Matchup: FGCU (2-1), Northern Colorado (1-1)
When: Friday, Nov. 18 | 12 PM (local time)| Bank of Colorado Arena | Greeley, Colo.
Links: Video | Live Stats | Twitter
Coaches: Karl Smesko: (15th season @ FGCU – 380-74; 18th overall 441-101) | Kamie Ethridge: (2nd season @ Northern Colorado – 36-30; same overall)
 
GREELEY Colo. – After a dominating performance in its home opener on Tuesday, the FGCU women's basketball team is back on the road this week to face Northern Colorado on Friday, Nov. 18. The Eagles hold a 1-0 record over the Bears with the teams' only meeting taking place on Dec. 19, 2014 in Fort Myers.
 
Fans can follow along with a live broadcast of the game at BigSkyConf.com. Live stats will also be available through Sidearm Sports. Links to both sites can be found at FGCUAthletics.com.
 
THE GREEN AND BLUE
The Eagles more than doubled FIU's points in a dominating victory on Tuesday to kick off their home slate. The 47-point win marks the margin of victory for the team since downing St. Thomas 86-33 last December.
 
The Green and Blue forced 23 turnovers with the help of an incredible 17 steals and committed just 11 themselves. Offensively, FGCU made it rain threes in Alico Arena throwing down 14 from behind the arc.
 
Even more important than any stat for the Eagles, was the fact that with nine newcomers, FGCU looked like a cohesive unit that had been playing together for years.
 
After just three games together, JUCO transfers Erica Nelson (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee Summit North HS/Johnson County CC) and Rosemarie Julien (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Treasure Coast HS/Chipola College) developed a natural chemistry that allowed them to find each other for quick passes under the basket. Freshman Tytionia Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman) asserted herself as a defensive threat, snagging offensive boards and making quick passes to open shooters.
 
With eight seniors lost to graduation, returners Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wis./Cudahy HS) and Haley Laughter (Asheville, N.C./Carolina Day School) have stepped up into a leadership role. The pair have upheld FGCU's sharpshooting reputation combining for 16 of the Eagle's 28 three-pointers on the season.
 
SCOUTING NORTHERN COLORADO
Northern Colorado enters weekend play after capturing its first win of the season against in-state rival Denver.
 
The Bears trailed the Pioneers 16-9 after the first quarter, but gained momentum quickly and ultimately held Denver to just a 25.9 percent clip from the floor on their way to a 68-48 win.
 
After two games, redshirt-sophomore Savannah Smith leads Northern Colorado in points and is responsible for nearly a quarter of the Bears points so far this year, while 6-foot-3 sophomore Courtney Smith owns a team-high 12 rebounds.
 
UP NEXT
The Eagles will have a week off before facing some of their toughest competition of the season at the Gulf Coast Showcase. The three-day event, which will include defending national runner-up Syracuse, two-time national champion Baylor and Ohio State in the eight-team field, will begin the day after Thanksgiving and run from Friday- Sunday, Nov. 25-27 at Germain Arena, just a few miles from FGCU's beach-lined campus.
 
The Eagles will open up tournament play on Friday, Nov. 25 with a 5 p.m. game against Big Ten powerhouse Ohio State, which ended the season with a #10 ranking. The men's basketball team hosts Long Beach State at Alico Arena later that night at 8 p.m.
 
SMESKO
Head coach Karl Smesko earned his sixth-consecutive ASUN Coach of the Year award with a successful 2015-16 campaign and was named the espnW Mid-Major Coach of the Year. Under his direction, the team has compiled two-straight 30-win seasons with four perfect ASUN regular-season slates in the last five years. The team earned its first top-25 ranking and a third NCAA Tournament appearance as a seven seed in 2014-15 where FGCU won its first ever DI NCAA Tournament game against No. 10 Oklahoma State. With 30 wins and counting this year, Smesko has guided the Eagles to 12-straight 20+ win seasons.  He maintains a record of 380-74 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.7 with a mark of 145-13 (91.7 W%) in ASUN contests and has led the team to a 81-1 record in conference play in the last five seasons.  The six-time ASUN 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 441-101 (81.4 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.