Date Posted: 1/5/2008

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Despite playing shorthanded, senior forward Ashley Williams scored 14 of her game-high 20 points in the second half while junior guards Virginia Gregiore and DaVina Hamilton combined for 25 points to lead the JU women's basketball team to a 62-58 win over Florida Gulf Coast, Saturday afternoon in each program's Atlantic Sun Conference opener at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.

JU (11-3, 1-0), which currently holds the third longest home winning streak in the nation, won the rebounding battle (45-29) and tallied a season-high eight blocks.

FGCU (5-6, 0-1) became the first team this season to win the turnover battle over JU (15-11) while tallying a game-high eight steals.

Trailing 46-44 with 6:05 remaining, JU used a 5-0 run to take the lead for good as sophomore forward Desarae Johnson finished a layup to cap the run with 5:07 left. FGCU would tie the contest on two more occasions but used a 4-0 run and held the Eagles scoreless in the final 1:10 to seal the game.

Williams finished 8-of-15 from the floor while also grabbing a game-high eight rebounds and three blocks. Gregoire finished with 15 points and eight rebounds while Hamilton rounded out the scoring with 10 points, seven assists and two steals. Sophomore center Danielle Gray added eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

Delia De La Torre led the Eagles with 18 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field while also grabbing a team-high seven rebounds. Chelsea Dermyer rounded out the double-figure scoring with 15 points and a team-high four assists. Ashley Haegle added five points, seven rebounds and three assists.

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