The Rundown: FGCU (14-2 | 16 RPI) v. North Florida (9-7 | 188 RPI)
When: Wednesday, Jan. 14 | 7 p.m.
Where: Alico Arena
Video: via ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app
Live Stats: via Statbroadcast
Hashtags: #WingsUp | #WeAreFGCU | #RainingThrees | #ASunWBB
Series History: FGCU leads 12-2 all time, 8-0 in last four seasons, 7-0 at Alico
 
FORT MYERS, Fla. – As winners of the last nine contests, the FGCU women's basketball team will continue Atlantic Sun play Wednesday evening as the Eagles take on the University of North Florida. Tipoff against the Ospreys is slated for 7 p.m. at Alico Arena.
 
Wednesday's contest stands as the Eagles' second-straight in-state foe as the team defeated Stetson University Saturday. The team will continue Sunshine State competition with a road contest at Jacksonville this weekend.
 
WHAT TO KNOW
Live stats will be available via StatBroadcast on FGCUAthletics.com with a video stream available through ESPN3 and the WatchESPN mobile app. The ESPN3 broadcast will feature David Moulton and J. Webb Horton on the call. As always, fans can also find live updates via Twitter at @FGCU_WBB.
 
Wednesday's contest will feature two special groups as the Eagles celebrate Lehigh Acres Gazette Night and Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night.  Each member of the FGCU faculty and all FGCU staff members will receive a free general admission ticket for themselves and a guest, while all Lehigh Acres residents with photo ID will receive a $3 discount off the price of admission.
 
Red T-shirts will be on sale in the lobby of Alico Arena through both games Saturday for fans to wear for February's 'red outs'. All proceeds will benefit the American Heart Association.
 
The featured game sponsor of the matchup with UNF is the Lehigh Acres Gazette.
 
GAME DAY TWEETABLES
1. FGCU currently holds an RPI rating at 16 after rising to a program-best 13 last week.  #EaglesRising
 
2. The Eagles began the quest for their fifth-straight #ASunWBB Regular Season Championship with the against Stetson.
 
3. FGCU is currently riding a 56-game win streak in home conference games. It's been 6+ years since they lost an A-Sun game at home.
 
4. The Eagles currently average 1.05 points per possession to rank 10th in the nation, just .14 points per possession behind top-ranked UConn.
 
5. FGCU has not lost a game in regulation in eight weeks of competition.
 
THE GREEN AND BLUE
FGCU will continue the Atlantic Sun slate Wednesday in the friendly confines of Alico Arena. After picking up wins over Arkansas State, Cal State-Northridge, Quinnipiac and Harvard to end the nonconference slate, the Eagles entered conference play with a record of 13-2 and quickly moved to 14-2 with a 1-0 mark in A-Sun action with a thrilling win over Stetson Saturday. The team's only two losses came in close contests with a three-point loss at Auburn and a double-overtime defeat at the hands of Ohio State. The strong schedule thus far has aided in the team's RPI rise to the current mark of 16 and has rated the Eagles among the top-30 in strength of schedule this season.
 
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. Knight and Haas joined senior Jenna Cobb (New Holland, Ohio/Miami Trace High School/Butler) as this season's Preseason All-Conference award winners with Knight voted as Preseason Player of the Year.
 
Junior Kaneisha Atwater (Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce Westover High School) and Knight have swapped time as the team's point leader with Knight currently pacing the team with 15.9 points per game. After pacing the Eagles against Quinnipiac and Harvard, Atwater is averaging 14.0 points per contest to rank second on the team. Haas is also contributing double figures with 11.7, while Cobb sits just behind the trio with 8.3 points per game in addition to her 45 assists and 30 steals.
 
Knight leads the squad all around with 32 blocks and 37 steals on the year, while DyTiesha Dunson (Albany, Ga./Westover High School) has dished out a team-high 59 assists in 16 games so far. Knight's 37, Atwater's 35 and Cobb's 30 steals all rank among the top-five in the conference for total steals.
 
Redshirt-freshman Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wisc./Cudahy High School) entered the starting lineup in December and is now averaging 5.7 points in 16 games. Gradinjan has started nine of the team's 16 games this season and currently leads the team and the league with a 3-point percentage of .462.
 
Senior Anthi Chatzigiakoumi (Athens, Greece/General Senior High School of Kallithea) has performed well for the Eagles recently and is averaging 7.6 points in 16.3 minutes per game. The senior played a career-high 28 minutes at Harvard with 15 points with three makes from the perimeter and started her first game of the year against Stetson.
 
As a whole, the Eagles average 76.9 points per game, while holding foes to 60.8 points per contest. The team holds a shooting percentage of .438 with a 3-point percentage of .366 so far this year. The Eagles rank second in the NCAA and first among the Atlantic Sun with 10.0 shots made from the perimeter, behind only last year's national leader Sacramento State. Defensively, the Green and Blue have been narrowly outrebounded, 37.6 to 34.6 per game this year but hold an advantage in turnovers, 11.7 to 19.6 and steals, 10.1 to 5.3. FGCU ranks fourth in the country with a turnover margin of +7.94 and 16th nationally in assist to turnover ratio at 1.26.
 
The Eagles currently lead the Atlantic Sun Conference in points per game, scoring margin, field-goal percentage, 3-point percentage, turnover margin, assist to turnover ratio, assists per game and rebounding defense.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Despite trailing by 15 in the second half and compiling the lowest field-goal percentage of the season, the team pulled off an incredible come-from-behind 57-55 victory over Stetson Saturday evening at Alico Arena. The Eagles opened the Atlantic Sun slate with a 1-0 record for the sixth-consecutive season and moved to 14-2 overall, while the Hatters fell to 11-4 on the season and 0-1 in conference action.
 
The Eagles' dismal shooting percentage in the first half enabled the Hatters to take a 34-25 lead into the break. However, just as in all three contests last season, the Eagles overcame a halftime deficit to challenge Stetson late in the game. The Green and Blue allowed the visitors to take a 15-point lead near the 12-minute mark but constructed a 12-0 run to close the gap with fewer than eight minutes remaining. Cobb tied the game at 53 on a 3-pointer with 1:51 on the clock and pushed the Eagles ahead on a 3-point play just 30 seconds later. FGCU held the Hatters to no field goals on seven attempts to end the game and maintained the advantage in front of the home crowd.
 
The win extended FGCU's win streak in A-Sun games at home to 56 games and increased this season's win streak to nine games.
 
Knight led the Eagles with 20 points and 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. Knight sank five 3-pointers and put up 10 points in the last 11 minutes to lead the Green and Blue comeback. Cobb and Dunson each added nine points in the instant classic, while Atwater had eight points and six rebounds.
 
Atwater, Cobb, Dunson and Haas all had three assists for the Eagles, with Cobb leading the way with four steals and Knight blocking three shots.
 
As a unit, the Eagles shot just 29.4 percent overall and 22.4 percent from 3-point range. Despite the season-low success rate, the Eagles sank 11 3-point shots. The Hatters converted 39.6 percent of their shots with a 31.3 percent clip from long range. The Hatters also outrebounded the Eagles 48-36, but let the home team produce 21 points off of 23 turnovers.
 
ALL-TIME MEETINGS WITH THE OSPREYS
The Eagles hold an all-time record of 12-2 against the Ospreys in games dating back to the 2007-08 season. FGCU has won all seven games at Alico Arena and has defeated UNF in each of the last eight games. FGCU has averaged 11.5 points per game more than the Ospreys and has held UNF to under 60 points in all but two occasions.
 
SCOUTING THE VISITING TEAM
UNF travels to Fort Myers with a record of 9-7 on the season and a 0-1 mark in A-Sun play. The team fell narrowly at UCF and recorded losses at FSU and UF earlier in the season before defeating former A-Sun foe Mercer to start the 2015 calendar year. UNF has not won or lost more than two-straight games all season and stands as the seventh-ranked team in the conference. The Ospreys fell at Jacksonville in a two-point game to open conference play.
 
The Osprey were selected as the league's underdog with just 12 points in the Preseason Coaches' poll after finishing last year with a 2-16 record in conference.
 
This season, the team is averaging 57.1 points per game and allowing foes to 59.2 points per contest. The Ospreys have compiled a success rate of 38.6 percent from the field with a 35.5 percent clip from 3-point range and have held opponents to a 35.0 percent rate with a 30.6 percentage from the perimeter. The Ospreys average 40.7 rebounds per game to rank third in the league and have outrebounded opponents by 2.8 boards per contest. The team has allowed 19.0 turnovers per game with an assist to turnover ratio of 0.6.
 
Individually, the Ospreys are led by senior Destinee Smith. Smith averages a team-best 14.4 points per game with no one else contributing in double figures. Smith shoots 41.1 percent from the field with a team-high 42.0 percent clip from outside. She has also dished out 41 assists and grabbed a squad-high 21 steals.  Janea Williams leads the team with a 44.0 percent success rate from the floor and 22 blocks but has added just 5.1 points per game, while senior Paulina Zaveckaite paces the team with 10.9 boards per game and contributes 8.3 points per contest in 28.1 minutes on the court. Zaveckaite led the team against Jacksonville with 15 points and 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double in the team's last five games.
 
UNF's Mary Tappmeyer is in her 23rd season with the Ospreys and like Smesko, is the program's only coach. She holds an overall record of 310-340 at UNF.
 
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.
 
UP NEXT
Following Wednesday's matchup, the Eagles will continue on their quest for their fifth-straight A-Sun Championship with a road game against the Dolphins of Jacksonville University. FGCU take on JU Saturday, Jan. 17 with a 7 p.m. game at Memorial Gymnasium.   
 
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 328 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.
 
SUPPORT THE CAUSE
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visitwww.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.