ST. THOMAS, USVI. – With 1,200 miles traveled and two days of practice under its belt, the FGCU women's basketball team is set for the 2014 Paradise Jam. The Eagles will compete in the Island Division and will face Wichita State, Clemson and Ohio State on three-consecutive days beginning Thanksgiving Day. All games will be played at the University of the Virgin Islands, each with a 3:30 p.m. EST tipoff.

HOW TO FOLLOW

All games can be viewed live thanks to Basketball Travelers by following this link. Live stats are also available at ParadiseJamStats.com with both platforms also available through FGCUAthletics.com. As always, fans can get live updates via twitter at @FGCU_WBB.

THE GREEN AND BLUE

FGCU enters the week with a record of 3-1 after earning a strong win over George Washington to open the season and following with large wins over FIU and Ave Maria but narrowly falling at Auburn last week.

Backed by five-time Coach of the Year Karl Smesko, the Eagles returned two double-figure scorers in juniors Whitney Knight (Winston-Salem, N.C./R.J. Reynolds High School) and Stephanie Haas (Avon Lake, Ohio/Magnificat High School) for the 2014-15 slate. 

Haas currently leads all players with 15.3 points per game after scoring a career-high 30 points in the loss at Auburn. Knight has contributed 12.8 points per game and leads the team's rebounding efforts with 5.5 boards per contest. Haas has shot .588 this year to lead the Atlantic Sun, while Knight has produced a team-high eight 3-point buckets. Senior captain Jenna Cobb (New Holland, Ohio/Miami Trace High School/Butler) and junior Kaneisha Atwater (Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce Westover High School) also add double figures with 11 and 10 points per game, respectively.  Cobb and DyTiesha Dunson (Albany, Ga./Westover High School) have each dished out 14 assists this season to help the Eagle offense.

As a unit, the Eagles average 89.0 points per game, while holding foes to 62.5 points per contest. The team holds a shooting percentage of .516 to rank second among the nation's teams and has shot .409 from 3-point range and made 11.8 shots from beyond-the-arc per game.

The Green and Blue has turned the ball over just 12.5 times, while dishing out 19.3 assists and grabbing 11.8 steals per game this season. All three categories sit better than their opponents, but the team has been outrebounded by 3.5 boards per game.

The Eagles currently lead the Atlantic Sun Conference in points per game, scoring margin, field-goal percentage, 3-point percentage, assists, turnover margin, assist to turnover ratio and steals.

LAST TIME OUT

With another well-rounded scoring surge, the FGCU women's basketball team defeated Ave Maria 102-54 Sunday night at Alico Arena.

Ave Maria pressured the Eagles in the opening minutes of the game, but the home team pushed forward and held the Gyrenes to zero field goals over the last nine minutes of the first half to create a 37-2 run and break open the contest. After holding a 57-17 lead at the break, the Eagles produced a strong shooting percentage in the second half to maintain the lead and ultimately earned a 102-54 win.

Redshirt-freshman Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wisc./Cudahy High School) paced the Eagles with a career-high 16 points. Freshman Haley Laughter also produced a career-high with 13 points in just 15 minutes on the floor. Laughter made 6-of-9 shots and pulled down five boards for the Green and Blue. Stephanie Haas and Jenna Cobb each added 11 for FGCU with Whitney Knight contributing 10 to the team's season-high point total.

Defensively, senior Anthi Chatzigiakoumi (Athens, Greece/General Senior High School of Kallithea) brought down a team-high six rebounds.

As a unit, the Eagles shot 51.9 percent from the floor with a 39.5 percent clip from 3-point range, while holding Ave Maria to just 31.1 percent. FGCU made 17 3-point shots, its best performance since setting the NCAA record with 22 against ETSU in 2012. The team outrebounded the Gyrenes 50-36 and forced 18 turnovers.

ALL-TIME MEETINGS WITH THE FIELD

FGCU will meet all three teams for the first time this weekend. The matchups will mark five-straight first-time meetings for FGCU as the bouts with Auburn and Ave Maria were also introductory meetings. In program history, the Eagles are 101-35 in first-time

LAST TIME AT PARADISE JAM

2014 marks the Eagles second trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands in three seasons. FGCU went 1-2 in 2012's tournament with a narrow loss to DePaul, a defeat at the hands of South Carolina and a win over Hampton. That season, the Eagles finished the year at 27-7 with a perfect 18-0 Atlantic Sun record.

As freshmen, this year's junior class contributed 39 percent of the team's scoring in the tournament.

WICHITA STATE

• Wichita State enters the tournament with a record of 2-1 this season with wins over Creighton and UT-Arlington. The Shockers finished last year with a mark of 26-7 and earned their second-straight Missouri Valley Championship with a trip to the 2014 NCAA tournament. The team ranked among the nation's top-25 for one week in February and returns four starters from last year's squad.

• The MVC preseason favorite is currently averaging 64.7 points per game, three points fewer than opponents with a shooting percentage of 42.3 from the field. The Shockers average 4.7 made baskets from 3-point range with a 36.8 percent clip from beyond-the-arc and pull down 33.3 rebounds per game.

• Individually, the Shockers are led by three players averaging double figures. Alex Harden, last year's MVC Defensive Player of the Year, paces the team with 18.0 points per game, while Michaela Dapperich and Jamillah Bonner add 17.3 and 14.0, respectively. Dapperich has shot 52.3 percent from the field this season, while Harden leads the team with 16 steals and 2.7 assists per game. Bonner has seen action in only two of the team's three games, but paces the unit with 8.0 boards per contest.

• Head Coach Jody Adams is in her seventh season with the Shockers. Under Adam's directions, WSU reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 2013, and agian in 2014, while recording the program's first-ever regular and post-season Missouri Valley Conference championships in both seasons. 

CLEMSON

• Clemson enters the week with a record of 3-1 with wins over UNC Greensboro, Troy and Furman and a loss to perennial power South Carolina.  The Tigers will face Ohio State Thursday before taking on FGCU Friday afternoon.

• The Tigers were selected to finish 13th of 15 teams in the ACC after going 13-19 last year with a 4-12 mark in conference action.  Clemson finished the year ranked 164 in the RPI after failing to make it past the ACC tournament. This season, the team is averaging 70.5 points per game with a shooting percentage of 43.6 percent from the field. The Tigers averaged 5.8 3-pointers with a 35.9 percent mark from long range and lead the tournament field with a free-throw percentage of 76.3.  Clemson pulls down 35 rebounds per game but has allowed foes to carom 9.7 more boards per game through four contests.

• Clemson is led by three big-time scorers in Nikki Dixon, Shelbie Davenport and Cha'nelle Perry. Dixon, a 2014 Preseason All-ACC Team selection, averages 14.0 points per game with a 69 percent shooting rate and 4.5 rebounds per game. Davenport leads the team from beyond-the-arc and has scored half of her 12.8 points per game from 3-point range, while Perry adds 11.5 points per contest with a 67.9 shooting percentage.

• Audra Smith took the reins of the Tigers' program this spring after nine years as head coach at UAB.

OHIO STATE

• The Buckeyes of Ohio State travel to St. Thomas with a record of 2-2 on the year and will face Clemson and Wichita State before concluding tournament play with the Eagles Saturday. OSU has pulled out wins over Saint Francis and VCU this season with losses to Virginia and Georgia. Away from home, they are 0-1 to start the 2014-15 campaign.

• OSU finished last season with a mark of 17-18 including a 5-11 record in Big Ten play. The Buckeyes fell to Iowa in the Big Ten tournament to conclude the season with an RPI of 52 but misses the NCAA field.

• This season, the team is averaging 87.5 points per game after scoring big against Saint Francis and VCU, but has allowed its opponents to average 84.2 points per game, proving Saturday could be a track meet with scores in the triple-digits. The Buckeyes are shooting 45.2 percent this season with a 35 percent clip from beyond-the-arc, where they have converted nine shots per game so far this season. OSU has been outrebounded by nearly 14 boards per game, despite pulled down 40.8 rebounds per contest but has dished out 15.8 assists with just 13.8 turnovers per 40 minutes.

• Individually, the Buckeyes are led one of the nation's top duos. Ameryst Alson and Kelsey Mitchell combined for over 53 points per game this season and have made 26 of the team's 36 long-range shots through four games.  Alson averages 26.3 points per game with 7.3 boards per game and a shooting percentage of 54.4, while Mitchell has scored 27.3 points per contest. The pair ranks among the nation's top eight scorers. Alexa Hart adds to the Buckeye defense with 21 blocks this season and an average of 9.8 rebounds per contest.

•Kevin McGuff is in his second year as head coach of the Buckeyes. McGuff was previously at Xavier and Washington and holds a career win percentage of .700.

PRESEASON PREDICTIONS

On the heels of four-consecutive regular season championships and the team's second Atlantic Sun Championship in three years, the Eagles were once against picked to win the Atlantic Sun in the annual preseason coaches' poll.

With 62 points and six first-place votes, the Eagles finished four points ahead of in-state rival Stetson University.  The Hatters garnered two first-place votes to finish second in the poll with 58 points. The Green and Blue picked up 11 first-place votes in the media poll for 123 total points, with Stetson earning four top nods and 104 total points.

The 2013-14 defending Atlantic Sun Champions earned three wins over the Hatters last season, including the regular season finale and the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship Final. With help from those wins, the Eagles finished with their fourth-straight regular season title and earned their second tournament championship title in three seasons.

In addition to the team's predicted success, three individuals also garnered preseason All-Conference accolades.  As a former First Team All-Conference member, Knight picked up the Player of the Year nod, while Cobb and Haas also earned spots on the 10-member Preseason All-Conference team.

SMESKO'S PREPERATION

Smesko's game preparation is one of the most crucial factors in the Eagles' all-time success.  Last season, the team went 14-2 in games when they had four or more days to prepare.  In 13 seasons, Smesko holds a record of 109-20 in games with that much time for preparing for a win percentage of 84 percent. 

FOR MORE INFO

For all the details on the complete tournament slate check out:

UP NEXT

Following tournament action, the Eagles will return to Fort Myers to host Southern Mississippi Saturday, Dec. 6 at Alico Arena. The matchup, slated for 7 p.m., will be a rematch from last season's loss in Hattiesburg, where the Eagles fell 76-74 in the final minute of play.  

Single-game tickets for all FGCU women's basketball games are on sale online at FGCUAthletics.com, over the phone at 239-590-7145 or in person at the Alico Arena Box Office.

Group sales for women's basketball games are available for parties of 20 or more at a discounted rate.  Beginning this season, groups will receive the opportunity for to upgrade their package to include chairback seats, a PA announcement and a special FGCU group T-Shirt at a cost of $10.

For up-to-the minute information on the FGCU women's basketball team, stay tuned to FGCUAthletics.com and follow the official Twitter of FGCU women's basketball at @FGCU_WBB.

Head coach Karl Smesko earned his fourth-consecutive Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year award after a successful 2013-14 campaign. Under his direction, the team completed the season with a record of 26-8, including a 17-1 mark in conference action and won the program's 300th win in January. Smesko guided the Eagles to their fourth-consecutive regular season championship and went undefeated in the A-Sun Conference tournament to win their second Tournament Championship in three seasons.  The 2013-14 season marked the 10th-consecutive season in which a Smesko coached team won at least 20 games.  He has recorded 314 wins at FGCU with 117 Atlantic Sun victories.  The five-time Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year ranks among an elite list of just four active Division I coaches with a career win percentage of .800 or higher.  Smesko joins Connecticut's Geno Auriemma, Baylor's Kim Mulkey and Stanford's Tara VanDerveer in the esteemed group.