The FGCU women’s basketball team soars to its 15th consecutive win and a 13-0 record in ASUN conference play after beating the North Florida Ospreys, 78-49, at home on Wednesday, Feb. 12.
“All of these games from here on out are going to start getting harder and harder,” FGCU coach Chelsea Lyles said. “You just have to continue focusing on the things that got you there and making sure that we’re executing and playing well down the stretch.”
Guard Lauryn Taylor led the Eagles (22-3), scoring 18 points on perfect 8-for-8 shooting with seven rebounds and three steals. Guard Emani Jefferson also stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, two assists and three rebounds of her own. FGCU managed to end the game with four players scoring in double figures.
For a team that had shot just 30.1% from three-point range over its last five games, the Eagles came out on firing. They shot 5-for-8 (62%) from three in the first quarter. A strong shooting quarter led to a 25-13 lead for FGCU at the end of the first.
Ball movement and strong interior play helped the Eagles stretch their lead quickly. In the first quarter, the team also racked up seven assists and 10 points inside the paint. The Ospreys (4-22) could not get any momentum going offensively, largely thanks to FGCU’s activity in the passing lanes and effective on-ball defense.
That activity in the passing lanes and effective on-ball defense fueled FGCU’s dominant second quarter, in which the team outscored North Florida 20-6. By halftime, the Eagles forced 11 turnovers, which resulted in 21 points off turnovers and 15 points off fast breaks. The Eagles continued to shoot efficiently, scoring 26 points in the paint en route to a 45-19 halftime lead.
“That’s just something that we’ve been focusing on,” Lyles said. “Especially after last week’s games, we feel like we could have made more plays. So we went in, watched the film, saw where we were making mistakes and then it was an emphasis for this week.”
The Eagles’ second half resembled much of their first half with efficient shooting from the field and dominance in the paint, extending their lead to 36 points. They dominated UNF in almost every aspect of the box score.
FGCU out-rebounded the Ospreys 32-23, had 11 fewer turnovers, more steals, more assists and shot 34-for-63 (54%) from the field compared to UNF’s 16-for-41 (39%). They showcased the ability to dominate teams in the paint while still shooting efficiently from beyond the arc.
“It’s very important that we’re, you know, getting layups, getting threes, everybody’s feeling confident with their shot going into March,” Lyles said. “It was really good to have multiple people play and multiple people play well.”
FGCU will look to extend its unbeaten streak to 16 games when it takes on the Stetson Hatters at Alico Arena on Saturday, Feb. 15.
