FORT MYERS, Fla. – Whitney Knight scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Florida Gulf Coast University women's basketball team to a 75-47 victory over Northern Kentucky University in Atlantic Sun Conference action on Thursday evening in Alico Arena.
 
Knight went 7-for-11 from the floor and 4-for-8 from behind the 3-point arc to pace four double-figure scorers for FGCU, which improved to 22-2 overall and 9-0 in the Atlantic Sun.  Kaneisha Atwater and Stephanie Haas each finished with 13 points, while Taylor Gradinjan added 10 points and four rebounds for the Eagles.
 
NKU started the game hot from long range as the Norse knocked down their first three 3-pointers of the game, including two from Melody Doss, for an 11-7 lead with 16:27 left in the first half.  FGCU, however, responded with a 13-2 run, capped by a Knight trey, and forced four NKU turnovers over the next 5:25 to take a 20-13 advantage with just under 11 minutes on the clock.
 
Doss cut into the Norse deficit with her third 3-pointer of the game to bring NKU to within 20-16 on the other end of the court.  The Eagles then put together a 20-3 spurt, led by eight points from Knight, to extend their lead to 40-19 with just over two minutes remaining in the opening stanza.
 
Doss ended the NKU scoring drought with a jumper at the 1:37 mark, and Rianna Gayheart drained a 3-point field goal to pull the Norse to within 40-24 with 32 seconds left in the half.  Haas gave FGCU a 42-24 lead at the halftime break with a pair of free throws.
 
The Eagles shot 46.7 percent (14-for-30) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, including a seven 3-pointers, while the Norse went 8-for-22 (.364) with five treys. 
 
FGCU opened the second half with a 25-2 run behind six Jenna Cobb points to take push its advantage to 67-26 with 11:19 left to play.  A 3-point field goal by Kasey Uetrecht from the left corner stopped an almost seven-minute scoring drought and sparked an 12-2 run to bring the Norse to within 69-38 at the seven-minute mark, but NKU was unable to close the gap.
 
Doss led the way for NKU, which fell to 14-10 overall and 5-4 in the Atlantic Sun, with 13 points and four rebounds, and she went 3-for-5 from long range.  Courtney Roush added a career-high six points and connected on each of the two attempts she took from the floor, and Molly Franson finished with six points and a team-high six rebounds for the Norse, who went 14-for-46 (.326) from the floor overall.
 
FGCU finished with a 36-32 edge on the boards and shot 44.6 percent (25-for-56) from the floor for the night.  The Eagles drained 12 treys and went 13-for-15 from the free-throw line. 
 
NKU stays in the Sunshine State for a Saturday matchup against Stetson in DeLand, Florida.  Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.  Links to live stats and the ESPN3 broadcast are available at NKUNorse.com.  Fans can follow @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter for live updates as the game progresses as well.