FGCU (9-4) vs Quinnipiac (5-5)
FGCU Head Coach: Karl Smesko | Walsh '97 | 14^th Season at FGCU: 354-71 (83.4%) | 17^th Season as Head Coach: 415-98 (80.8%)
Quinnipiac Head Coach: Tricia Fabbri | Fairfield '91 | 21st Season at QU: 330-264 (55.4%)
When: Monday, Dec. 28 | 7 p.m.
Where: Alico Arena | Fort Myers, Fla.
Watch: ESPN3 with Tom James and J. Webb Horton on the call
Stats: via Statbroadcast
Game Series: FGCU holds 1-0 lead after 71-65 win last season
Game Notes: FGCU  |  Quinnipiac
 
 
FORT MYERS, Fla. – After a short break for the holidays, the FGCU women's basketball team returns to Alico Arena Monday, Dec. 28 to host Quinnipiac University. The Eagles welcome the Bobcats of the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference for a 7 p.m. tipoff. The tilt stands as the first of a home-and-home series set after the teams met at St. Joe's Hawk Classic last season.
 
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.
 
All FGCU home games will be streamed live via ESPN3 this season with Tom James and J. Webb Horton on the call Monday night. Live stats will be available through FGCUStats.com, while fans can also find live, in-game updates on Twitter by following @FGCU_WBB.
 
The Eagles continue the 2015-16 season with a record of 9-4 after going 2-1 against tough competition at the Puerto Rico Classic before Christmas. The Green and Blue picked up strong wins over Arizona and Western Michigan and was narrowly defeated by No. 8 Mississippi State.
 
Kaneisha Atwater (Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce Westwood High School/VCU) leads the team with an average of 17.1 points per game through the season's first 13 games. Atwater is also pacing the team with 5.8 rebounds per contest and 20 total steals.
 
Sophomores Haley Laughter (Asheville, N.C./Carolina Day) and Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wisc./Cudahy High School) have also contributed heavily on offense for the Green and Blue with 11.6 and 9.5 points per game, respectively. Laughter and Gradinjan have combined for 61 of the team's 3-point shots with Laughter topping the team with a 41.0 percent success rate from beyond-the-arc.
 
Senior captain DyTiesha Dunson (Albany, Ga./Westover High School) has dished out a team-high 56 assists and has added 5.3 points in a team-high 33.9 minutes per game. Dunson has turned the ball over just 27 times and has grabbed 18 steals so far this season.
 
In her return from injury, senior Whitney Knight (Winston-Salem, N.C./R.J. Reynolds High School) produced her 12th career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds in just 19 minutes at Providence and has increased her production in four games on the court. As she continues to recover from the foot injury, Knight's minutes will increase but her presence on the court has been evident immediately.
 
As a team, the Green and Blue have averaged 64.2 points per game through the early season with a 40.2 percent clip from the field. The team has made 113 3-pointers, at a rate of 8.7 per game and has been narrowly outrebounded by opponents 38.1 to 35.1 boards per game.
 
QUICK HITS: TWEETABLES
• FGCU is averaging 8.7 3-pointers per game with a 31.2 percent clip from beyond-the-arc #RainingThrees
• DyTiesha Dunson recently passed Associate Head Coach Chelsea Dermyer on the FGCU all-time assist list. Dermyer finished her career with 301 in just two seasons
 
• #FGCU earned a 71-65 win over Quinnipiac last season in the St. Joe's Hawk Classic in Philadelphia
• With the win over Arizona, FGCU has now beat at least one team in each of the five power conferences
• Reigning #ASunWBB Player of the Year Whitney Knight continues to make strides in recovery. She's averaging 8.8 ppg in 19 minutes on the court
• Atwater led the team with 23 points, including 9 made free throws, in the win over Quinnipiac last season
 
QUINNIPIAC
The Quinnipiac Bobcats continue the 2015-16 slate with a trip to Southwest Florida. The Bobcats enter Monday's contest with a record of 5-5 on the season after winning games over Hartford, Holy Cross, Temple, Vermont and Northeastern but most recently falling at Drexel. The trip to Fort Myers stands as the squad's first game outside the Northeast this season.
 
The Bobcats average 61.4 points per game this season and have held opponents to 62.8 points per contest. The team is shooting just 31.7 percent on the year with a 25.9 percent clip from 3-point range but has forced 21.1 opponent turnovers per contest to rank among the top-25 nationally. QU has been outrebounded by an average of 44.4 to 41.1 boards per contest and has turned the ball over 16.4 occasions a game.
 
Quinnipiac boasts a deep lineup with all 11 players averaging between 15 and 22 minutes per game and each having earned at least one start this season. Senior guard Maria Napolitano leads the charge with 13.0 points per game and 13 3-pointers on the year. She has also dished out 11 assists and grabbed 12 steals for the team's most well-rounded effort. Seven other players average at least five points per contest with Aryn McClure putting up 5.7 and leading the team with 5.6 rebounds, 15 blocks and a shooting percentage of .460.
 
Head coach Tricia Fabbri earned her fourth-straight 20-win season last year as the squad went 31-4 with a loss to the Eagles in December. The team won the MAAC Championship over Marist but ultimately fell to Oklahoma in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. This year's team returns without its top-four scorers. After the first ten games of the year, the Bobcats hold an official RPI of 184.
 
FGCU defeated Quinnipiac University 71-65 last season at Saint Joseph's Hagan Arena as part of the 2014 Hawk Classic.
 
The Bobcats held control for the majority of the game and led the Eagles for 20 minutes in Philadelphia. Quinnipiac maintained a five-point advantage with eight minutes to play but with a 9-1 run over just two minutes, the Eagles reclaimed the lead and held onto the momentum through the end of the contest. FGCU sank 13-of-14 free throws in the final four minutes to seal the six-point victory and earn its second tournament crown this season.
 
Atwater led the team with 23 points on the day, while Knight added 16 points and 11 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.
 
 
UP NEXT
The Eagles conclude the nonconference slate with another pair of games at Alico Arena. The team will welcome Auburn for a rematch of one of the team's early losses in last year's slate on Wednesday, Dec. 30 and will take on Hartford on Jan. 2. Both games are slated for 7 p.m. starts.
 
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 354-71 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.4 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 415-98 (80.8 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.