FGCU (3-2) vs. Arkansas State (3-1)
FGCU Head Coach: Karl Smesko | Walsh '97 | 14^th Season at FGCU: 348-69 (83.6%) | 17^th Season as Head Coach: 409-96 (80.9%)
A-State Head Coach: Brian Boyer | Missouri Western '93 | 16^th Season at Arkansas State: 275-224 (55.1%)
When: Saturday, Nov. 28 | 7 p.m.
Where: Alico Arena | Fort Myers, Fla.
Watch: ESPN3 with Tom James and J. Webb Horton
Stats: via StatBroadcast
Game Series: FGCU leads 1-0 | FGCU won last meeting at A-State 78-64
Notes: FGCU | Arkansas State

FORT MYERS, Fla. - After three games away from Fort Myers, the FGCU women's basketball team returns to Alico Arena Saturday, Nov. 28 looking for its first win at home this season. The Eagles host Arkansas State of the Sun Belt Conference in a 7 p.m. tilt.

The Eagles continue the 2015-16 slate with a record of 3-2 after handedly defeating FIU in Miami Monday evening. The team is 3-0 in road games with a 0-1 mark at Alico and is 0-1 on a neutral court so far this year. Kaneisha Atwater (Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce Westwood High School/VCU) leads the team with an average of 15.8 points per game through the season's five games, while sophomore Haley Laughter (Asheville, N.C./Carolina Day) produced a career-high in her first collegiate start and has averaged 12.2 points per contest so far this season. Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wisc./Cudahy High School) has also contributed double-figures for the Green and Blue with 11.0 points per contest so far and a team-best 15 3-pointers.

Atwater leads all players with 5.8 rebounds per game and has produced a team-best mark with six steals and 23 assists. Senior captain DyTiesha Dunson (Albany, Ga./Westover High School) has dished out a team-high 25 assists and has added 4.2 points in a team-high 33.8 minutes per game.

As a unit, the Green and Blue have averaged 67 points per game through the early season with a 40.7 percent clip from the field. The team has made 49 3-pointers, at a rate of 9.8 per game and has narrowly outrebounded opponents 36.2 to 35.6 boards per game.

GAME DAY INFORMATION
Tickets are still available and can be purchased by visiting FGCUAthletics.com/tickets, calling the Ticket Office at 239-590-7145 or by visiting the Alico Arena Ticket Office after 9 a.m. Tuesday.

All FGCU home games will be streamed live via ESPN3 this season with Tom James and J. Webb Horton on the call Saturday night. Live stats will be available through FGCUStats.com, while fans can also find live, in-game updates on Twitter by following @FGCU_WBB.

Saturday's matchup will be a Blue Out and all fans are encouraged to wear blue to the game.

Prior to the game, Atwater will be recognized for scoring her 1,000th career point. The senior hit the milestone in Monday's contest at FIU.

QUICK HITS
Saturday's matchup stands as the second of six home-and-home returns this year. The series continues with GW, Harvard, Providence & Auburn
Despite a loss to FAU earlier this season, the Eagles hold an incredible record of 116-9 in games at Alico Arena since making the jump to DI
The Alico Arena winning percentage of 92.8 stands second in the nation behind only UConn's Gampel Pavillion #ProtectTheNest
Sophomore Haley Laughter has scored 52 games in the last three games for an average of 17.3 ppg when she's in the starting lineup
FGCU sank at least 13 3-pointers in each of the last two games and has made 49 through five games this year #RainingThrees

SCOUTING THE RED WOLVES
Arkansas State heads to Southwest Florida with a record of 3-1 on the season. The Red Wolves started the year undefeated with wins over Tennessee Tech, Tennessee Martin and Wichita State before falling in a one-point battle at Chattanooga Wednesday.

Under head coach Brian Boyer, the Red Wolves compiled a record of 24-11 last season and finished second in the Sun Belt Conference. The squad was on the bubble in the NCAA Tournament field with an RPI of 45 and made its 10th WNIT Appearance. This year's team returns three starters from last year, including Preseason Player of the Year Aundrea Gamble and was voted as preseason favorites among the Sun Belt Conference.

The team is averaging 68.5 points per game and holding foes to 56 points per contest, while shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 34.2 percent from 3-point range. A-State has outrebounded opponents 35-30 boards per game with 11.3 steals and 13.3 assists on 15.5 turnovers per tilt.

Individually, the Red Wolves are led by Gamble's 17.3 points per game. The senior also paces the team with 21 assists, 12 steals and a shooting percentage of. 596. Jessica Flanery stands as the team's 3-pointer shooter with 11 long-range makes on the season and 11.5 points per game, while Khadi Brown-Haywood averages 10.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest.

ALL-TIME MEETINGS
Arkansas State and FGCU have met just once before, a December 2014 tilt in Jonesboro. After trailing by as many as eight points, the Eagles took control and used a 12-5 run to end the game to defeat Arkansas State 74-68.

Atwater led the team's well-balanced attack with 18 points, four rebounds and three steals, while four others contributed double-figures. Gradinjan put up 14 points with four made shots from the perimeter, while Haas added 11 with five made free throws on seven attempts.

LAST TIME OUT
With a 48.4 percent clip from the field, the FGCU women's basketball team used a high offensive efficiency to defeat FIU 81-53 Monday night at FIU Arena. With their second road win in three days, the Eagles move to 3-2 on the season, while the Panthers drop to 1-2.

FGCU struggled in the opening minutes and fell behind 6-0 quickly but cut the Panther advantage in the sixth minute with a Katie Meador (Salem, Ill./Salem Community School) layup. Meador's putback sparked a 20-point run that spanned the first and second quarter and enabled the Green and Blue to take control of the game, while holding FIU scoreless for over seven minutes.

FGCU shot 50 percent from 3-point range in the second half to maintain the lead and ultimately took a 28-point victory from the cross-state foe.

Once again, Atwater and Laughter led the Eagles' offensive production with 18 and 17 points, respectively. Atwater shot 50 percent from the floor with two 3-pointers and dished out six assists with six rebounds. Laughter produced double-figures for the third-straight game with a 7-for-12 shooting performance, including three long-range shots. Seniors Stephanie Haas (Avon Lake, Ohio/Magnifcat High School) and Dunson also contributed double-digits with 13 and 11 points. Dunson paced the team with eight assists and just one turnover and played a team-high 31 minutes.

PROTECTING THE NEST
Alico Arena stands as the second-toughest place to play in all of NCAA Division I women's basketball. The first is UConn's Gampel Pavilion. The Eagles hold a record of 116-9 at home since making the jump to Division I in 2007-08 and have won 70 out of 71 Atlantic Sun Conference games with the home crowd behind them.

RECORD CHASER
Knight holds all FGCU program records in blocks with nine in a single game, 93 in a single season and 231 and counting in her career. The senior also became FGCU's fourth player ever to record 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds last year and now ranks fifth all-time with 1,166 career points and fifth with 516 rebounds. The block mark also ranks fifth among the A-Sun career record books.

FGCU POINTS RECORD			FGCU REBOUND RECORD			A-SUN BLOCK RECORD
PLAYER	PTS		PLAYER	REB		PLAYER	BLOCKS
1.Sarah Hansen	1,895		1.Sarah Hansen	882		1.Jessica Bobbitt (Belmont 05-09)	309
2.Adrianne McNally	1,415		2.Adrianne McNally	658		2.Katie Beth Pate (Lipscomb 03-07)	254
3.Kelsey Jacobson	1,251		3.Robyn Swain	640		3.Albena Branzova (FIU 91-95)	250
4.Shannon Murphy	1,185		4.Courtney Chihil	601		4. Denise Hogue (CoC 91-93)	248
5.Whitney Knight	1,166		5. Whitney Knight	516		5. Whitney Knight	231

FOR MORE INFO
For all the details on Tuesday's matchup check out: http://www.fgcuathletics.com/documents/2015/11/27/V_ASTATE_NOV_28.pdf.

UP NEXT
The Eagles will continue the season with a series of home-and-home return games from last season as they travel to Washington, D.C. for a Thursday, Dec. 3 tilt at No. 23 George Washington and will host Harvard on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m.
The string ends on Dec. 12 with a trip to Providence to take on the Friars in a 2:30 p.m. tipoff. The Eagles produced a record of 5-0 against the string of foes last year.

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.


TICKET SALES
Season tickets for the 2015-16 season are still available but selling quickly. Ticket packages range from $133 for general admission to $366 for club-level seating. A complete breakdown is below. Fans can secure their season tickets by calling the FGCU Ticket Office at 239-590-7145 Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or by emailing tickets@fgcu.edu.

For reserved seating, membership to the Eagles Club may be required depending on priority level. The Eagles Club is the official booster organization for FGCU Athletics which provides financial support for each of the Eagles' 15 Division-I programs. For a detailed seating map and additional ticket information, visit FGCUAthletics.com/Tickets.

Priority 1: $266
Priority 2: $166
General Admission: $133

Faculty and staff members as well as alumni association members interested in season tickets receive a 20 percent discount on packages. Combination packages with the FGCU men's basketball team are also available through the Ticket Office.

Single-game tickets for all FGCU women's basketball games are not on sale. Fans can purchase tickets online at FGCUAthletics.com, over the phone at 239-590-7145 or in person at the Alico Arena Box Office.

SMESKO
Head coach Karl Smesko earned his fifth-consecutive Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year award after a successful 2014-15 campaign. Under his direction, the team compiled with a Division I program best record of 31-3, including a 14-0 mark in conference action and earned its first-ever national ranking. The team earned its third NCAA Tournament appearance as a seven seed and won its first ever DI NCAA Tournament gave against No. 10 Oklahoma State. With 31 wins in the 2014-15 season, Smesko has guided the Eagles to 11-straight 20 win seasons. He maintains a record of 348-69 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.3 with a mark of 130-13 (91 W%) in Atlantic Sun contests and has led the team to a 67-1 record in conference play in the last four seasons. The six-time Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year earned his 400th career win this season in just 493 career games, two games faster than UConn's Geno Auriemma and holds a career record of 409-96 (80.9 W%). Smesko ranks among an elite list of just four active Division I coaches with a career win percentage of .800 or higher, joining 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 visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.