FGCU looks to continue success as a 12 seed in NCAA Tournament opener vs. Washington State
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FGCU and Washington State enter this week’s NCAA Women's Tournament playing their best basketball of the season.
The Eagles (32-3), ranked No. 22 in the USA TODAY/Coaches poll, ended Liberty’s 16-game winning streak in resounding fashion with an 84-60 victory in the ASUN championship game, FGCU’s 14th consecutive win.
The Cougars (23-10) capped off the best regular season in their program’s history by beating three top-25 teams – including No. 3 Utah, the highest-ranked opponent WSU has ever defeated – during the Pac-12 tournament, securing the first conference championship for any WSU women’s team sport. The Cougars, who defeated UCLA 65-61 to win the title, are ranked an all-time high No. 22 in the AP poll.
Back to the Big Dance: FGCU women beat Liberty to win ASUN crown, advance to NCAAs
NCAA Tournament: FGCU women get a 12 seed, will face No. 5 Washington State
FGCU coach Karl Smesko, whose teams are 3-8 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and have won their last two first-round games as a No. 12 seed, said WSU presents a big challenge for the Eagles.
“They’re very well coached, they’re very disciplined,” he said. “They have very good shooters, good post presence. They’re a Top 25 team for a reason so we understand that we’re going to have to play a really good game.”
Thanks to its Pac-12 championship run, WSU earned a 5 seed, its highest ever in four NCAA Tournament appearances. For the second consecutive year, FGCU received a 12 seed, one that doesn’t come close to matching the Eagles’ national ranking.
“They’re always underseeded,” Cougars coach Kamie Ethridge said. “I think anyone who knows women’s basketball knows what a job Karl (Smesko) does there. His win percentage is about 85%, he wins about 30 games a year so it’s a tradition-rich program that’s about winning so it’ll be a really difficult matchup for us.
“We just have to expect that in the NCAA Tournament, it’s not like anyone has an easy way and we certainly don’t and we really respect the team that we’re about to face.”
Here are the main storylines that will determine whether it’s FGCU or WSU moving on to the second round.
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Can WSU limit FGCU’s 3-point prowess?
It’s no secret that the 3-pointer is crucial to the Eagles’ success. FGCU’s nation-leading 413 made 3-pointers are 90 more than any other team and are responsible for 45% of the Eagles’ total points. More than half of FGCU’s field goal attempts (53%) this season have come from behind the arc.
WSU was effective in defending the 3-point line, holding opponents to 30.2% shooting from long distance, second-best in the Pac-12. However, Ethridge said the Cougars have to also be aware that if they overplay the 3, the Eagles can make them pay by cashing in at the hoop and the free throw.
“They dribble and drive you to death and they love the 3,” she said. “All five players can shoot it and they score at the rim.”
While FGCU’s offensive style is certainly unique, Ethridge said the ability of any player on the floor to score from both long distance and at the rim is similar to Pac-12 rival Utah.
“Just the makeup of the team where pretty much everyone can shoot it and drive it,” she said. “They’re smaller than most of the Pac-12 schools, I don’t think anyone is over 6-foot but it puts your bigs in a bind because you have to guard them on the perimeter and you have to handle penetrating players who are coming at you without fouling.”
Graduate guard Tishara Morehouse, the ASUN’s Player of the Year and FGCU’s top scorer, best epitomizes the Eagles’ offensive flexibility. Morehouse, generously listed at 5-foot-3, leads the Eagles in both 3-pointers (75) and free throws (85).
Can FGCU hold up against WSU’s superior size?
It’s nothing new for the Eagles to be facing an opponent with a significant size advantage. FGCU’s most common starting lineup this season featured just one 6-footer in graduate guard Sha Carter. The Eagles roster features only two other players listed as 6-foot in redshirt junior forward Uju Ezedu and redshirt sophomore guard Kierra Adams.
Three of WSU starters are 6-foot-2 or taller, including 6-foot-3 center Bella Murekatete, who averaged 16.3 points and 7.3 rebounds during the Cougars’ conference tournament run, earning a place on the Pac-12 All-Tournament team.
“We definitely have to be on our A-game, helping each other in the post, moving around, things like that,” Carter said.
FGCU can draw on its success against Liberty this season as a blueprint for how to defend WSU. Even though the Flames boasted five players 6-foot-1 or taller, including 6-foot-3 starting center Mya Berkman and her backup, 6-foot-6 redshirt Bella Smuda, the Eagles outrebounded Liberty 98-94 in their three meetings, including a 33-24 advantage on the offensive glass.
Smesko said those matchups with Liberty aided the Eagles in their preparation for their matchup with WSU.
“I think it’s definitely helpful in the fact that Liberty has Power 5 size,” he said. “That’s a game for us to get acclimated to that type of size on the court and Washington State’s no different. They’re very big on the wings and very big inside. So I do think just having played them is a little bit of a good thing for us that we’ve had a little bit of work preparing for it the week prior.”
In last year’s first-round game with No. 5 seed Virginia Tech, FGCU surrendered a school-record 42 points to 6-foot-6 junior center Elizabeth Kitley, the ACC Player of the Year, but connected on 15-of-38 3-pointers in an 84-81 upset win.
Which team will better handle NCAA Tournament pressure?
This is the third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance for both FGCU and WSU. While the Eagles split their two first-round games, losing to Michigan in 2021 and upsetting Virginia Tech last year, the Cougars lost to USF (2021) and Kansas State (2022) and are 0-3 all-time in the Big Dance.
However, four of WSU’s five starters played in both of its recent NCAA Tournament setbacks, something Ethridge said she thinks will help steel the Cougars for their matchup with FGCU.
“It was probably too early for us to succeed in the NCAA Tournament two years ago,” she said. “It was too new, we were too young, and last year we weren’t quite built well enough and didn’t quite have the depth.
“So I hope that experience of being there and the leadership from the upper class can comfort the younger players and certainly have our focus and mind right to put ourselves in a great position to compete well and win the game on Saturday.”
Meanwhile, Morehouse and graduate guard Emma List are the only FGCU starters to play in the Eagles' last two NCAA appearances.
“We have a lot of players that this is their first time even though we’ve gone as a program the last three years,” Smesko said.
One of those players is Carter, who transferred to FGCU this year after a storied career at Division II Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio, where she was a three-time All-American and set the school’s all-time scoring record. She also helped lead the Cavaliers to three NCAA DII Tournaments, including a run to last year’s Sweet 16.
“A year ago, these were the teams and the game I was watching on TV,” she said. “To now be playing in them, it’s definitely a dream come true and something that I challenged myself to be a part of.
“To win everything, you have to take it one day at a time. It’s the big stage, this is where we want to be. A lot of teams want this opportunity so we’re attacking it.”
No. 12 FGCU (32-3) vs. No. 5 Washington State (23-10)
When: Saturday, 2:30 p.m.
Where: Finneran Pavilion, Villanova, Pa.
Series: First meeting
Rankings: FGCU – No. 22 in USAT/Coaches Poll, No. 30 in AP, No. 36 in NET. Washington State – No. 27 in USAT/Coaches Poll, No. 22 in AP, No. 30 in NET.
How they got here: FGCU – Beat Liberty 84-60 to win ASUN Championship. Washington State – Beat UCLA 65-61 to win Pac-12 Championship.
Common opponent: Stanford. The Cardinal beat both FGCU (93-69) and Washington State (71-38) this season.
Leaders: FGCU – Tishara Morehouse (15.9 points, 4.6 assists, 2 steals), Sha Carter (13.9 points, 6.2 rebounds), Alyza Winston (12.9 points, 2.5 rebounds). Washington State – Charlisse Leger-Walker (18.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists), Bella Murekatete (13.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.3 blocks), Tara Wallack (9.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.2 blocks).
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: NCAA Women's Tournament: FGCU vs. Washington State preview
