With non-conference wins against George Washington, Wichita State and Clemson, and nail-biter losses to Auburn 72-69 and Ohio State 90-83 in double overtime, Florida Gulf Coast’s national reputation has been gaining momentum.
Winners of nine consecutive games, Florida Gulf Coast (14-2) opened Atlantic Sun Conference play with a 57-55 come-from-behind win against rival Stetson on Saturday. Florida Gulf Coast trailed by 15 points with 12 minutes to play, before rallying for the win behind junior Whitney Knight, the Atlantic Sun preseason player of the year.
In 37 minutes on the court, Knight made seven buckets on 16 attempts, including five 3-pointers on 11 shots from beyond the perimeter. She totaled a game-high 20 points in the win for her third 20-point performance of the season and her 16th double-figure outing. Knight had 10 of the team's 23 points and pulled down five rebounds in the final 11 minutes. She went 3-for-4 from 3-point range during that time and helped the Eagles to hold Stetson to just 10 points.
The comeback victory stood as the Eagle's 56th consecutive win at home in an Atlantic Sun contest and marked the team's ninth win against Stetson in its past 10 outings. The past three meetings between the Hatters and the Eagles have been decided by five total points with two contests going to overtime. The two teams will meet again on Feb. 7 at Stetson.
Florida Gulf Coast goes for its 10th consecutive win on Wednesday with a road contest at North Florida.
