Bell, who was named the Ann Meyers Drysdale women's national co-player of the week by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) on Tuesday, also earned a spot on the team Dec. 30. This time, she joins Villanova's Maddy Siegrist, Tennessee's Rennia Davis, Texas Tech's Vivian Gray and UNLV's Desi-Rae Young. For the NCAA's release, visit here.
Prior to becoming the first player in program history to earn the USBWA national player of the week award on Tuesday, Bell was named the ASUN's player and newcomer of the week for the fourth consecutive week on Monday after finishing off the most dominant offensive weekend in program history this past weekend, which saw her average 39 points, 13.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 1.5 steals per game in a pair of wins over Jacksonville. She shot 32-for-50 (.640) from the field, including a 7-for-14 (.500) finish from 3-point range.
"This is another great honor for Kierstan to be associated with some of the top players in the country," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "And she certainly deserves it. Her weekend was possibly the best two-game stretch any player in our program has ever had."
In Saturday's victory, Bell (Alliance, Ohio/Canton McKinley HS/Ohio State) opened the week with a then career-high 36 points. She also added 12 rebounds, three steals and two blocks while making a single-game program record 15 field goals. Then, on Sunday, she poured in a new career-high 42 points while adding 15 rebounds and three blocks to break FGCU's single-game scoring record and her own single-game field goal record from one day earlier with 17. And she did all that in 63 total minutes. Her performance on Sunday came in just 30 minutes of action.
The newcomer of the week award is the ninth of the season for Bell, which extends an all-time conference record, while the player of the week selection is her sixth of the season. In conference play alone, she is averaging 26.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.8 steals per game. In 10 of the team's 12 conference games, she has produced 20-plus points, which includes a streak of eight in a row. She also has 30-plus in three of the last four games.
A member of the Wade Trophy watch list, Bell is averaging 25.2 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.6 steals through 18 games this year. Her scoring average is on pace to be the fourth-best single-season offensive average in the conference's history. She's also on pace to have the most 3-point field goals made in a single season in ASUN history as she leads the conference in scoring and rebounding.
Bell's 78-point weekend has now put her among the top five scorers in the country as her 42-point outburst on Sunday pushed her past Buffalo's Dyaisha Fair for fifth-place, and she is now back among the top 20 in the nation in rebounds per game. In fact, she has three consecutive double-doubles and 14 overall this year ... in 18 games, which has already tied her for the third-most in a career in program history.
Bell's play has led FGCU to a 18-game winning streak, which is the second-longest in the nation. The Eagles have also won 21 straight road games dating back to a win over Houston last year, which is the longest in the nation. If that isn't enough, the Green and Blue have won 28 straight on the road against ASUN teams.
FGCU (19-2, 12-0 ASUN) will be back in action this weekend when the Eagles host North Florida on Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are still available and can be found by stopping by the ticket office inside Alico Arena, visiting www.FGCUtickets.com or by calling 866-FGCU-TIX.
For complete coverage of the women's basketball program, follow the Eagles on Twitter and Instagram at @FGCU_WBB, on Facebook at /fgcuwbb and online at www.FGCUathletics.com. You can also sign-up to have news on FGCU women's basketball or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
SUPPORT THE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PROGRAM
Do you enjoy watching or following the FGCU women's basketball program? Would you like to play a role in the growth of the program and help take it to heights never before experienced? If so, you can reach out to Director of Advancement, Matt Ring, about opportunities to make an impact on the experiences of our student-athletes. He can be reached by email at mring@fgcu.edu or by office phone at 239-745-4434.
COACH SMESKO
FGCU head coach Karl Smesko maintains a record of 573-124 (.821) overall in his career (third highest winning percentage among active Division I coaches behind only UConn's Geno Auriemma and Baylor's Kim Mulkey), including a 213-17 (.924) mark in ASUN regular season play and a 24-2 (.923) record in ASUN tournament play. Over the past nine-plus seasons, including this year, he has guided FGCU to a 149-5 (.966) record in conference play with five undefeated seasons. The 10-time ASUN Coach of the Year has guided the Green and Blue to four 30-plus win seasons over the past six years. He has also guided the program to 16 consecutive 20-win seasons and 10-straight 25-win seasons.
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (https://ift.tt/1E0CJiI), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 83 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 38 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (No. 24, 2019-20) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.46 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 22 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall and 2020 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--
"five" - Google News
February 25, 2021 at 01:05AM
https://ift.tt/37FSAvB
Bell Headlines NCAA.com's Starting Five - FGCU Athletics
"five" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2YnPDf8
https://ift.tt/2SxXq6o
No comments:
Post a Comment