Former Cougar Chelsea Lyles scores 16 points in FGSU win over Florida Friday night

FORT MYERS, Fla. - FGCU's Adrianne McNally and Chelsea Lyles led the Eagles with 22 points and 16 points, repectively, as the Eagles upset the Gators of Florida in front of 2,866 fans in Alico Arena in the 08-09 season-opener.

The Eagles led by as many as 13 points, 71-58, with 11 minutes to go, and survived a UF rally, that found them down two points with less than six minutes remaining. From there, FGCU used their patented outside shooting, especially from Adrianne McNally (Howell, Mich.) who banked in a key 3-pointer as the shot-clock expired with 2:30 left that gave the Eagles an 83-80 advantage.

McNally's shot fired up FGCU and its crowd, which was on its feet for the remainder of the game.

McNally's 22 points were a career-high, while Lyles (Colorado Springs, Colo., and Western Nebraska Community College), who also collected seven rebounds, six assists and three blocks, contributed 16 points in her FGCU debut while hitting 5-of-10 from the field and 4-of-8 from the three-point line. Shannon Murphy (Brighton, Mich.) added 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, along with a game-high two steals. Courtney Chihil (Tipp City, Ohio) scored 14 points in her collegiate debut for FGCU, which shot 50.0 percent from the floor and hit 12-of-21 three-pointers, while forcing the Gators into 18 turnovers. Former WNCC Cougar Emma Beddome started the contest and saw 16 minutes of action, but did not score.

Lyles tallied 13 first-half points to lead the Eagles as FGCU led 45-37 at halftime. The Eagles used sharp outside shooting to build the lead, hitting 53.3 percent (16-30) from the field, including 5-of-10 from the 3-point arc and 8-of-11 from the free throw line.

After the teams traded buckets twice to start the game, FGCU used an 11-0 run over a 3:18 span to take a 13-4 lead just under five minutes into the game. Florida cut the deficit down to four points, but Lyles canned a trey to give the Eagles a seven-point lead.

The teams exchanged field goals, before FGCU marched off a 15-5 run in a little less than six minutes to take a 40-30 lead with 3:07 remaining. The two squads then traded scores for the rest of the half, as the Eagles took the nine-point advantage into the locker room.

FGCU now heads to Tallahassee to take on the Seminoles, in a rematch of last season's home opener. The game is scheduled to start at 2:00 pm on Sunday, November 16.