College basketball: FGCU women upset No. 21 DePaul in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS -- The Florida Gulf Coast University women's basketball team had a lot to be thankful for in its Thanksgiving Day overtime win against DePaul. 

By focusing on strong defense and points in the paint, the Eagles pulled off an 89-84 upset over the Blue Demons, who are ranked No. 21 in the latest USA Today Coaches Poll.

The win, which came in a first-round matchup at the Play4Kay Showcase in Las Vegas, moved FGCU to 6-0 on the season and into the tourney's second-round winners' bracket.

"We've got a great team chemistry going," FGCU coach Karl Smesko said. "Because of that chemistry, we were able to pull together when things got a little rough on us. We were able to make just enough plays to win."

The Eagles will play No. 8 Ohio State, which routed Memphis, 100-69, in the semifinals at 8:30 p.m. ET Friday.

In overtime, making plays often means consistent free-throw shooting, and the Eagles certainly had the edge in that department. While DePaul (3-2) missed six crucial free throws in the extra period, FGCU sealed the win by making all seven of its overtime foul shots. 

"That was the difference today," Smesko said. "We had to win at the foul line." 

FGCU also tempered its offensive strategy to match DePaul's fast-paced play. Instead of taking perimeter shots, the Eagles took it to the hole and made short-range field goals. They finished with 48 points in the paint. 

Leading the way with this approach was senior guard China Dow, who led all scorers with 26 points. 

"The lane was wide open today, but usually we're a shooting team," Dow said. "We were just focused on getting back in transition because that's where (DePaul) wins."

Going into the game, DePaul averaged nearly 99 points per game. However, the Blue Demons collided with an FGCU squad that had held opponents to an average of 57.6 points. DePaul outscored FGCU 24-6 from the 3-point line, but those shots came with plenty of misses down the stretch. The Blue Demons ultimately made only 27 percent of their 3-pointers. 

"I thought we were well-prepared for a good team," Smesko said. "We wanted to make sure that they at least earned their points." 

After allowing DePaul to score on its first two possessions, FGCU answered with a 16-2 run. The Eagles established an offensive formula of making easy shots down low right away.

The Blue Demons then countered with a run of their own, going 10-2 to start the second period. DePaul forward Mart'e Grays began to hit her stride and scored 13 points in the period. She led DePaul with 17 points on the day. 

While the Eagles led by as much as 12 in the first period, they found themselves trailing by 5 with 2:46 remaining in the half. Despite only scoring 10 points in the second period, FGCU was down just 33-30 at halftime. 

This set the stage for a back-and-forth second half that featured six lead changes. FGCU outscored DePaul 28-19 in the third period and began to pull away in the fourth. The Eagles led 73-67 with 2:53 remaining, but DePaul's Chante Stonewall scored the final six points of regulation to send it into overtime. 

FGCU forward Rosemarie Julien led the way in the final minutes, scoring 10 of her 22 points in the extra period.   Her two free throws with 16 seconds left gave the Eagles an 85-81 lead. Stonewall made a 3-pointer with seven seconds left to cut the deficit to one, but Julien again made two free throws with five seconds left. FGCU then fouled the Blue Demons, who missed both free throws.

While the win could go a long way come seeding time for the NCAA tournament should they get there (or even possibly an at-large bid), the Eagles know they have a long road ahead. 

"It means a lot, but at the same time we have to keep pushing through," Dow said. "We've got better competition coming so we got to just keep pushing."

FGCU 89, DePAUL 84 OT

FGCU (6-0)

Julien 6-14 10-11 22, Adderly 5-8 1-2 11, Nelson 4-7 0-0 8, Gradinjan 1-3 2-2 5, Ulel 2-6 1-3 5, Dow 6-11 14-15 26, Zderadicka 5-13 1-3 12, Cattani 0-1 0-0 0, Balir 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-63 29-36 89.

DePAUL (3-2)

Grays 7-15 2-4 17, Coleman 5-11 2-6 14, Allen 4-13 3-4 12, Campbell 2-6 6-7 10, Millender 4-12 0-0 10, Stonewall 6-8 1-1 15, Prochaska 0-3 4-4 4, McLimore 1-1 0-0 2, Bekelja 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-70 18-26 84.

FGCU 20 10 28 15 16 -- 89
DePaul 13 20 19 21 11 -- 84

3-Point Goals_FGCU 2-14 (Zderadicka 1-1, Gradinjan 1-3, Nelson 0-1, Cattani 0-1, Ulel 0-1, Julien 0-3, Dow 0-4), DePaul 8-30 (Stonewall 2-2, Coleman 2-4, Millender 2-9, Grays 1-2, Allen 1-7, Bekelja 0-1, Prochaska 0-2, Campbell 0-3). Rebounds_FGCU 42 (Adderly, Dow 9), DePaul 42 (Allen 10). Assists_FGCU 5 (Zderadicka 2), DePaul 19 (Coleman 7). Total fouls_FGCU 23, DePaul 29. Fouled Out_Zderadicka, Adderly, Nelson, Allen, Stonewall. Technicals_None.