against Stetson Jan. 10 as part of a men’s/women’s double header.