NASHVILLE – The Lipscomb women’s basketball team lost to #20 Florida Gulf Coast 73-55 Saturday afternoon at Allen Arena.
Behind five players contributing nine or more points, the visiting Eagles won their 21st game of the season and improved the sixth-best away winning streak in NCAA women’s basketball history to 28 games.
Despite Florida Gulf Coast’s undefeated 9-0 ASUN record coming into the game, Bisons assistant coach Chris Sumski said his expectations for the team were high.
“I’ll be honest, we do expect to win,” Sumski said in a continuation of a team-positive narrative all season long. “We are crazy enough to always believe that [we can win], even though we will admit FGCU is a really good talented basketball team.”
Lipscomb was bolstered heavily on offense by its bench, as junior wing Maddie Cook and graduate shooting guard Sydney Shelton scored 10 points each to lead the team. Shelton went 2-3 from behind the arc, while Cook took 13 shots on the afternoon and converted on five.
“The last couple of games, I think we’ve taken some big steps in that direction,” Sumski said. “We don’t want to rely on one or two people carrying the scoring. We want to score everywhere, and I think we’re starting to understand how we can do that within our offense.”
The game may not have gone down to the wire, but the matchup was competitive throughout. Hot shooting early led Lipscomb to trail FGCU 13-12 at the media break, but the Eagles went on a 5-0 run to end the quarter at 23-17.
In the second quarter, a strong defensive showing from the visitors took its toll on the Bisons’ offensive output, especially as they cooled down from deep. After going 3-6 from 3-point range in the first frame, Lipscomb only knocked down two in the rest of the half.
“[FGCU has] a really good defense that I think is underrated,” Sumski said. “I thought they really executed well, made extra passes and played with confidence.”
Florida Gulf Coast went on a pair of 6-0 runs in the second quarter to extend their lead to a more commanding 41-26 scoreline, a lead they would hold onto through the rest of the game.
While 3-point shooting continued to be a high note for Lipscomb, which finished with 47% accuracy from outside, FGCU used balanced scoring to drive the nail in the coffin across the second half.
The Eagles scored 32 points in the third and fourth quarters to consistently keep Lipscomb’s hopes of a comeback at bay.
With the win, FGCU improves to 21-1 on the season and 10-0 in ASUN play. They also extend their series lead all-time over Lipscomb to 32-0.
Lipscomb drops to 8-14 after a fourth straight loss against an East Division opponent with a 3-6 ASUN record. The Bisons face their final fixture in the East Wednesday when they travel to face Liberty in Lynchburg, Virginia.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics