2024–25 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles women's basketball team

2024–25 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles women's basketball
Conference	Atlantic Sun Conference
Record	11–3 (2–0 ASUN)
Head coach	Karl Smesko (23rd season; first 2 games) Chelsea Lyles (since 11/13/24)
Assistant coaches	Camryn Brown Sheahen Dowling Lisa Zderadicka Keri Jewett-Giles
Home arena	Alico Arena

2024–25 ASUN women's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Florida Gulf Coast	10	–	0		1.000			19	–	3		.864
Central Arkansas	9	–	1		.900			15	–	6		.714
Lipscomb	6	–	4		.600			13	–	8		.619
Stetson	6	–	4		.600			12	–	10		.545
North Alabama	6	–	4		.600			11	–	10		.524
Eastern Kentucky	5	–	5		.500			15	–	8		.652
Bellarmine	5	–	5		.500			14	–	9		.609
Jacksonville	5	–	5		.500			11	–	11		.500
Austin Peay	5	–	5		.500			10	–	11		.476
West Georgia*	2	–	8		.200			8	–	13		.381
Queens*	1	–	9		.100			7	–	14		.333
North Florida	0	–	10		.000			4	–	19		.174
* ineligible for the 2025 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II
† 2025 ASUN tournament winner As of January 30, 2025

The 2024–25 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles women's basketball team represents Florida Gulf Coast University during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Eagles, led by first-year head coach Chelsea Lyles, play their home games at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Florida, as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference.

After coaching the first two games of the season, on November 13, 2024, longtime head coach Karl Smesko announced that he would be stepping down from his position, after 22+ seasons, in order to take the head coaching position of the WNBA's Atlanta Dream,[1] with assistant coach Chelsea Lyles being named his successor the following day, becoming just the second head coach in program history.[2]

Previous season

The Eagles finished the 2023–24 season 29–5, 16–0 in ASUN play, to finish as ASUN regular season champions for the seventh consecutive season.[3] They defeated Jacksonville,[4] Austin Peay,[5] and Central Arkansas to win their eighth consecutive ASUN tournament title and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.[6] They received the #12 seed in the Albany Regional 1,[7] where they would fall to #5 region seed Oklahoma in the first round.[8]

Roster

2024–25 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Karina Gordon 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) So East Carolina Hallandale Beach, Florida G 1 Emani Jefferson (5Y) 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Sr Memphis Miami, Florida G 3 Cerina Rolle 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) RS Jr Eustis High School Eustis, Florida G 4 Dolly Cairns (5Y) 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Sr Rhode Island Saratoga Springs, New York G 5 Alahna Paige (5Y) 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) Sr Daemen Rochester, New York G 7 Khamari Mitchell-Steen 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) Sr Northern Kentucky Oak Ridge, Tennessee F 10 Maca Retamales 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Sr Florida SouthWestern State Santiago, Chile G 11 Maddie Antenucci 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) RS Sr Indian Hill High School Cincinnati, Ohio G 12 Kaelyn Flowers 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Fr Blackman High School Murfreesboro, Tennessee G 14 Casey Santoro (5Y) 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) Sr Kent State Bellevue, Ohio G 23 Jordan Campbell 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Jr IMG Academy Purcellville, Virginia G 24 Lauryn Taylor (5Y) 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Sr Francis Marion Blythewood, South Carolina G 32 Skyler Gill 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Sr Kansas Wichita, Kansas G 33 Emani Theodule 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) RS So Warner Miramar, Florida G 34 Anna Mortag (5Y) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Sr Butler Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Head coach Chelsea Lyles (Florida Gulf Coast) Assistant coach(es) Camryn Brown (High Point) Sheahen Dowling (Florida Gulf Coast) Lisa Zderadicka (Florida Gulf Coast) Keri Jewett-Giles (Florida Gulf Coast) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on (5Y) Fifth-year senior Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: January 6, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 5, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Davidson	L 56–57	0–1	John M. Belk Arena (811) Davidson, NC
November 11, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Columbia	L 51–62	0–2	Levien Gymnasium (762) New York, NY
November 17, 2024* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		NJIT	W 73–53	1–2	Alico Arena (1,732) Fort Myers, FL
November 23, 2024* 5:00 pm, ESPN+		vs. Georgetown Atlantic Slam	W 66–57	2–2	Eastlink Centre (1,026) Charlottetown, PE
November 24, 2024* 3:00 pm, ESPN+		vs. Cincinnati Atlantic Slam	W 59–52	3–2	Eastlink Centre (804) Charlottetown, PE
November 29, 2024* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		California Baptist Homewood Suites Classic	W 66–56	4–2	Alico Arena (1,466) Fort Myers, FL
November 30, 2024* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Chattanooga Homewood Suites Classic	W 61–53	5–2	Alico Arena (1,505) Fort Myers, FL
December 4, 2024* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		New College	W 91–32	6–2	Alico Arena (1,334) Fort Myers, FL
December 8, 2024* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Ave Maria	W 82–43	7–2	Alico Arena (1,345) Fort Myers, FL
December 16, 2024* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Montana State	L 49–58	7–3	Alico Arena (1,429) Fort Myers, FL
December 20, 2024* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		North Carolina A&T FGCU Holiday Classic	W 79–48	8–3	Alico Arena  Fort Myers, FL
December 21, 2024* 3:30 pm, ESPN+		East Tennessee State FGCU Holiday Classic	W 67–54	9–3	Alico Arena (1,444) Fort Myers, FL
ASUN regular season
January 2, 2025 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Queens	W 81–58	10–3 (1–0)	Alico Arena (1,540) Fort Myers, FL
January 4, 2025 4:00 pm, ESPN+		West Georgia	W 63–49	11–3 (2–0)	Alico Arena (1,632) Fort Myers, FL
January 9, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at North Florida			UNF Arena  Jacksonville, FL
January 11, 2025 2:30 pm, ESPN+		at Jacksonville			Swisher Gymnasium  Jacksonville, FL
January 16, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Queens			Curry Arena  Charlotte, NC
January 18, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at West Georgia			The Coliseum  Carrollton, GA
January 23, 2025 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Bellarmine			Alico Arena  Fort Myers, FL
January 25, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Eastern Kentucky			Alico Arena  Fort Myers, FL
January 30, 2025 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Lipscomb			Alico Arena  Fort Myers, FL
February 1, 2025 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Austin Peay			Alico Arena  Fort Myers, FL
February 6, 2025 7:30 pm, ESPN+		at Bellarmine			Knights Hall  Louisville, KY
February 8, 2025 3:00 pm, ESPN+		at Eastern Kentucky			Baptist Health Arena  Richmond, KY
February 12, 2025 6:30 pm, ESPN+		North Florida			Alico Arena  Fort Myers, FL
February 15, 2025 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Stetson			Alico Arena  Fort Myers, FL
February 20, 2025 7:30 pm, ESPN+		at Central Arkansas			Farris Center  Conway, AR
February 22, 2025 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at North Alabama			CB&S Bank Arena  Florence, AL
February 27, 2025 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Jacksonville			Alico Arena  Fort Myers, FL
March 1, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Stetson			Insight Credit Union Arena  DeLand, FL
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Sources:[9][10]

See also

• 2024–25 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles men's basketball team

References

1. "Atlanta Dream Hire Karl Smesko As Next Head Coach". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
2. "FGCU women's basketball welcomes new head coach ahead of season opener". NBC 2. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
3. "FGCU women close out perfect ASUN regular season with win over Jacksonville". The News-Press. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
4. "Women's Basketball Fends Off Late Charge by Jacksonville to Advance to ASUN Semifinals". Eagle Media. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
5. "FGCU Women's Basketball wins ASUN Semifinal Game over Austin Peay". WGCU. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
6. "FGCU beats Central Arkansas for ASUN women's basketball title, earns 10th NCAA Tournament berth". Naples Daily News. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
7. "2024 Division I Women's Basketball Official Bracket". NCAA.com. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
8. "Fifth-seeded Oklahoma edges Florida Gulf Coast 73-70". AP News. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
9. "2024-25 Women's Basketball Schedule". FGCU Athletics. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
10. "Florida Gulf Coast Eagles 2024-25 Regular Season NCAAW Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved January 6, 2025.