FGCU (10-4) vs Auburn (10-2)
FGCU Head Coach: Karl Smesko | Walsh '97 | 14^th Season at FGCU: 355-71 (83.4%) | 17^th Season as Head Coach: 416-98 (80.8%)
Auburn Head Coach: Terri Williams Flournoy | Penn State '91 | 4th Season at AU: 61-50 (54.9%)  | 12^th Season as Head Coach: 204-158 (56.3%)
When: Wednesday, Dec. 30 | 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  |  Auburn
 
 
FORT MYERS, Fla. – On the heels of a thrilling overtime victory over Quinnipiac, the FGCU women's basketball team takes a quick turnaround before hosting Auburn University Wednesday, Dec. 30. Tipoff at Alico Arena is slated for 7 p.m. against the Tigers of the SEC.
 
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.
 
Fans are encouraged to wear white to Wednesday's game.
 
The Eagles continue the 2015-16 season with a record of 10-4 after going 2-1 against tough competition at the Puerto Rico Classic before Christmas and picking up a 71-70 overtime win Monday night.
 
Kaneisha Atwater (Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce Westwood High School/VCU) leads the team with an average of 16.8 points per game through the season's first 14 games. Atwater is adding 5.8 rebounds per contest with 22 total steals and 49 assists.
 
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 11.8 and 9.1 points per game, respectively. Laughter and Gradinjan have combined for 64 of the team's 3-point shots with Laughter topping the team with a 42.2 percent success rate from beyond-the-arc.
 
Senior captain DyTiesha Dunson (Albany, Ga./Westover High School) has dished out a team-high 62 assists and has added 5.8 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. She also led the team with back-to-back 3-pointers late in the overtime win over QU.
 
In her return from injury, senior Whitney Knight (Winston-Salem, N.C./R.J. Reynolds High School) has averaged 10.8 points and a team-best 5.8 rebounds per game in just 23.6 minutes on the court through five games. Knight earned her first start of the year against QU and produced 19 points and eight rebounds with three blocks and three steals. As she continues to recover from the foot injury, Knight's time on the floor will increase but her presence on the court has been evident immediately.
 
As a team, the Green and Blue have averaged 64.6 points per game through the early season with a 39.8 percent clip from the field. The team has made 123 3-pointers, at a rate of 8.8 per game and has been narrowly outrebounded by opponents 38.1 to 35.0 boards per game.
 
QUICK HITS: TWEETABLES
• Wednesday marks the team's final game of the calendar year. In end-of-year contests, the Eagles are 6-1 since the transition to Division I in 2007-08
• FGCU is averaging 8.8 3-pointers per game with a 32.2 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
• Monday's win over Quinnipiac stands as the team's first OT appearance since the 2OT loss to Ohio State last season
 
• With the win over Arizona, FGCU has now beat at least one team in each of the five power conferences in the last four years
 
• Auburn was just one of three teams - all from Power 5 conferences - to hand FGCU a loss last season
 
• Stephanie Haas scored a career best 30 points at Auburn last season with a 10 for 16 shooting performance and four makes from long range
 
 
AUBURN
The Auburn Tigers travel to Southwest Florida with a record of 10-2 in the nonconference season. The squad holds a 3-1 mark in road games and is riding a four-game winning streak since falling at Marquette on Dec. 13. The team's only other loss was against Virginia in November.
 
Auburn averages 72.8 points and has held opponents to a 59.8 points per game through its 12 games this season. The squad is shooting 44 percent from the floor and limiting foes to a 37.7 percent clip overall with a 29.5 percent success rate from distance. The Tigers have pulled down 39.2 rebounds per contest to narrowly edge their opposition.
 
On defense, the Tigers average 13.2 steals per game to rank seventh nationally and force 23.3 turnovers per contest to rank among the top-10. Auburn turns the ball over 17.5 times per game but dishes out 15.7 assists and swats 3.7 blocks a game.
 
The team boasts four double-figure scorers with junior Brandy Montgomery leading the way. Montgomery averages 18.8 points per game with a 40.2 percent clip from the floor and a team-high 34 3-pointers. She has also grabbed 34 steals in 12 games so far. With Montgomery's 34 long-range makes, junior Katie Frerking adds 23 to produce 77 percent of the team's 3-pointers. Frerking averages 12.8 points per game and has added a team-best 38 assists. Senior Tra'Cee Tanner contributes 13.8 points a game with a team-best 7.7 rebounds and a shooting percentage of 61.5 to rank 12th among all Division I players.
 
Auburn has six players shooting over 40 percent from the floor and has seen defensive play spread across the board as well with five players in double-figure steals and eight players with at least one block.
 
Head coach Terri Williams Flournoy is in her fourth season with the Tigers. The former Georgetown head coach holds a 61-50 record since joining the Tigers and guided the team to a 13-18 record last season with a ninth-place finish in the SEC. This year's team is currently receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll and holds an official RPI of 101.
 
 
UP NEXT
The Eagles conclude the nonconference slate with another game at Alico Arena this week. The team will host Hartford Saturday, Jan. 2 with a 7 p.m. tipoff following the FGCU men's contest against Eckerd at 4 p.m.
 
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 355-71 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 416-98 (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.