Bell leads No. 23 FGCU women to ASUN title, 8th NCAA berth

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Kierstan Bell scored 18 of her 26 points in the second half to lead No. 23 Florida Gulf Coast to its sixth-straight NCAA Tournament berth with a 69-54 win over Jacksonville State in the championship game of the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament. Bell had all four of her 3-pointers after the break when the Eagles went 8 of 13 behind the arc after a 2 of 18 performance in the first half. FGCU was playing in its 11th-straight championship game, wining its eighth. Kiana Johnson and Kennedy Gavin each had 13 points for the Gamecocks. Jacksonville State, which has never been to the NCAA Tournament, lost ASUN title games in 1997 and 1999 before spending the last 18 years in the Ohio Valley Conference.