# 2017–18 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles women's basketball team

The 2017–18 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles women's basketball team represented Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Eagles, led by sixteenth year head coach Karl Smesko, played their home games at Alico Arena and were members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. They finished the season 31–5, 12–1 in A-Sun play to win the Atlantic Sun regular season champions. They also won the ASUN Tournament and received an automatic bid to the NCAA women's tournament, where they upset Missouri in the first round before losing to Stanford in the second round.

## Media

All home games and conference road are shown on ESPN3 or A-Sun.TV. Road games are also broadcast on the FGCU Portal.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/12/2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Illinois | W 85–61 | 1–0 | Alico Arena (2,202) Fort Myers, FL |
| 11/15/2017* 7:00 pm | | at FIU | W 88–52 | 2–0 | FIU Arena (360) Miami, FL |
| 11/17/2017* 5:00 pm | | vs. Kent State Akron Classic | W 80–62 | 3–0 | James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, OH |
| 11/18/2017* 2:30 pm | | at Akron Akron Classic | W 82–63 | 4–0 | James A. Rhodes Arena (611) Akron, OH |
| 11/20/2017* 7:00 pm | | at Siena | W 63–50 | 5–0 | Alumni Recreation Center (573) Loudonville, NY |
| 11/23/2017* 3:30 pm | | vs. DePaul Play4Kay Shootout quarterfinals | W 89–84 $^{OT}$ | 6–0 | Mandalay Bay Arena Paradise, NV |
| 11/24/2017* 8:30 pm | | vs. No. 9 Ohio State Play4Kay Shootout semifinals | L 62–104 | 6–1 | Mandalay Bay Arena Paradise, NV |
| 11/25/2017* 8:30 pm | | vs. Belmont Play4Kay Shootout 3rd place game | L 65–75 | 6–2 | Mandalay Bay Arena Paradise, NV |
| 12/03/2017* 3:00 pm | | at Abilene Christian | W 94–55 | 7–2 | Moody Coliseum (1,103) Abilene, TX |
| 12/05/2017* 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Southeastern | W 76–66 | 8–2 | Alico Arena (1,576) Fort Myers, FL |
| 12/08/2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | No. 20 Kentucky | W 70–64 | 9–2 | Alico Arena (2,343) Fort Myers, FL |
| 12/10/2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Ave Maria | W 99–35 | 10–2 | Alico Arena Fort Myers, FL |
| 12/17/2017* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Chattanooga | L 61–68 | 10–3 | McKenzie Arena (1,457) Chattanooga, TN |
| 12/20/2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Harvard FGCU Hilton Inn Garden Classic | W 65–56 | 11–3 | Alico Arena (2,297) Fort Myers, FL |
| 12/21/2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | SIU Edwardsville FGCU Hilton Inn Garden Classic | W 66–49 | 12–3 | Alico Arena (1,845) Fort Myers, FL |
| 12/29/2017* 7:30 pm, ESPN3 | | South Dakota State | W 87–78 | 13–3 | Alico Arena (2,234) Fort Myers, FL |
| 12/30/2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Florida Memorial | W 82–43 | 14–3 | Alico Arena (1,589) Fort Myers, FL |
| Atlantic Sun regular season ||||||
| 01/06/2018 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Stetson | W 80–40 | 15–3 (1–0) | Alico Arena (2,407) Fort Myers, FL |
| 01/13/2018 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | NJIT | W 90–66 | 16–3 (2–0) | Alico Arena (2,068) Fort Myers, FL |
| 01/15/2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | USC Upstate | W 93–60 | 17–3 (3–0) | Alico Arena (2,347) Fort Myers, FL |
| 01/20/2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Kennesaw State | W 78–57 | 18–3 (4–0) | KSU Convocation Center (961) Kennesaw, GA |
| 01/22/2018 7:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Lipscomb | W 68–54 | 19–3 (5–0) | Allen Arena (503) Nashville, TN |
| 01/27/2018 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Jacksonville | W 63–58 | 20–3 (6–0) | Alico Arena (2,814) Fort Myers, FL |
| 02/01/2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at North Florida | L 73–75 | 20–4 (6–1) | UNF Arena (341) Jacksonville, FL |
| 02/03/2018 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Jacksonville | W 65–63 | 21–4 (7–1) | Swisher Gymnasium (601) Jacksonville, FL |
| 02/06/2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | North Florida | W 67–62 | 22–4 (8–1) | Alico Arena (2,413) Fort Myers, FL |
| 02/10/2018 1:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at USC Upstate | W 88–44 | 23–4 (9–1) | G. B. Hodge Center (315) Spartanburg, SC |
| 02/12/2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at NJIT | W 89–43 | 24–4 (10–1) | Wellness and Events Center (289) Newark, NJ |
| 02/17/2018 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Lipscomb | W 88–52 | 25–4 (11–1) | Alico Arena (2,620) Fort Myers, FL |
| 02/19/2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Kennesaw State | W 78–51 | 26–4 (12–1) | Alico Arena (2,604) Fort Myers, FL |
| 02/24/2018 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Stetson | W 74–60 | 27–4 (13–1) | Edmunds Center (446) Lakeland, FL |
| Atlantic Sun Women's Tournament ||||||
| 03/02/2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | (1) | (8) NJIT Quarterfinals | W 83–62 | 28–4 | Alico Arena (2,006) Fort Myers, FL |
| 03/07/2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | (1) | (4) Lipscomb Semifinals | W 105–55 | 29–4 | Alico Arena (2,022) Fort Myers, FL |
| 03/11/2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | (1) | (2) Jacksonville Championship Game | W 68–58 | 30–4 | Alico Arena (2,966) Fort Myers, FL |
| NCAA Women's Tournament ||||||
| 03/17/2018* 3:30 pm, ESPN2 | (12 L) | vs. (5 L) No. 17 Missouri First Round | W 80–70 | 31–4 | Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA |
| 03/19/2018* 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | (12 L) | at (4 L) No. 15 Stanford Second Round | L 70–90 | 31–5 | Maples Pavilion (2,049) Stanford, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. L=Lexington Region. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Rankings

2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings
Legend :
| | Increase in ranking |
| | Decrease in ranking |
| | No Change |
| (RV) | Received Votes |
| (NR) | Not Ranked |