Fort Myers, Fla. ? The Stetson women's basketball team (7-13, 4-7 Atlantic Sun) was blitzed from the opening tip and could not be saved by a spirited second half comeback in a 77-66 loss to host Florida Gulf Coast (15-4, 8-3 A-Sun) Monday night at Alico Arena in Fort Myers. Senior center Ayesha Barkley (East Orange, N.J.) led five Hatters in double figures with 16 points and senior point guard Sharnesha Smith (Kingsland, Ga.) added a 10-point, 10-assist double-double.
As has been the pattern in recent Stetson games, the Hatters fell behind 13-2 in the first seven minutes and never truly caught up, trailing by as many as 20 in the first half; a consistent inability to either rebound or make shots until the final minutes of the first stanza was the difference as FGCU took a 43-25 lead into the locker room.
The Hatters came out with significantly more intensity in the second half, cutting the deficit to 64-51 with 10:04 to go on an Ashli Jackson (Opelika, Ala.) three-pointer. The pace of the Stetson offense picked up considerably in the second period; after scoring just two points in the first six minutes of the first half, the Hatters scored 17 in the same time frame of the second half.
Stetson chipped to within 11 points with approximately seven minutes left, but the Eagles hit several big baskets on ensuing possessions to keep the Hatters at bay. Stetson cut it to single digits on a Tierra Brown (Orlando, Fla.) layup with 30 seconds to go, but it was too little, too late. Although the Hatters outscored FGCU 41-34 in the second half, Stetson has not had the lead since midway through the first half in the UNF game, a span of 106:51.
For only the second time this season, five Hatters scored in double figures. Barkley had an excellent shooting night, making five of seven field goals, including the first two three-pointers of her career; she also led the team with five rebounds and two blocks. Brown and sophomore center Jessica Conner (Cocoa, Fla.) scored 12 points each and Jackson contributed 10 points. Smith's 10 assists gave her 378 for her career and moved her past Stetson Hall of Famer Cher Dyson '01 into fourth place on the program's all-time list; she increased her career scoring total to 969 points in the pursuit of 1,000.
FGCU forward Chelsea Lyles led all scorers with 21 points thanks to a deadly 5-6 night from three-point land. Adrianne McNally put up a near-triple double line with 15 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. The Eagles recorded a staggering 25 assists on 28 made field goals.
The Hatters return home this weekend to take on the Music City duo of Belmont and Lipscomb at the Edmunds Center. Stetson entertains the Bruins at 7 p.m. Thursday; Hatter Vision with Bill Topping and Dee Romine on the call is available at www.GoHatters.com, as are live stats.
