In their opening game of the Florida Gulf Coast Tournament, the Seattle University women's basketball team was handed an 87-63 loss to tournament-host Florida Gulf Coast Friday evening in Fort Myers, Fla.
"We played a very good team in Florida Gulf Coast and we really let the game get out of our hands in the first half," said head coach Joan Bonvicini. "In the second half we played a lot harder and smarter. I thought Elle (Kerfoot) played a very good game. We need to learn from this and come out and get ready for tomorrow's game."
Senior Tatiana Heck (Lynnwood, Wash.) came out really working the ball early for the Redhawks. She scored SU's first point off a charity stripe opportunity, in addition to having a pair of rebounds and a steal.
Heck and Seattle U pushed a very hard pace to open things up. They put a lot of defensive pressure on the Eagles, but a pair of open three-pointers would allow FGCU to take a 9-3 lead with just over 14 minutes to play in the first half.
Elle Kerfoot (Surrey, B.C.) responded by putting up five straight SU points and grabbing a steal, to make it an 11-8 game and keep Seattle U within reach of the lead.
She would score in double figures for 12th consecutive game. Kerfoot finished with 24 points and was perfect from the stripe, going 9-for-9, and was the game's leading scorer.
Despite Kerfoot's efforts, an athletic Florida Gulf Coast squad was able to score four straight on give-and-go plays.
The Redhawks, behind a trey from Ashley Ward (Irvine, Calif.) made it a 15-11 game, but getting foul calls and points off of turnovers would allow the Eagles to continue to hold a small point cushion.
At 5:56 FGCU would take a double figure lead off a Sarah Hansen layin and Kelsey Jacobson added a pair of consecutive three-pointers to make it a 32-15 game.
After five scoreless minutes, Kerfoot would add a layin of her own in an effort to get the SU offense going and Sylvia Shephard (Alta Loma, Calif.) sent in her first three of the game, but it was not enough to slow down the Eagles.
As the Redhawks continued to struggle to find their offensive fluidity, Florida Gulf Coast continued to add to their early lead. Behind three three-pointers from Shannon Murphy, the Eagles went into the break with a 50-24 lead.
In the second half, SU would go on a 10-6 run in the first six minutes of play.
Inside 13 minutes, Daidra Brown (Seattle, Wash.) added four consecutive points to make it a 59-39 contest to cut down Florida Gulf Coast's lead to 20.
At 10:32, Kerfoot slammed in a three from about 24 feet out. She was fouled on the play and made good on her four-point opportunity to make it a 64-43 game. Despite her continued efforts, SU was unable to swing the momentum to their side and significantly cut down FGCU's sizeable lead.
Seattle U would outscore Florida Gulf Coast 39-37 in the second half, but their first half point deficit was too much to climb back from.
SU shot 33.3 percent (17-for-51) from the field, while FGCU was 52.7 percent (29-for-55). Both sides had 33 rebounds in the game, but the Eagles were able to convert SU's 19 turnovers into 27 points.
Seattle U will take on SIU Edwardsville on Saturday, Mar. 5, in game two of the Florida Gulf Coast Tournament. Tip time is set for 2:15 p.m. PT.