NCAA 여자 | 01/27 21:00 | 1 | 플로리다 걸프 코스트 이글스 v 잭슨빌 돌핀스 | W | 63-58 | |
NCAA 여자 | 01/23 00:30 | 1 | 플로리다 걸프 코스트 이글스 v 립스콤 바이슨스 | W | 68-54 | |
NCAA 여자 | 01/20 19:00 | 1 | 케네소 스테이트 오울스 v 플로리다 걸프 코스트 이글스 | W | 57-78 | |
NCAA 여자 | 01/16 00:00 | 1 | 플로리다 걸프 코스트 이글스 v 사우스 캐롤라이나 US | W | 93-60 | |
NCAA 여자 | 01/13 21:00 | 1 | 플로리다 걸프 코스트 이글스 v Njit 하일랜더즈 | W | 90-66 | |
NCAA 여자 | 01/06 21:00 | 1 | 플로리다 걸프 코스트 이글스 v 스테츤 해터즈 | W | 80-40 | |
NCAA 여자 | 12/31 00:00 | 1 | 플로리다 걸프 코스트 이글스 v 플로리다 메모리얼 파이팅 라이온스 | W | 82-43 | |
NCAA 여자 | 12/30 00:30 | 1 | 플로리다 걸프 코스트 이글스 v 사우스 다코타 스테이트 잭래비츠 | W | 87-78 | |
NCAA 여자 | 12/22 00:00 | 1 | 플로리다 걸프 코스트 이글스 v Siu 에드워즈빌 쿠거즈 | W | 66-49 | |
NCAA 여자 | 12/21 00:00 | 1 | 플로리다 걸프 코스트 이글스 v 하버드 크림슨 | W | 65-56 | |
NCAA 여자 | 12/17 18:00 | 1 | Chattanooga Mocs v 플로리다 걸프 코스트 이글스 | L | 68-61 | |
NCAA 여자 | 12/09 00:00 | 1 | 플로리다 걸프 코스트 이글스 v 켄터키 와일드캐츠 | W | 70-64 | |
NCAA 여자 | 12/03 20:00 | 1 | 애벌린 크리스천 v 플로리다 걸프 코스트 이글스 | W | 55-94 | |
NCAA 여자 | 11/26 01:30 | 1 | 벨몬트 브루인스 v 플로리다 걸프 코스트 이글스 | L | 75-65 | |
NCAA 여자 | 11/25 01:30 | 1 | 오하이오 스테이트 버크아이즈 v 플로리다 걸프 코스트 이글스 | L | 104-62 | |
NCAA 여자 | 11/23 20:30 | 1 | 드폴 블루 디몬스 v 플로리다 걸프 코스트 이글스 | W | 84-89 | |
NCAA 여자 | 11/21 00:00 | 1 | 시에나 세인츠 v 플로리다 걸프 코스트 이글스 | W | 50-58 | |
NCAA 여자 | 11/18 19:30 | 1 | 애크런 집스 v 플로리다 걸프 코스트 이글스 | W | 63-82 | |
NCAA 여자 | 11/17 22:00 | 1 | 켄트 스테이트 GF v 플로리다 걸프 코스트 이글스 | W | 62-80 | |
NCAA 여자 | 11/16 00:00 | 1 | FIU 팬서스 v 플로리다 걸프 코스트 이글스 | W | 52-88 | |
NCAA 여자 | 11/12 23:00 | 1 | 플로리다 걸프 코스트 이글스 v 일리노이 파이팅 일라이니 | W | 85-61 | |
NCAA 여자 | 03/18 19:30 | 1 | 마이애미 플로리다 허리케인스 v 플로리다 걸프 코스트 이글스 | L | 62-60 |
The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles women's basketball team is the women's basketball team that represents Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
In 2002, Florida Gulf Coast became an independent member of NCAA Division II. Florida Gulf Coast also started its men's basketball team, with Dave Balza as head coach from the inaugural 2002–03 to the 2010–11 season. In 2006, Florida Gulf Coast applied for NCAA Division I status and became a transitory Division I effective in the 2007–08 season. Florida Gulf Coast became a full Division I member on August 11, 2011.
The university charter was signed 1991, but students did not begin attending classes until 1997. The athletic programs began as members of the NAIA. The school hired Karl Smesko while the school was still in the NAIA, but his first year coincided with the transfer to NCAA Division II in 2002. In his first year, the basketball facilities were not yet completed at the beginning of the season, so players began individual workouts on outdoor courts. His first office was in a trailer. Despite having no experience as a team, the Eagles opened their season against Ohio Dominican and won. Then they won their next game, and the next, and continued winning until they faced St. Francis of Indiana, who beat the Eagles to give them their first loss. That would be the last loss of the season, as they went on to a thirty win season, with a 30–1 record.
The team continued to pile up winning records, and went on to post a 29–2 record in and earn an invitation to the DII post-season tournament in 2006. The team would advance as far as the Regional semi-final. After reaching a national DII ranking of eleven, the team faced ninth ranked Rollins, and won 48–46. The team then faced seventh ranked Delta State who ended the Eagles season with a 57–48 win.
FGCU then joined the Atlantic Sun Conference, although they would be provisional members until 2011. The finished in second place in the conference in both 2008, and 2010. The 2009 team did finish first in the conference during the regular season but due to the transition to Division I and the Atlantic Sun Conference, was not eligible for conference or NCAA Tournament play. The team earned invitations to the post-season WNIT tournament, advancing to the second round in 2008 and 2009. In 2011, the team would go 28–4 overall, with a 17–3 record in conference. That record was the best in conference, resulting in the first regular season conference title for the Eagles. The team would not become a full member of the conference until August of that year, so was not part of the conference post-season tournament. They did participate in the 2011 WNIT, beating Drexel in the first round before losing to Florida in the second round.
In 2012, their first year of eligibility for the Atlantic Sun post-season tournament, they went undefeated in conference play, with an 18–0 as part of an overall 29–3 record. They won the conference tournament, earning a bid to the NCAA tournament. They took on St. Bonaventure in their first NCAA game and took the Bonnies to overtime, before succumbing 72–65.
The following year, the team also went undefeated in regular season conference play, but ended up with a loss to Stetson in the conference championship game. Although the team had lost eight players from the year before, they had won all their conference games by double digits. They held a double-digit lead in the conference final, but then went on a long scoreless streak, allowing the Hatters to get back into the game and win, 70–64. The Eagles earned an invitation to the WNIT but lost in the first round.
FGCU participated at the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas. The four teams invited to the Reef Division of tournament were:
The teams played in a round-robin format over the Thanksgiving weekend. In their game against DePaul, the Eagles fell behind early, down as much as 12 points in the first half. They came back to cut the deficit to a single point at halftime. After taking a brief, one-point lead early in the second half, the Blue Demons took back the lead, and extended it to nine points with under eight minutes to go. The lead was still eight points with just over two minutes left, when Taylor Gradinjan was fouled on a three-point attempt, and hit all three free throws. Katie Meador hit a basket with 23 seconds remaining, and Sarah Hansen scored with eight seconds left, but DePaul held on for a two-point victory.
In the 2012–13 season, the team achieved a GPA of 3.621, which was high enough to be in fourth place among Division I teams, and earned a position on the WBCA Academic honor roll.