JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Highlighted by a career day from redshirt-freshman Erin Wilson, the Jacksonville University women's basketball team held No. 24 Florida Gulf Coast to single digits in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough as the Eagles held on for an 81-68 decision, Monday evening at Historic Swisher Gymnasium.

Both teams shot 50 percent or better in the first half, with the Dolphins (55.6 on 15-27 shooting) outpacing the Eagles (50.0 on 19-38 shooting) despite an early 12-0 run from FGCU in the opening minutes of the game. That changed as the game went on as Jacksonville allowed just five points in the fourth quarter, to join Princeton (Nov. 17), Houston (Dec. 4), Duke (Dec. 29), and North Florida (Jan. 13) in holding FGCU to single digits in a quarter this season. Additionally, the Dolphins are the only team of those five to hold FGCU to five points or less in a quarter this season.

"We have to be able to defend. The first four minutes of the game, FGCU went on a 12-0 run. We have to be able to rebound; that's the biggest thing – we have to get stops. It shows in the fourth quarter that when we get stops, we can do it," head coach Darnell Haney noted following the game. "We have to make sure we're solid defensively throughout all four quarters. We gave up too many points in the first, second, and third. We pride ourselves on defending, and we didn't defend today for four quarters."

As Jacksonville (13-9, 5-4 ASUN) faced a 12-0 deficit early in the opening quarter, freshman Da'Nasia Shaw buried a deep three-pointer at 5:29 to get the Dolphins on the board. Shaw's trey sparked a 9-3 run that brought the Dolphins within six, 15-9, with 3:48 showing. The teams traded baskets down the stretch, but the visitors held a 28-19 lead at the break.

While the Eagles (22-2, 9-0 ASUN) tacked on a nine-point run in the early goings of the second quarter, Jacksonville closed the half on an 8-1 run with layups from Shaw (1:30), Wilson (1:24), junior Jada Perry (0:58), and senior Kiara Meeks (0:30) to keep the game within reach. At the break, FGCU held a 52-38 advantage.

Both teams continued to push the pace of the game into the second half, but the third quarter saw an 11-4 Eagle surge from 2:26 to 0:47 that extended the visitors' lead to 76-56 going into the fourth. However, back-to-back layups from Perry (9:42) and senior Alexis Burns (8:00) set the tone of the final period, as the Dolphins played with an extra sense of urgency and closed the gap to 16, 76-60, with 6:45 remaining. Meeks added a 5-0 run of her own with a jumper (3:04) and a three-pointer (2:17), along with a free throw from senior Mariah Batz (1:40) and a layup from Perry (1:06) down the stretch, but JU's late game rally ultimately proved futile as the Eagles remained unbeaten in ASUN Conference play, 81-68.

Added Haney, "When we sit down and defend without fouling, we're in good shape. We sent [FGCU] to the line 28 times tonight; that's too many. When we're getting to the free throw line, we have to make sure we're finishing plays, finishing free throws, and finishing easy baskets on our end."

Along with Wilson's career day of 14 points, five rebounds, and three steals, Jacksonville saw two others reach double figures. Perry notched a team-high 15 points, eight rebounds, two blocks, and two steals, while Meeks finished the day with 13 points and seven rebounds. For her efforts, Wilson earned Hodges Mazda Player of the Game.
 

Of Wilson's performance, Haney noted, "Erin Wilson is a high-character kid who is essential to what we do as a program. She epitomizes what we want as a Jacksonville women's basketball player. She just puts her head down and goes to work; she doesn't have any excuses. She's young and she's learning."

For the Eagles, Nasrin Ulel posted a game-high 36 points, while Tytionia Adderly brought down 11 rebounds and dished out five assists.

The Dolphins return to action on Saturday, Feb. 8 when they head to NJIT for a 1 p.m. contest.