FGCU (17-4 | 5-0 A-Sun) at North Florida (6-14 | 2-3 A-Sun)
FGCU Head Coach: Karl Smesko | Walsh '97 | 14^th Season at FGCU: 362-71 (83.4%) | 17^th Season as Head Coach: 423-98 (80.8%)
UNF Head Coach: Darrick Gibbs | Wofford '00 | 1st Season at UNF: 6-14 (30.0%)
When: Saturday, Jan. 30 | 2 p.m.
Where: UNF Arena | Jacksonville, Fla.
Watch: ESPN3
Listen: via FGCUAthletics.com with David Moulton on the call
Stats: via SidearmStats.com
Game Series: FGCU leads 16-2 since first meeting in 2008
Game Notes: FGCU  |  UNF
 
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In the third-straight road game of Atlantic Sun Conference slate, the FGCU women's basketball team will take on the University of North Florida Saturday, Jan. 30. Tipoff at UNF Arena is set for 2 p.m. as part of a double header with the FGCU men's team. The Eagles look to extend a 10-game win streak in the first of two meetings with the Ospreys this season.
 
GAME DAY ACTION
Fans can listen live with David Moulton during Saturday's game. A direct link via FGCUAthletics.com will be available before tipoff. The game will also be available on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app with live stats available through UNFOspreys.com
 
QUICK HITS:
- RAINING THREES: FGCU's 201 total 3-pointers made this season ranks seventh nationally with the 9.6 makes per game standing as the nation's third-best mark.
- In addition to the 3-pointers, FGCU ranks among the nation's best in scoring defense (8th), turnovers per game (3rd), turnover margin (13th) and assist to turnover ratio (11th).  
- The Eagles are 7-0 in true road games this season and have outscored opponents by over 20 points per game in away games.
- FGCU is 16-2 against UNF since the first meeting in 2008. The Eagles are riding a 12-game win streak since a loss in 2010.
- Since Whitney Knight's return from injury, FGCU has compiled a record of 11-1 with its only blemish as a five-point loss to No. 13 Mississippi State.
- FGCU is 136-13 in A-Sun contests since 2007 with just one loss since the 2011-12 campaign. The team boasts three perfect seasons in the last five years has won five-straight regular season championships with six overall since joining the A-Sun. Currently, the team is undefeated in conference action since Feb. 1, 2014.
 
The Eagles continue Atlantic Sun Conference play on the road with an overall record of 17-4 and a conference mark of 5-0. The team began extended the win streak to 10 games with wins at Lipscomb and Kennesaw State. With the nonconference success and another strong start to the conference slate, the team currently holds an official RPI of 70.
 
Kaneisha Atwater (Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce Westwood High School/VCU) leads the team with an average of 15.0 points per game through the season's first 21 games. Atwater is also contributing 5.6 rebounds per contest and has added 70 assists and a team-best 32 steals.
 
Since her return from injury, senior Whitney Knight (Winston-Salem, N.C./R.J. Reynolds High School) has averaged 12.2 points per game and has led the team with 5.6 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 11-1 record since her return. Knight scored 25 points with seven 3-pointers in the win at Lipscomb and was named this week's A-Sun Player of the Week.

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 9.0 and 10.4 points per game, respectively. Laughter and Gradinjan have combined for 89 of the team's 3-pointers and currently rank as two of top long-range shooters in the conference.
 
Senior captain DyTiesha Dunson (Albany, Ga./Westover High School) has dished out a team-high 99 assists and has added 5.4 points in a team-high 33.2 minutes per game. She has turned the ball over just 36 times and tops the league with an assist to turnover ratio of 2.74. The assist to turnover mark also ranks 10th nationally.
 
As a team, the Green and Blue have averaged 64.5 points per game with a 38.7 percent clip from the field. The Eagles have been narrowly outrebounded 36.4 to 37.4 boards per game but have held a heavy advantage in turnovers as the team has forced 16.8 turnovers per game with only 11.5 miscues per game to rank third nationally.
 
UNF
Under the direction of first year head coach Darrick Gibbs, the Ospreys of UNF are 6-14 on the season with a 2-3 mark in Atlantic Sun Conference play. The team shot over 54 percent to earn a win over Lipscomb and picked up a double-figure victory over NJIT before falling to USC Upstate Tuesday night. After being selected to finish eighth in the league, the team holds a fifth-place tie with Kennesaw State through the first five games of league play.
 
UNF returned no starters from last year's squad that went 11-19 with a 2-12 record in A-Sun play. Senior Kadesia Johnson stands as the team's top returner after starting seven games last season and scoring 3.1 points per game.
 
As a team, the Ospreys score 56.5 points and allow 65.1 points per contest with a 36.8 percent clip from the floor. UNF boasts just two players shooting over 40 percent with no player above the 35 percent mark from long distance. The team has combined for a 30 percent clip from 3-point range with 7.2 makes per game to sit just behind the Eagles in the league rankings. UNF turns the ball over 17.7 times per contests and has been outrebounded by a margin of 6.1 boards per game.
 
Junior college transfer Claire Ioannidis leads the squad with an average of 15.1 points per game and tops the league with 55 3-pointers made in her first season with the Ospreys. Sophomore Sierra Shepherd adds 13.2 points per outing with a team-best 44.8 percent shooting performance and has paced the team with 73 assists and 39 steals. Defensively, Kadesia Johnson tops the team with 8.1 rebounds per game, with Karrah Johnson swatting 18 shots so far this season.
 
After the team's first 20 games, the Ospreys hold an official RPI of 316.
 
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The nonconference slate put the Eagles up against seven top-100 teams and nine top-120 teams, giving the Green and Blue a strength of schedule rating of 142 according to RealTimeRPI. The team's resume includes four top-110 wins with victories at George Washington (RPI No. 34) and against Auburn (No. 62), Arizona (No. 86) and Western Michigan (No. 106). The losses to the top-tier teams came at the hands of Mississippi State (No.36), Ohio (No. 35) and Arkansas State (No. 57). FGCU also picked up a win over No. 117 Akron in the early goings.
 
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 364 career assists.
 
FGCU CAREER ASSISTS

1	Shannon Murphy	2007-11	419
2	DyTiesha Dunson	2012-16	364
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 268 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	Whitney Knight	2012-16	268
3	Katie Beth Pate	Lipscomb 03-07	264
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, 92 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	1,323
4	Kelsey Jacobson	2008-12	1,251
5	Shannon Murphy	2007-11	1,185

 
Knight also ranks fourth in the FGCU record books with 174 career steals, 73 away from the program record.
 
FGCU CAREER STEALS

1	Sarah Hansen	2009-14	247
2	Courtney Chihil	2008-12	197
3	Whitney Knight	2012-16	174
4	Shannon Murphy	2007-11	168
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 and is on pace to finish second in the record books.
 
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	587

 
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 9.6 3-pointers made her game and 201 long-range makes on the year. The Eagles' signature shot has produced 603 of the team's 1,355 points on the year. On the national stage, the total 3-pointers made rank third among the NCAA's 344 teams, while the makes per game mark stands at seventh. The team has consistently ranked among the nation's top 3-point shooters and held the NCAA single-game record with 22 made on 41 attempts until just last week when Sacramento State hit 25. The Eagles led the nation during the 2012-13 season with 342 long-range makes and followed with 319 in the 2013-14 season. That mark 342 now stands as the third-best performance in NCAA history. The team also sank 10.7 3-pointers per game in that season, an average that also stands as the third-best overall mark.
 
UP NEXT
Following the Saturday matchup in Jacksonville, the team will return to Southwest Florida for a Thursday night contest against Jacksonville University. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 4 at Alico Arena.
 
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 362-71 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.5 with a mark of 136-13 (91 W%) in Atlantic Sun contests and has led the team to a 71-1 record in conference play in the last five 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 423-98 (81.1 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.
 
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.