FGCU WBB runs off with 60-37 win at Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (FGCU ATHLETICS) – In its first road contest of the Atlantic Sun slate, the FGCU women’s basketball team pulled away with a 60-37 win over Jacksonville University Saturday night with a strong all-around effort in the second half. With the victory at Swisher Gymnasium, the Eagles improve to 16-2 on the year and 3-0 in conference play. As losers in FGCU’s 11-striaght win, the Dolphins fall to 6-10 on the season and 1-2 on A-Sun action.

After holding a narrow lead at halftime, the Eagles opened the second half with a 10-2 run to take control in Jacksonville. FGCU used eight long-range shots in the second half and strong defensive pressure to maintain control and increased the lead to a game-high 23 points with a 15-point run late in the game.

“Jacksonville was very physical and very aggressive and we had to match their physicality if we were going to be successful,” said head coach Karl Smesko of the team’s 14th win in its last 15 outings. “I thought we did a better job of that in the second half. I thought we did a great job defending in the second half as we didn’t give up open shots and we made more defensive plays which allowed us to get into conversion and get some easy baskets. I give Jacksonville credit. They were ready to play today and they were tough.”

Junior Kaneisha Atwater (Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce Westwood High School/VCU) led the team with 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists on the night with five of the team’s eight made shots from the free-throw line. DyTiesha Dunson (Albany, Ga./Westover High School) and Jenna Cobb (New Holland, Ohio/Miami Trace High School/Butler) also contributed double figures for the Green and Blue with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

As a unit, the Eagles shot 39.6 percent from the field with a 40 percent clip from 3-point range. FGCU scored 70 percent of its points from beyond-the-arc, while holding the Dolphins to 36.6 percent overall. The Eagles outrebounded JU 31-26 and forced 19 Dolphin turnovers. FGCU scored 26 points on the Dolphin miscues.

Back in the starting lineup for the first time since Dec. 6, Dunson opened the matchup in Jacksonville with two 3-point buckets in the opening minutes. Coupled with a layup from Atwater, the Eagles used the baskets to take an 8-2 lead in the first three minutes but were quickly met with retaliation. The Dolphins responded with a seven-point run and held the Eagles scoreless over a period of nearly seven minutes. Despite grabbing a handful of offensive rebounds, the Eagles recorded two turnovers and missed eight shots during the drought.

After seeing Jacksonville take the lead at 9-8 with a drive to the right side, the Eagles reclaimed the advantage as Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wisc./Cudahy High School) kicked out to Cobb at the top of the arc. Cobb’s long-range shot pushed FGCU ahead 11-9 but again the lead was short lived as JU sank back-to-back 3-pointers to go ahead 15-11 near the midway point in the half.

Cobb increased the defensive intensity for the Eagles and took a charge with 8:40 to go before cutting the deficit to one point with another 3-point shot. Dunson followed with a jumper to take back the lead for FGCU at 15-14, but the Eagles and Dolphins traded the lead four times over the next five minutes, with neither team taking more than a two-point lead.

With 3:30 left to play, Atwater was fouled off the ball but sank both shots on a one-and-one situation to give FGCU a 21-19 advantage. After a quick JU turnover, the Eagles got the ball back and dished to Cobb in the left corner. Cobb sank her third perimeter shot of the game with three minutes to play to give FGCU its largest lead since the opening minutes at 24-19.

Jacksonville ended the half with back-to-back layups to cut the Eagle lead but the Green and Blue maintained the advantage and went into the break with a one-point lead.

Gradinjan opened the half for the Eagles, pushing the score to 27-23 on a 3-pointer right away. The teams traded looks but after a traditional 3-point play and a steal and fast-break layup combo, both from Atwater, the Eagles claimed a 32-25 advantage with 14 minutes left in the game. On the Eagles’ next possession, junior Katie Meador (Salem, Ill./Salem Community High School) clocked her first points of the game with a layup and forced Jacksonville into a timeout as FGCU led 34-25.

The Dolphins sparked a small run to cut their deficit to four points at the halfway point of the second stanza but an Atwater long-range shot brought the score to 40-33 and set a run in motion for the Eagles.

After Atwater’s perimeter shot, the Eagles used buckets from Cobb, Whitney Knight (Winston-Salem, N.C./R.J. Reynolds High School) and Stephanie Haas (Avon Lake, Ohio/Magnificat High School) to create a 15-point run and break open the lead.

The final make of the run, a 3-pointer from Knight near the five-minute mark, increased the lead to 52-33. JU added four points in the remaining minutes but another 3-pointer from Dunson and one final long-ball from senior Anthi Chatzigiakoumi (Athens, Greece/General Senior High School of Kallithea) moved the FGCU lead to the final tally of 23 points.

With a win streak of 11 games, the Eagles will return to Alico Arena for a two-game series next week. FGCU will welcome USC Upstate for a Thursday evening contest before taking on Kennesaw State Saturday at 7 p.m.