FGCU (14-4 | 2-0 A-Sun) vs NJIT (3-14 | 0-2 A-Sun)
FGCU Head Coach: Karl Smesko | Walsh '97 | 14^th Season at FGCU: 359-71 (83.4%) | 17^th Season as Head Coach: 420-98 (80.8%)
NJIT Head Coach: Steven Lanpher | St. Joseph (Vt.) '87 | 4th Season at NJIT: 36-59 (37.8%) | 8th Season as Head Coach: 189-149 (55.9%)
When: Monday, Jan. 18 | 7 p.m.
Where: Alico Arena | Fort Myers, Fla.
Watch: ESPN3 with David Moulton and J. Webb Horton on the call
Stats: via Statbroadcast
Game Series: First meeting as A-Sun members; FGCU defeated NJIT 75-63 on March 6, 2008

FORT MYERS, Fla. – In the final of six-straight home contests, the FGCU women's basketball team will host NJIT Monday, Jan. 18. Tipoff against the Atlantic Sun Conference's newest member is set for 7 p.m. at Alico Arena.
 
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 David Moulton 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.
 
QUICK HITS:
- FGCU's 160 total 3-pointers made this season and 8.9 makes per game both rank among the nation's top-10.
- The FGCU projected starting lineup of Atwater, Dunson, Gradinjan, Laughter and Knight has accounted for 83 percent of the team's scoring this year.
- The Eagles meet the Highlanders for the first time in league action Monday night and will face off again in February in Newark, N.J.
- Since Whitney Knight's return from injury, FGCU has compiled a record of 8-1 with its only blemish as a five-point loss to No. 7 Mississippi State
- FGCU is 133-13 in A-Sun contests since 2007 with just one loss since the 2011-12 campaign. The team boasts three perfect seasons in the last four years for a record of 67-1 and has won five-straight regular season championships with six overall since joining the A-Sun.
- FGCU holds a record of 73-1 in A-Sun games played at Alico Arena. The team has won 64-straight with the last loss over seven years ago on Jan. 8, 2009 against East Tennessee State University, a team no longer in the league.
 
The Eagles continue Atlantic Sun Conference play with an overall record of 14-4 and a conference mark of 2-0. The team began conference play with a win over rival Stetson and picked up its second win Saturday night against USC Upstate. With the nonconference success and another strong start to the conference slate, the team currently holds an official RPI of 55.
 
Kaneisha Atwater (Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce Westwood High School/VCU) leads the team with an average of 15.4 points per game through the season's first 18 games. Atwater is also contributing 5.7 rebounds per contest and has added 58 assists and a team-best 29 steals.
 
Since her return from injury, senior Whitney Knight (Winston-Salem, N.C./R.J. Reynolds High School) has averaged 10.7 points per game and has led the team with 6.0 rebounds per game. The reigning A-Sun Player of the Year earned her first start of the year against Quinnipiac and has guided the team to an 8-1 record since her return. Knight currently leads the A-Sun with 27 blocks and has converted 19 3-pointers in just nine games.

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 10.4 and 9.9 points per game, respectively. Laughter and Gradinjan have combined for 82 of the team's 3-pointers and currently rank as the top-two long-range shooters in the conference.

Senior captain DyTiesha Dunson (Albany, Ga./Westover High School) has dished out a team-high 83 assists and has added 6.0 points in a team-high 34.2 minutes per game. She has turned the ball over just 31 times and tops the league with an assist to turnover ratio of 2.68.
 
As a team, the Green and Blue have averaged 63.1 points per game with a 38.9 percent clip from the field. The Eagles have been narrowly outrebounded 34.74 to 38 boards per game but have held a heavy advantage in turnovers as the team has forced 16.8 turnovers per game with only 11.9 miscues per game to rank sixth nationally.
 
NJIT
The Highlanders of NJIT are 3-14 this season with a 0-2 mark in their first season of Atlantic Sun play. The Highlanders have lost nine-straight games since earning a win at LIU Brooklyn but played Stetson to a five-point finish Saturday in DeLand.
 
The team is led by Leah Horton's 10.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. The 6-1 junior also leads the team with nine blocks and 22 steals but did not play in Saturday's game at Stetson. In addition to Horton's offensive production, the Highlanders have two players averaging 7.0 and 7.5 points per game in Kelly Guarino and Alana Dudley. Guarino leads the team with 36 long-range shots made, with Dudley distributing a team-best 49 assists on the year.
 
As a unit, the Highlanders have averaged 51.9 points per game and have allowed opponents to 62.7 points per game. NJIT is converting shots at a rate of 35.3 percent with a 32.2 percent clip from beyond-the-arc. The team pulls down 33 rebounds per contest but has been outrebounded by an average of 7.4 boards a game this season.
 
In his fourth season in Newark, head coach Steven Lanpher holds a record of 36-59.
 
MILESTONES MOUNTING
With such an experienced squad, several players on the team are within reach of program and conference records.
 
Dunson leads the team and ranks second in program history with 348 career assists. She stands just 71 away from the FGCU program record.
 
FGCU CAREER ASSISTS

1	Shannon Murphy	2007-11	419
2	DyTiesha Dunson	2012-16	348
3	Megan Jones	2002-05	338
4	Adrianne McNally	2006-10	335
5	Courtney Chihil	2008-12	328

 
Whitney Knight tops the FGCU record book with 261 blocked shots in her career and is climbing the A-Sun records this season.
 
ATLANTIC SUN CAREER BLOCKS

1	Jessica Bobbit	Belmont 05-09	290
2	Katie Beth Pate	Lipscomb 03-07	264
3	Whitney Knight	2012-16	261
4	Albena Branzova	FIU 91-95	250
5	Denise Hogie	CoC 91-93	248

 
On the offensive end, Knight currently stands third all-time in career points, 142 points from the second position on the list.
 
FGCU CAREER POINTS

1	Sarah Hansen	2009-14	1,895
2	Adrianne McNally	2006-10	1,415
3	Whitney Knight	2012-16	1,273
4	Kelsey Jacobson	2008-12	1,251
5	Shannon Murphy	2007-11	1,185

 
 
Knight also ranks fourth in the FGCU record books with 166 career steals, just 81 away from the program record.
 
FGCU CAREER STEALS

1	Sarah Hansen	2009-14	247
2	Courtney Chihil	2008-12	197
3	Shannon Murphy	2007-11	168
4	Whitney Knight	2012-16	166
5	Brittany Kennedy	2011-13	145

 
Knight entered the 2015-16 season with 516 career rebounds and will continue to climb the FGCU records. She currently stands fifth all-time.
 
FGCU CAREER REBOUNDS

1	Sarah Hansen	2009-14	882
2	Adrianne McNally	2006-10	658
3	Robyn Swain	2002-04	640
4	Courtney Chihil	2008-12	601
5	Whitney Knight	2012-16	573

 
 
POWERFUL WINS
After defeating the Pac-12's Arizona in Puerto Rico before the holidays, the Eagles have now defeated at least one team from each of the Power Five conferences. With a home win over Auburn to end 2015, the team has picked up 11 total wins against the BCS programs.  – SEC: Auburn (Dec. 30, 2015), LSU (Dec. 28, 2012), Florida (Nov. 14, 2008); ACC: Clemson (Nov. 28, 2014) Virginia Tech (Dec. 16, 2012/Dec. 21, 2011/Nov. 25,2010), Big Ten: Michigan State (Nov. 19, 2011), Indiana (Dec. 21, 2010); Big 12: Oklahoma State (Mar. 21, 2015); Pac-12: Arizona (Dec. 20, 2015)
 
RAINING THREES
FGCU tops the Atlantic Sun with 8.9 3-pointers made her game and 160 long-range makes on the year. The Eagles' signature shot has produced 480 of the team's 1,136 points on the year. On the national stage, the total 3-pointers made rank eighth among the NCAA's 344 teams, while the makes per game mark stands at 10th. The team has consistently ranked among the nation's top 3-point shooters and holds the NCAA single-game record with 22 made against ETSU on Jan. 12, 2013.
 
UP NEXT
With the long homestand behind them, the Eagles will travel to Nashville and Georgia next weekend for another pair of Atlantic Sun Conference contests. FGCU will play at Lipscomb on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 1:30 p.m. and will face Kennesaw State Monday, Jan. 25 in a 7 p.m. tilt.
 
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. 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 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 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 game 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 359-71 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.4 with a mark of 133-13 (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 last season in just 493 career games, two games faster than UConn's Geno Auriemma, and holds a career record of 420-98 (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.