The Rundown: FGCU (16-2 | 3-0 A-Sun | 26 RPI) v. USC Upstate (9-9 | 1-2 A-Sun | 239 RPI)
When: Thursday, Jan. 22 | 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 11-2 all time with six-game win streak
 
FORT MYERS, Fla. – With the 10th-best win streak in the nation and a perfect 3-0 mark in Atlantic Sun play, the FGCU women's basketball team will continue action Thursday night against USC Upstate. Tipoff against the Spartans is slated for 7 p.m. at Alico Arena.
 
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 Peter Lonergan on the call. As always, fans can also find live updates via Twitter at @FGCU_WBB.
 
Thursday's game will follow the Hoops and Heels networking event. Hoops and Heels is an annual event that seeks to build relationships between successful women in our community and provide an opportunity to network with one another. This year's event will feature an evening of professional networking and an inspirational presentation from special guest speaker, Mei-Mei Chan, president and publisher of The News-Press Media Group.  Mei-Mei will discuss different personal and professional challenges that women face, how to make decisions that promote success, and words of advice as a young professional before attendees enjoy the Upstate-FGCU matchup. 
 
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 sponsors for the matchup with Upstate are The News-Press and Jason's Deli.
 
GAME DAY TWEETABLES
1. FGCU currently holds an RPI rating at 26 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 win against Stetson. The team has compiled a record of 56-1 in the last four seasons.
 
3. FGCU is currently riding a 57-game win streak in home conference games. It's been 6+ years since they lost an A-Sun game at home.
 
4. Junior Whitney Knight sits just 48 away from her 1,000^th career point.
 
5. FGCU has not lost a game in regulation in nine weeks of competition.
 
THE GREEN AND BLUE
FGCU is in full swing in the A-Sun slate as the team welcomes Upstate to Alico Arena. The Eagles enter Thursday's contest with a record of 16-2 on the season and 3-0 in conference play. In addition to the impressive start, the team has also constructed an 11-game win streak dating back to the start of December and has not lost a game in regulation since Nov. 20. The streak currently sits as the 10th longest in the nation.
 
The team picked up notable wins over Arkansas State, Cal State-Northridge, Quinnipiac and Harvard in nonconference action before defeating rival Stetson and cross-state foe North Florida in the first week of conference play. With a strong strength of schedule thus far, the Eagles' official RPI ranking jumped to a program-high 13 earlier this month and currently stands at 26.
 
With five-time Coach of the Year Karl Smesko at the helm, the Eagles entered the season with three Preseason All-Conference award winners in juniors Whitney Knight (Winston-Salem, N.C./R.J. Reynolds High School) and Stephanie Haas (Avon Lake, Ohio/Magnificat High School) and senior Jenna Cobb (New Holland, Ohio/Miami Trace High School/Butler). Knight earned the Preseason Player of the Year nod and has since picked up two A-Sun Player of the Week awards.
 
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 13.3 points per contest to rank second on the team. Haas is also adding double figures with 11.0, while Cobb sits just behind the trio with 8.3 points per contest in addition to her 47 assists and 34 steals. Knight currently sits just 48 away from her 1,000^th career point.
 
Knight leads the squad all around with 36 blocks and 40 steals on the year, while DyTiesha Dunson (Albany, Ga./Westover High School) has dished out a team-high 65 assists in 18 games so far. Knight's 40, Atwater's 38 and Cobb's 34 steals all rank among the top-four in the conference for total steals. Knight also paces the squad on the boards with 6.1 rebounds per game, with Atwater and Cobb pulling down 4.2, each.
 
Redshirt-freshman Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wisc./Cudahy High School) entered the starting lineup in December and is now averaging 6.5 points in 18 games. Gradinjan has started nine of the team's 18 games this season and currently leads the team and the league with a 3-point percentage of .481 and holds an overall shooting percentage of .527. Gradinjan led the team with 17 points against UNF and matched her career high with four made long-range shots before being named the A-Sun Newcomer of the Week for the second time this season.
 
Senior Anthi Chatzigiakoumi (Athens, Greece/General Senior High School of Kallithea) has performed well for the Eagles recently and is averaging 7.2 points in 15.4 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.
 
Collectively, the Eagles average 75.8 points per game, while holding their opposition to 58.4 points per contest for the league's best scoring average and scoring margin. The scoring margin also ranks among the top-15 in the nation and stands fewer than four points per game out of the top-10. The team has maintained a shooting percentage of .439 with a mark of .367 from the perimeter this year. The Eagles rank second in the NCAA and first among the Atlantic Sun with 10.4 shots made from beyond-the-arc per game and only sit behind last year's national leader in Sacramento State. On defense, the Eagles have been narrowly outrebounded, 36.8 to 34.7 per game this year but hold an advantage in turnovers, 11.3 to 19.2 and steals, 9.8 to 5.0. FGCU ranks fourth in the country with a turnover margin of +7.94 and 12th nationally in assist to turnover ratio at 1.32.
 
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
In its first road contest of the Atlantic Sun slate, the FGCU women's basketball team pulled away with a 60-37 win over Jacksonville University Saturday night with a strong all-around effort in the second half. With the victory at Swisher Gymnasium, the Eagles improved to 16-2 on the year and 3-0 in conference play.
 
After holding a narrow lead at halftime, the Eagles opened the second half with a 10-2 run to take control in Jacksonville. FGCU used eight long-range shots in the second half and strong defensive pressure to maintain control and increased the lead to a game-high 23 points with a 15-point run late in the game. 
 
Atwater led the team with 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists on the night with five of the team's eight made shots from the free-throw line. Dunson and Cobb also contributed double figures for the Green and Blue with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
 
As a unit, the Eagles shot 39.6 percent from the field with a 40 percent clip from 3-point range. FGCU scored 70 percent of its points from beyond-the-arc, while holding the Dolphins to 36.6 percent overall. The Eagles outrebounded JU 31-26 and forced 19 Dolphin turnovers. FGCU scored 26 points on the Dolphin miscues.
 
ALL-TIME MEETINGS WITH THE SPARTANS
The Eagles are 11-2 all-time against the Spartans dating back to the 2007-08 season. The Green and Blue is currently riding a six-game win streak that includes two wins during the 2013-14 season. In those 13 matchups, the Eagles have never scores fewer than 70 points and have outscored the Spartans by an average of 74-52.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST UPSTATE
Backed by a season-high 26 points from then senior Sarah Hansen, the team earned its 10th Atlantic Sun win of the season with a 76-69 victory over USC Upstate Feb. 8 at the Hodge Center. 
 
The Eagles took control of the game midway through the first half and extended their lead to a game-high 18 points in the early minutes of the second stanza.  The team maintained the advantage through the majority of the contest and held a 14-point lead in the final four minutes, but saw as the Spartans produced a challenge late in the game.  A 10-point run enabled the home team to cut the deficit to just four points in the final minute.
 
SCOUTING THE VISITING TEAM
USC Upstate travels south to Fort Myers with an even record of 9-9 on the season and a mark of 1-2 in A-Sun play. The team started the season with a loss at no. 19 Iowa and has since produced two three-game win streaks. However, the Spartans have fallen in four of their last six games including losses to Kennesaw State and Northern Kentucky. The team's lone conference win was a 71-68 victory over Lipscomb at home last week. In road contests, the Spartans are 1-8 with their last win on Nov. 20 at UNC Greensboro.
 
The Spartans were selected to finish fourth in the conference in the Preseason Coaches' Poll after going 11-7 a year ago with a 17-15 overall record.
 
This season, the team is led by senior Sharmayn Edwards and junior Brittany Starling. The duo averages 13.0 and 12.7 points per game, respectively. Edwards maintains a shooting percentage of .355 from the floor with a team-high 21 3-pointers made. She has dished out 39 assists and grabbed 18 steals in 28.6 minutes per game. Starling leads the team with 9.6 rebounds per game and has successfully converted 50.6 percent of shots for a squad best shooting percentage.  In addition to the scoring duo, junior Brittany Clency adds a team-high 51 assists with 19 steals, with Raven Jefferson leading the club with 27 steals.
 
As a unit, the Spartans average 67.2 points per game with their opponents scoring 67.0 points each contest. Upstate has shot .371 on the season and has allowed foes to a mark of .411, while successfully making 29.4 percent of shots from beyond-the-arc. The team pulls down 41.8 rebounds per game with 15.2 turnovers, 12.0 assists and 8.8 steals.
 
Head Coach Tammy George is in her 10th season at Upstate. She holds a record of 129-156.
 
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 115-20 in games with that much time for preparing for a win percentage of 84 percent. 
 
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 Thursday's matchup, the Eagles will continue on their quest for their fifth-straight A-Sun Championship with another home game against Kennesaw State. FGCU will welcome KSU to Alico for a 7 p.m. contest on the 24th.
 
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 maintains a record of 330-66 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.4 with a mark of 120-13 (90.2 W%) in Atlantic Sun contests.  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.