FGCU uses third-quarter surge to power past Washington State in NCAA Tournament

Maybe one of these years, the NCAA Women’s Tournament selection committee will finally figure out how to properly seed the FGCU women’s basketball team.

Until then, it appears the Eagles will just have to be content with continuing to knock off higher-seeded teams.

For the second consecutive year, FGCU nabbed a 12-seed but sure didn’t play like an underdog, defeating No. 5 Washington State 74-63 at Finneran Pavilion in Villanova, Pa. on Saturday.

In the process, the Eagles showed the nation they’re a lot more than a team that simply makes and takes a bunch of 3-pointers.

With the Cougars intent on limiting FGCU’s opportunities from beyond the arc, the Eagles showcased their athleticism and instead rained layups on the Pac-12 tournament champions, outscoring a much taller WSU team 50-26 in the paint.

NCAA Tournament: FGCU women get a 12 seed, will face No. 5 Washington State

FGCU looks to continue success as a 12 seed in NCAA Tournament opener vs. Washington State

On defense, FGCU got outstanding efforts from redshirt junior guard Alyza Winston and graduate guard Emma List who combined to hold Cougars’ leading scorer Charlisse Leger-Walker to a season-low five points, 13 below her scoring average. Leger-Walker, an All-Pac-12 first-teamer who was named MVP of the conference tournament, had just one assist and zero rebounds before fouling out with 5:25 left to play.

“She’s really good; she’s a WNBA-level player,” Eagles coach Karl Smesko said. “Those two just gave outstanding effort to limit how many times she got good looks at the basket.”

Trailing by one point at halftime, FGCU (33-3) grabbed control of the game with a sizzling third quarter that saw the Eagles explode for 30 points to take a 61-48 lead into the fourth. WSU (23-11) never managed to get closer than 11 points the rest of the way.

“That gave us a little bit of cushion going into the fourth and we were able to kind of maintain it throughout,” Smesko said.

FGCU shot 11-of-14 from the field during the third quarter and finally got going from the 3-point line, thanks to redshirt sophomore Maddie Antenucci. She connected on three consecutive long-distance tries in the quarter with her final 3-ball bouncing four times, including off the top of the backboard before dropping through the hoop and giving FGCU a 49-40 lead.

“Nucci was getting open and knocking them down,” Smesko said. “She was catching it ready to shoot. That’s production off the bench and when you have that, you have a good chance to have an explosive quarter.”

The Eagles also got a career-high 12 points from redshirt sophomore guard Kierra Adams, a Vancouver, Wash. native. Her performance helped FGCU’s bench outscore the Cougars’ 19-6 and offset FGCU matching its season-low with just five made 3-pointers.

Graduate guard Sha Carter, playing in her first NCAA Tournament for FGCU after transferring from Division II Walsh University, led all scorers with 24 points on 10-for-13 shooting. Fifth-year senior guard Tishara Morehouse added 16 points for the Eagles. Thirteen of the pair's 17 combined field goals were layups as they continually blew past Cougar defenders that struggled to counter FGCU’s speed.

“We just couldn’t quite match them,” WSU coach Kamie Ethridge said. “We didn’t guard them good enough to give ourselves a chance to win tonight.”

The Cougars, who started three players 6-foot-2 or taller, failed to consistently capitalize on their size advantage, shooting just 39% from the floor and committing 14 turnovers. Sophomore guard Tara Wallack led WSU with 16 points.

“They did a really good job of slowing us down and making us double think and hold on to the ball a little bit too much,” Ethridge said.

FGCU will face No. 4-seeded Villanova (29-6), which defeated No. 13 Cleveland State 76-59, in a second-round game at 7 p.m. Monday. With another victory, the Eagles would advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history.

"Man, it feels good to just be part of history," said Morehouse, who along with List has now been part of two of FGCU's NCAA tourney wins as a No. 12 seed. "I can always look back and be like, 'Yeah, we did that.' It's just so amazing that we all came out ready to win."

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: FGCU upsets Washington State in first round of NCAA Tournament