Women's Basketball Defeats No. 22 Florida Gulf Coast, 58-55; Earns First Top-25 Win In 43 Years

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FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Princeton Tigers took down the No. 22 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles, 58-55, at the Alico Arena on Wednesday night.

It was the program's first victory over a top-25 team since defeating No. 18 Rutgers on Jan. 5, 1978. The Tigers had lost 25 straight contests vs. ranked foes before tonight's win.

Abby Meyers scored a team-high 18 points while Grace Stone set a new career mark with 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Julia Cunningham also had 10 points in the victory.

No. 22 Florida Gulf Coast came into the game with the No. 13 ranked scoring offense (84.0) in the country and had registered at least 70 points in every game this season.

They finished with 55 points and their lowest field goal total of the year (20). Princeton held Florida Gulf Coast to 36.4 percent shooting, its worst performance of the season. Kierstan Bell led the nation in scoring at 26.6 points per game coming into the night and was held to 19 points on an inefficient 21 shot attempts including 0-9 from beyond the arc.

The fourth quarter featured six lead changes and two ties. Princeton led 50-44 with 3:21 left before a 7-0 push put Florida Gulf Coast in front, 51-50, as the clock read 2:12. The two squads exchanged baskets before this huge And-1 from Meyers ….

Princeton 55, FGCU 53 | 1:03 4th

AND-1!!! ????

Abby with the biggest bucket of the game so far. Tigers up two with 1:03 to go! Timeout Eagles!

?? - https://t.co/hIOqo0XR9o
?? - https://t.co/sKBMgVkhWR #GetStops ???? pic.twitter.com/ELtfKkwwN7
— Princeton WBB (@PrincetonWBB) December 2, 2021

The free-throw gave Princeton a 55-53 lead with 1:03 remaining. After two from the charity stripe for the Eagles, the Tigers called timeout to draw up an offensive play.

This is how it went …

Princeton 57, FGCU 55 | 0:01 4th

BANG! ??

You bet Abby hit that! Tigers with the ball after the Eagles' turnover.

?? - https://t.co/hIOqo0XR9o
?? - https://t.co/sKBMgVkhWR #GetStops ???? | @NCAAWBB pic.twitter.com/lJrObAgTd9
— Princeton WBB (@PrincetonWBB) December 2, 2021

Ellie Mitchell forced a turnover on the next possession before Maggie Connolly sank a free throw with one second to go. The Eagles couldn't get a shot off on their final possession, giving the Tigers the victory.

The locker room vibes after a top-25 win were … incredible ????#GetStops ???? | @NCAAWBB pic.twitter.com/fOpwPR6mdx
— Princeton WBB (@PrincetonWBB) December 2, 2021

This was Florida Gulf Coast's first loss of the season. The Eagles are 63-7 over the past three years with two of their losses coming to Princeton.

The Tigers head on the road to take on Fordham on Sunday. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.

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