Friday, February 25, 2011

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Senior Shannon Murphy (Brighton, Mich./Brighton HS) scored a game-high 21 points as the FGCU women’s basketball team defeated Jacksonville, 64-59, in front of 1,806 fans on Tuesday night at Alico Arena to clinch their second Atlantic Sun regular season crown and earn their fourth consecutive WNIT bid.

With the win, the Blue and Green improve to 23-2 overall (16-2 A-Sun), extend their home winning streak, which is the third longest in the nation (behind UConn and Stanford), to 37 games and guarantee themselves a spot in postseason play, while the Dolphins fall to 13-15 overall (8-11 A-Sun).

FGCU clinched a share of the A-Sun regular season title with the win over JU, but with ETSU losing at Campbell, 60-57, the Eagles clinched the regular season crown outright. FGCU now owns a three-game lead with two games remaining in conference play.

The Blue and Green, who lead the nation in three-point field goals per game (10.7), knocked down eight triples on the night. JU’s 59 points mark the 18th time the Eagles, who lead the conference in scoring defense (55.5 ppg), have held an opponent below 60 points this season.

Murphy finished with a team-high 21 points on 7-of 14 shooting from the field and 3-of-7 from long distance in 36 minutes of action. Redshirt-freshman Sarah Hansen (Edinboro, Pa./General McLane HS) registered 15 points, six rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a pair of steals. Junior Courtney Chihil (Tipp City, Ohio/Alter HS), who was in foul trouble all night, chipped in with eight points, six boards and two assists in just 14 minutes.