The Florida Gulf Coast University women’s basketball team has now won 15 consecutive games following last weekend’s victories over Lipscomb and Northern Kentucky University. They Eagles improved to 20-2 on the season and 7-0 in the A-Sun.
Against Lipscomb, the Eagles were able to come away with a 71-49 win behind 42.9 percent shooting from the field and 34.4 percent from behind the line. Whitney Knight added 18 points while also grabbing eight rebounds and setting a season high with seven blocks.
FGCU managed to get its lead to double-digits just midway through the first half.  Tight defense all night held the Bisons to just 31.1 percent shooting and caused 20 turnovers the Eagles were able to convert into points.
Though both teams got off to a slow start, the Eagles defense held on long enough for the offense to pick up their slack leading to the first-half run that would give them the lead for the remainder of the game.
The next day, the Eagles traveled to Northern Kentucky, where they would win, 67-46. FGCU shooting struggled this game as they only were able to land 39.3 percent of their shots.
The lead changed hands multiple times in the first half but the Eagles took control going into the break. A 21-4 run for FGCU midway through the second half gave them control for the remainder of the game.
Four double-digit scorers and 10 3-pointers made helped lead the Eagles to their 15th straight win, the nation’s sixth-best win streak. Stephanie Haas added 14 points as well as a career-high eight rebounds. Kaneisha Atwater and Jenna Cobb both contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Knight dropped 18 points for the second-straight game with nine rebounds and recorded her 1,000th career point early in the first half. On top of a milestone scoring performance, she added three blocks and three steals. Knight’s performance earned her a third A-Sun Women’s Basketball Player of the Week award.
“Whitney is a great player and to get 1,000 points by her junior year shows what type of offensive player she is,” coach Karl Smesko told FGCU Athletics. “She made a huge difference for us today. She got us started early with a couple threes and she made a difference on the defensive end as well. We’re really excited for her to reach this milestone and we’re happy it came in a hard-fought win.”
The Eagles return to action to begin the second half of A-Sun play on Saturday in DeLand against Stetson University (16-5, 5-2). The game will begin at 7 p.m. and will be part of a men’s/women’s double-header with FGCU.