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3/19/2009 - WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
FGCU Advances in the WNIT with Double OT win
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FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's basketball team needed two overtimes to advance to the second round of the Women’s NIT, defeating George Washington University 97-94 in front of 2,257 fans at Alico Arena Thursday night. Brittany Brown scored a career-high 25 points, including the final two free throws, to lead the Eagles to the second round of the WNIT for the second straight year. The Eagles will travel up to Tampa on Saturday for a match-up with South Florida, the same team they defeated in the first round of the WNIT last season.
From the onset of the game, it was clear that each team had a distinct advantage over the other: George Washington was a much taller and bigger team, while FGCU was smaller and quicker. Throughout the course of the game, both teams utilized their strengths very well, as GWU outrebounded the Eagles 60-39, while the Eagles racked up twice as many steals (8 to 4) and nearly twice as many three point field goals (13 to 7). One downside to the Colonials' size advantage was that the referees called more than twice as many fouls on GWU (34 to 16), eventually leading to four GWU players fouling out of the game, while only one Eagle reached four personal fouls.
After the opening minutes were played fairly tight, the game became a game of runs. GWU ran out to a 17-7 lead with an 8-0 run; FGCU responded with a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 21-20. With the Colonials leading 34-27, FGCU closed out the first half on a 10-2 run, including a three pointer from Chelsea Lyles with just over three seconds to play in the half, giving FGCU a 37-36 lead at halftime.
