2023–24 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles women's basketball team

2023–24 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles women's basketball
2023–24 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles women's basketball
ASUN regular-season and tournament champions
NCAA tournament, first round
Conference	ASUN
Record	29–5 (16–0 ASUN)
Head coach	Karl Smesko (22nd season);
Assistant coaches	Chelsea Lyles; Shannon Murphy; Camryn Brown;
Home arena	Alico Arena

2023–24 ASUN women's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Florida Gulf Coast †	16	–	0	1.000	29	–	5	.853
Stetson	12	–	4	.750	17	–	15	.531
Central Arkansas	11	–	5	.688	21	–	12	.636
Lipscomb	10	–	6	.625	17	–	13	.567
Eastern Kentucky	9	–	7	.563	22	–	12	.647
North Alabama	8	–	8	.500	12	–	18	.400
Austin Peay	8	–	8	.500	17	–	16	.515
Kennesaw State	7	–	9	.438	11	–	19	.367
Jacksonville	6	–	10	.375	11	–	20	.355
Bellarmine*	5	–	11	.313	10	–	19	.345
North Florida	3	–	13	.188	9	–	21	.300
Queens*	1	–	15	.063	7	–	22	.241

† 2024 ASUN tournament winner *Ineligible for the 2024 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II

The 2023–24 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles women's basketball team represented Florida Gulf Coast University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Eagles, led by 22nd-year head coach Karl Smesko, played their home games at the Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Florida and were members of the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN).

The Eagles finished the season 29–5, 16–0 in ASUN play, to finish as ASUN regular-season champions for the seventh consecutive season.^[1] They defeated Jacksonville,^[2] Austin Peay^[3] and Central Arkansas to win their eighth consecutive ASUN tournament title and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.^[4] They received the #12 seed in the Albany Regional 1,^[5] where they fell to #5 region seed Oklahoma in the first round.^[6]

Roster

2023–24 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Casey Santoro	5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)	Sr	Bellevue HS Kent State	Bellevue, OH
G	1	Emani Jefferson	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	RS Jr	Northport HS Wright State Memphis	Miami, FL
G	2	Sofia Persson	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)		Lulea Gymnasieskola Odessa San Francisco Eckerd	Arvika, Sweden
G	3	Cerina Rolle	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	RS Fr	Eustis HS	Eustis, FL
G	4	Dolly Cairns	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)	Sr	Saratoga Springs HS Rhode Island	Saratoga Springs, NY
G	5	Ajulu Thatha	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)		Decatur Central HS SIU Edwardsville	Indianapolis, IN
G	10	Jordan Campbell	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	RS So	IMG Academy	Purcellville, VA
G/F	11	Maddie Antenucci	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	RS Jr	Indian Hill	Cincinnati, OH
G	12	Alyssa Jimenez	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)		Horizon HS Nevada	Thornton, CO
F	14	Shekinah Guthrie	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	GS	Centennial Palm Beach Atlantic	Atlanta, GA
G	20	Maca Retamales	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	Jr	Liceo San Pedro Poveda HS Florida SouthWestern State	Santiago, Chile
G	21	Kierra Adams	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)		Brookwood	Vancouver, WA
G	22	Brylee Bartram	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	RS Sr	Seffner Vanderbilt	Tampa, FL
G	23	Ashley Baez	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)	Jr	Hyde School Chipola College	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
F	24	Uju Ezeudu	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)		Reynoldsburg Denver	Reynoldsburg, OH
G	32	Emani Theodule	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)	Fr	American Heritage HS Warner	Miramar, FL

Head coach

Karl Smesko (Kent State)

Assistant coach(es)

Chelsea Lyles (Florida Gulf Coast)
Shannon Murphy (Florida Gulf Coast)
Camryn Brown (High Point)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: August 28, 2024

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Brown	W 80–58	1–0	Pizzitola Sports Center (648) Providence, RI
November 10, 2023* 10:00 p.m.		at No. 21 USC	L 51–67	1–1	Galen Center (4,712) Los Angeles, CA
November 14, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		FIU	W 81–48	2–1	Alico Arena (1,503) Fort Myers, FL
November 19, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Kentucky	W 59–48	3–1	Alico Arena (1,863) Fort Myers, FL
November 24, 2023* 5:00 p.m., FloHoops		vs. Delaware Gulf Coast Showcase first round	W 83–68	4–1	Hertz Arena (1,034) Estero, FL
November 25, 2023* 7:30 p.m., FloHoops		vs. No. 5 Iowa Gulf Coast Showcase semifinals	L 62–100	4–2	Hertz Arena (4,257) Estero, FL
November 26, 2023* 5:00 p.m., FloHoops		vs. No. 18 North Carolina Gulf Coast Showcase 3rd-place game	W 65–64	5–2	Hertz Arena (2,120) Estero, FL
November 29, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Ave Maria	W 108–31	6–2	Alico Arena (1,349) Fort Myers, FL
December 3, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Old Dominion	L 42–55	6–3	Chartway Arena (1,759) Norfolk, VA
December 7, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Gardner–Webb	W 102–53	7–3	Alico Arena (1,251) Fort Myers, FL
December 10, 2023* 12:00 p.m., ACCN		at Duke	L 63–82	7–4	Cameron Indoor Stadium (1,573) Durham, NC
December 20, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Drexel Homewood Suites Classic	W 61–35	8–4	Alico Arena (1,416) Fort Myers, FL
December 21, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Southern Miss Homewood Suites Classic	W 78–62	9–4	Alico Arena (1,319) Fort Myers, FL
December 28, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Webber International	W 106–42	10–4	Alico Arena (1,443) Fort Myers, FL
ASUN regular season
January 4, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Jacksonville	W 69–47	11–4 (1–0)	Swisher Gymnasium (75) Jacksonville, FL
January 6, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at North Florida	W 70–38	12–4 (2–0)	UNF Arena (346) Jacksonville, FL
January 13, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Stetson	W 66–51	13–4 (3–0)	Edmunds Center (252) DeLand, FL
January 18, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Queens	W 82–57	14–4 (4–0)	Alico Arena (1,708) Fort Myers, FL
January 20, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		Kennesaw State	W 93–56	15–4 (5–0)	Alico Arena (1,734) Fort Myers, FL
January 25, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Lipscomb	W 75–54	16–4 (6–0)	Allen Arena (521) Nashville, TN
January 27, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Austin Peay	W 65–54	17–4 (7–0)	F&M Bank Arena (2,061) Clarksville, TN
January 31, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Bellarmine	W 72–55	18–4 (8–0)	Freedom Hall (362) Louisville, KY
February 3, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Eastern Kentucky	W 82–69	19–4 (9–0)	Alico Arena (1,804) Fort Myers, FL
February 8, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Central Arkansas	W 65–43	20–4 (10–4)	Alico Arena (1,602) Fort Myers, FL
February 10, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		North Alabama	W 84–42	21–4 (11–0)	Alico Arena (1,821) Fort Myers, FL
February 15, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Kennesaw State	W 77–42	22–4 (12–0)	KSU Convocation Center (739) Kennesaw, GA
February 17, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Queens	W 86–60	23–4 (13–0)	Curry Arena (125) Charlotte, NC
February 24, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		Stetson	W 68–52	24–4 (14–0)	Alico Arena (1,984) Fort Myers, FL
February 29, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		North Florida	W 75–33	25–4 (15–0)	Alico Arena (1,830) Fort Myers, FL
March 2, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Jacksonville	W 80–55	26–4 (16–0)	Alico Arena (1,814) Fort Myers, FL
ASUN women's tournament
March 9, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+	(1)	(9) Jacksonville Quarterfinals	W 76–69	27–4	Alico Arena (1,261) Fort Myers, FL
March 12, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	(1)	(7) Austin Peay Semifinals	W 74–52	28–4	Alico Arena (1,487) Fort Myers, FL
March 16, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	(1)	(3) Central Arkansas Championship	W 76–47	29–4	Alico Arena (2,259) Fort Myers, FL
NCAA tournament
March 23, 2024* 4:00 p.m., ESPNews	(12 A1)	vs. (5 A1) No. 18 Oklahoma First round	L 70–73	29–5	Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (12,753) Bloomington, IN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. A1=Albany 1. All times are in Eastern.

Source:^[7]

Rankings

References

^ DeLuca, Dan (March 2, 2024). "FGCU women close out perfect ASUN regular season with win over Jacksonville". The News-Press. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
^ Hrunka, Jeffrey (March 12, 2024). "Women's Basketball Fends Off Late Charge by Jacksonville to Advance to ASUN Semifinals". Eagle Media. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
^ Whittamore, Amanda (March 13, 2024). "FGCU Women's Basketball wins ASUN Semifinal Game over Austin Peay". WGCU. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
^ DeLuca, Dan (March 16, 2024). "FGCU beats Central Arkansas for ASUN women's basketball title, earns 10th NCAA Tournament berth". Naples Daily News. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
^ "2024 Division I Women's Basketball Official Bracket". NCAA.com. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
^ Ambrogi, Mark (March 24, 2024). "Fifth-seeded Oklahoma edges Florida Gulf Coast 73-70". AP News. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
^ "2023-24 Women's Basketball Schedule". Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles Athletics. Retrieved November 4, 2023.

[1] DeLuca, Dan (March 2, 2024). "FGCU women close out perfect ASUN regular season with win over Jacksonville". The News-Press. Retrieved January 6, 2025.

[2] Hrunka, Jeffrey (March 12, 2024). "Women's Basketball Fends Off Late Charge by Jacksonville to Advance to ASUN Semifinals". Eagle Media. Retrieved January 6, 2025.

[3] Whittamore, Amanda (March 13, 2024). "FGCU Women's Basketball wins ASUN Semifinal Game over Austin Peay". WGCU. Retrieved January 6, 2025.

[4] DeLuca, Dan (March 16, 2024). "FGCU beats Central Arkansas for ASUN women's basketball title, earns 10th NCAA Tournament berth". Naples Daily News. Retrieved January 6, 2025.

[5] "2024 Division I Women's Basketball Official Bracket". NCAA.com. Retrieved January 6, 2025.

[6] Ambrogi, Mark (March 24, 2024). "Fifth-seeded Oklahoma edges Florida Gulf Coast 73-70". AP News. Retrieved January 6, 2025.

[7] "2023-24 Women's Basketball Schedule". Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles Athletics. Retrieved November 4, 2023.

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[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

Florida Gulf Coast Eagles women's basketball
Venues	Alico Arena (2002–present)
People	Head coaches
Seasons	2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26

Roster

Schedule

Rankings

See also

References