The Rundown: FGCU (21-2 | 8-0 A-Sun | 18 RPI) v. Northern Kentucky (14-9 | 5-3 A-Sun | 171 RPI)
The Matchup: Karl Smesko (Kent State, '93) 13th season at FGCU (335-66/83.5%) v. Dawn Plitzuweit (Michigan Tech, '95) Third season at NKU (47-35/57.5%)
When: Thursday, Feb. 12
Where: Alico Arena | Fort Myers, Fla.
Video: via ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app
Live Stats: via Statbroadcast
Hashtags: #WingsUp | #WeAreFGCU | #RainingThrees | #ASunWBB
Series History: FGCU 4-1; Eagles won earlier this season
Game Notes: FGCU  |  NKU
 
FORT MYERS, Fla. – For the second time in three contests, the FGCU women's basketball team will take on the University of Northern Kentucky, this time at Alico Arena Thursday night. As the winners of 16-straight, the Eagles will host the Norse for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
Live stats will be available via StatBroadcast on FGCUAthletics.com with a video stream available through ESPN3 and the WatchESPN mobile app. As always, fans can also find live updates via Twitter at @FGCU_WBB.
 
WHAT TO KNOW
Thursday marks FGCU's annual 'Pink Out' benefitting the Play 4 Kay Foundation. FGCU Athletics will be selling pink FGCU shirts in the lobby for $10 with all proceeds going to support cancer research. The Kay Yow Cancer Fund is a charitable organization committed to being a part of finding an answer in the fight against women's cancers through raising money for scientific research, assisting the underserved and unifying people for a common cause. The organization is named after Coach Kay Yow, former NC State University head women's basketball coach who was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 and passed away in 2009 after facing her third bout with the disease. To date, the Kay Yow Cancer Fund has contributed over $3.9 million in support of women's cancer research.  Fans are encouraged to wear pink.
 
Red shirts will also be on sale in the lobby of Alico Arena. Fans are encouraged to purchase the FGCU red shirt for Saturday's 'red out'. All proceeds will benefit the American Heart Association.
 
Thursday's featured game sponsor is the Naples Daily News.
 
GAME DAY TWEETABLES
1. FGCU currently holds an RPI rating at 18 after rising to a program-best 13 to start Atlantic Sun action.  #EaglesRising
 
2. In a quest for their fifth-straight #ASunWBB Championships, the Eagles have compiled a record of 78-4 in the last five seasons.
 
3. FGCU is currently riding a 16-game win streak, which stands as the 6th-best in the nation. It's been 11 weeks since the Eagles fell.
 
4. Junior Whitney Knight became the 7th Eagle to score 1,000 career points last week at NKU and will be honored Thursday for the achievement.
 
5. Earlier this week, FGCU picked up votes in both the AP Top-25 & the USA Today Coaches' Poll for the third-straight week.
 
THE GREEN AND BLUE
The Eagles enter Thursday's game with a record of 21-2 and have won 19 of their last 20 games. The squad's 16-straight wins now stands as the nation's fifth-best streak behind only No. 16/18 Princeton, No. 3/3 Baylor, No. 2/1 Connecticut and No. 20/21 George Washington. FGCU has not lost in 10 weeks and has not fallen in regulation since Nov. 20. The team holds an unblemished record of 8-0 in conference play, a full three games ahead of Stetson and NKU.
 
With help from the strong record and the team's strength of schedule, the Eagles climbed to a program-best RPI rating of 13 at the end of nonconference action and have since hovered around the top-25. As of Wednesday, the team holds a ranking of 18 out of the nation's 349 programs. The team's strong season has also earned them votes in both the AP Top-25 and USA Today Coaches' Polls.
 
The team picked up notable wins over No. 20/21 George Washington, Quinnipiac, Wichita State, Arkansas State, Cal-State Northridge, Southern Miss. and Harvard in nonconference action before defeating rival Stetson twice since conference play began. Those marquee wins give FGCU a record of 7-1 against the RPI's top-100 teams, with the only loss coming in double overtime to Ohio State, who stands at 35 in the RPI. The team has since remained undefeated in A-Sun play with a record of 8-0 for a first-place standing. The undefeated record places FGCU a full three games ahead of second-place Stetson, who the Eagles defeated handedly Saturday in DeLand.
 
FGCU's win over Northern Kentucky secured the Eagles' 11th-straight 20+ win season and the team how holds an A-Sun record to 61-1 over the last four seasons. The team ranks sixth in the nation with a 17-game win streak in conference games that dates back to last season.
 
This year's team boasts two double-figure scorers in Whitney Knight (Winston-Salem, N.C./R.J. Reynolds High School) and Kaneisha Atwater (Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce Westover High School). Knight is pacing the squad and the league with 15 points and 6.2 rebounds per game and leads the league with 65 made shots from the perimeter. Atwater has contributed 13.7 points per contest and led the team with 14 points and eight rebounds in the 22-point win over Stetson this weekend.
 
Collectively, the Eagles average 74.1 points per game, while holding their opposition to 56.2 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 three points per game out of the top-10. The team has maintained a shooting percentage of .437 with a mark of .365 from the perimeter this year. The Eagles rank third in the NCAA and first among the Atlantic Sun with 10.3 shots made from beyond-the-arc per game. On defense, the Eagles have been narrowly outrebounded, 36.0 to 34.9 per game this year but hold an advantage in turnovers, 11.5 to 18.7 and steals, 9.2 to 4.9. FGCU ranks fourth in the country with a turnover margin of +7.26 and 10th nationally in assist to turnover ratio at 1.31.
 
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 win-loss percentage.
 
 
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWIN STREAK
With 16-straight wins, the Eagles currently hold the nation's sixth-best win streak. They sit behind only these teams
       
        Connecticut                                 22 games
        Princeton, Baylor                         21 games
        George Washington                      19 games
        Chattanooga                               17 games
 
The team also holds a 17-game win streak in conference games dating back to last season to rank sixth in the nation and sits only behind the nation's top two teams in Connecticut and South Carolina with 22-straight wins at home, a streak that also spans two seasons.
 
RECEIVING VOTES
The Eagles are now receiving votes in both the AP Top-25 and the USA Today Coaches' Poll. FGCU earned three votes in each poll to rank among the nation's top teams two weeks and has increased its points earned in each of the last two weeks.
 
TOP-100
The Eagles hold a 7-1 record against the nation's top-100 teams based on RPI with 'W's over George Washington, Quinnipiac, Stetson, Wichita State and Southern Miss. Their only loss was in an overtime battle against the Big Ten's Ohio State in the US Virgin Islands.    
 
LAST TIME OUT
Despite an early nine-point deficit, the FGCU women's basketball team gained momentum and rolled past Stetson with a 61-39 win Saturday afternoon at the Edmunds Center. With the win, the first-place Eagles maintain a three-game lead over the Hatters who now sit at 5-3 in conference play.
 
With both teams among the nation's top-50 in the RPI and leading the conference standings, the afternoon matchup was highly anticipated. The game started slow for the Eagles, who went 0-for-12 in the first seven minutes and fell behind 9-0 early on. The team responded to make 10 of its next 17 shots and slowly chipped away at the Hatter lead in the first half. After an 8-2 run late in the half gave FGCU its first lead at 17-16 with four minutes to play, the Eagles outscored the home team 9-4 in the final minutes to go into the break with a 26-20 lead.
 
Four-straight makes from beyond-the-arc brought the Eagle run into the second half and pushed the team ahead 38-24 in the first four minutes after the break. The eight-minute span showed a 21-8 run in favor of the Eagles, who took hold of the momentum and never let go. The team went on to make 8-of-13 long-range attempts in the second half, while holding Stetson to a 25 percent clip from the field, including a 1-for-11 mark from 3-point range. The shooting advantage helped the Green and Blue extend the lead to 23 points late in the game and gave FGCU its 10th win over Stetson in its last 11 outings.
 
The 22-point deficit stands as the Hatters worst loss of the year, aside from a 96-42 defeat at No. 3/3 Baylor in November.
 
ALL-TIME MEETINGS WITH THE NORSE
As the newest members of the Atlantic Sun, the Eagles and Norse have met just five times. FGCU swept the series with two double-figure victories in 2012-13 but the teams split a year ago with each team winning at home. The Eagles avenged the loss in Kentucky two weeks ago with a 67-46 win at the Bank of Kentucky Center.
 
SCOUTING THE VISITING TEAM
Northern Kentucky enters Saturday's matchup with a record of 14-9 with a 5-3 mark in conference. The Norse earned a big win over Stetson in the teams' first meeting and defeated Lipscomb in their last outing. The team now sits tied for second place with the Hatters. NKU went 9-6 in nonconference play with wins over Marquette, Cincinnati and Delaware and has since earned victories over Lipscomb, USC Upstate, Jacksonville and Stetson in conference. The team's league losses came at the hands of FGCU, Kennesaw State and North Florida.
 
As a unit, the Norse average 62.8 points per game and hold foes to just under at 62.7 points a contest. NKU has converted 37.2 percent of shots this season with a 29.9 clip from beyond-the-arc. The team ranks third in the league with a 3-point percentage defense of 28.5 percent, proving to be a strong matchup against the Eagles. NKU pulls down 36.3 rebounds per game, 3.0 boards fewer than foes and sits better than its opponents in assists, turnovers and blocks per game.
 
The Norse are led by two 13+ point scorers in junior Christine Roush and senior Melody Doss. Doss is currently leading the program with 13.9 points per game, while Roush stands at 13.0 points per contest. The duo has contributed 620 total points and both rank among the top-10 scorers in the league. Junior Rianna Gayheart has facilitated the Norse offense with 71 assists on the season, while Kaitlyn Gerrety has fueled the NKU defense. Gerrety leads the squad with 5.3 rebounds per game and has added 35 steals and 32 blocks through 23 games.
 
Head Coach Dawn Plitzuweit is in her third season at the helm of the Norse after previously serving as the Associate Head Coach at Michigan. Plitzuweit holds a record of 48-35 in three seasons with a 30-14 mark in A-Sun play.
 
PROTECTING THE NEST
It has been over six years since the Eagles fell in an Atlantic Sun Conference contest at home. The team holds a 59-game win streak at Alico Arena that spans over 318 months or 2,226 days. Overall, the Eagles are 190-14 in games at Alico with a 68-1 record all time against A-Sun foes. The current streak of 22 game stands as third in the nation behind only South Carolina and Connecticut.
 
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The Eagle's tough nonconference schedule has been crucial in the team's high RPI ranking this year. The team currently stands at 76 in the official NCAA SOS, ahead of top-25 teams like Nebraska, Mississippi State, Princeton, Rutgers and Seton Hall.
 
SMESKO'S PREPARATION
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 119-20 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 with NKU, the Eagles will welcome Lipscomb for a 7 p.m. bout Saturday evening.
 
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 last 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.  With 20 wins already in the 2014-15 season, Smesko has guided the Eagles to 11-straight 20+ win seasons.  He maintains a record of 335-66 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.5 with a mark of 125-13 (90.5 W%) in Atlantic Sun contests and has led the team to a 75-1 record in conference play in the last four seasons.  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.