FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's basketball team continues it's busy December schedule with back-to-back games at Alico Arena. The Eagles will square off with the Mocs of Chattanooga on Tuesday, Dec. 20th before facing NAIA foe St. Thomas on Wednesday, Dec. 21. Tipoff for both games is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
Fans can find a live broadcast of the game on ESPN3. Live stats will also be available from StatBroadcast. For those looking to attend the match and support your FGCU Eagles, tickets can be purchased online at FGCUTickets.com or by calling the university's ticket office at 239-590-7145.
 
THE GREEN AND BLUE
FGCU enters the week at an even .500 after dropping a heartbreaker to Illinois on Saturday afternoon.
 
With nine newcomers in 2016, it seems as though the Green and Blue are taking steps forward every day. The Eagles have drastically improved their shooting over the last several weeks, averaging a 43.8 percent clip in the month of December compared to 36.3 in November.
 
There's no doubt that FGCU has also benefitted from the return of long range threat Haley Laughter (Asheville, N.C./Carolina Day School) who missed four games due to injury and is averaging 9.9 points per contest.
 
After coming off the bench to begin the season, redshirt-junior Jessica Cattani (Muskego, Wis./Muskego HS) has moved to the starting lineup over the last five games. During that time, she's reached double-figure points twice and tallied a career-high seven assists last Friday against N.C. A&T. One of just five returners this season, Cattani joined the team as a walk-on in 2014, but earned a scholarship this season for all of her hard work and commitment to the Eagles' program.
 
Sharpshooter Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wis./Cudahy HS) is averaging 10.0 points per contest and has drained at 14 three-pointers in her last four contests. While her talents as a shooter are proven, the Wisconsin-native has been showcasing a new dimension of her game with a team-high 24 steals on the season. Gradinjan entered 2016-17 with just 36 takeaways in her entire career.
 
Newcomer Rosemarie Julien (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Treasure Coast HS/Chipola College) owns a team-best 10.4 points per game and has averaged 13.8 in her last four contests. The JUCO transfer plays tough on defense and causes problems offensively due to her ability to drive hard to the basket or pull back for a long-range shot.
 
SCOUTING CHATTANOOGA
^ Chattanooga is coming off a 66-55 win over Stetson, which currently leads the ASUN conference at 11-2.
 
^ The Mocs lead the nation in fewest fouls per game (10.7).
 
^ Chattanooga, which ranked 21st in last week's midmajor poll, fell out of this week's top-25, but is still recieving votes.
 
^ Chattanooga ranks first in the SoCon with 33.6 rebounds per contest and tops the conference with 63 blocked shots on the season.
 
^ The Mocs have faced a grueling schedule this year, as four of the 11 games have been against ranked opponents (Florida, Indiana, Louisville and UConn).
 
^ Chattanooga head coach Jim Foster has climbed to eighth on the NCAA all-time coaching list with a record of 870-329 and, in 2013, was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
 
^ Chattanooga will be well rested as they travel to Fort Myers after a 15-day break from play.
 
KEY PLAYERS
3 Jasmine Joyner - Joyner currently ranks second in the nation in blocked shots with 42 rejections on the year. The senior forward became the 27th player in Chattanooga history to reach the 1,000-point mark during the Mocs' win over UT Martin on Dec. 3. Joyner also owns a team-high 9.6 rebounds per contest.
 
25 Chelsea Shumpert - After missing two games, Shumpert returned to the court at the end of November and has averaged double-digit points in her last two games. The redshirt-junior leads the team in assists with 26 helpers on the season.
 
33 Lakelyn Bouldin - Bouldin ranks second on the team behind Joyner with an average of 10.2 points per game. The freshman serves as a long-range threat for the Mocs with a 37.9 clip from beyond the arc.
 
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the first meeting between Chattanooga and FGCU.
 
SCOUTING ST. THOMAS
^ The Bobcats own a 3-5 record and are 2-1 in conference play.
 
^ St. Thomas is coming off a 73-58 win over Briar Cliff at the Cruzin Classic, where sophomore Katie Rienas led the floor with 24 points.
 
^ Three Bobcats are averaging double-figure points - Desanta' Franklin-Jordan, Samara Auguste and Jordan Charlton.
 
^ St. Thomas is averaging 38.3 rebounds and 8.1 steals per contest.
 
KEY PLAYERS
2 Jordan Charlton - Charleton is averaging 10.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per contest.
 
11 Samara Auguste - Auguste contributes both offensively and defensively with 12.4 points per game and a team-high 20 steals on the season.
 
14 Desanta' Franklin-Jordan - Franklin-Jordan is averaging a team-best 15 points per game and is averaging a 41.9 percent clip.
 
SERIES HISTORY
FGCU holds 1-0 record over St. Thomas with the teams only meeting taking place last season.
 
Laughter sank seven 3-pointers and produced a career-high 25 points in the 86-33 win over the Bobcats.
 
FLORIDA FOES
Since transitioning to Division I in 2007, the Eagles hold a record of 82-19 over teams from the state of Florida.
 
RAINING THREES
The team's moniker Raining Threes isn't just for show. FGCU has made an incredible 4,180 3-pointers in 14+ seasons for an average of nine per game. The Eagles are riding a 347-game streak with at least one three ball and have made a long-range shot in 462 of 463 games in program history.
 
PROTECTING THE NEST
Alico Arena stands as the second-toughest place to play in all of NCAA Division I women's basketball. The first: UConn's Gampel Pavilion.  The Eagles hold a record of 139-11 at home since making the jump to Division I in 2007-08 and have won 78 out of 80 ASUN games with the home crowd behind them.
 
RECAPPING ILLINOIS
Despite leading for more than 28 minutes, the Eagles dropped an 82-73 heartbreaker to the Big Ten's Illinois on Saturday afternoon. The loss snapped FGCU's streak of four-straight wins.
 
It really was a tale of two halves for the Green and Blue, who managed a remarkable 58.6 percent clip in the first half before letting that number fall to 28.1 percent in the second. Still, the Eagles' first half showing gave the team something to build upon as it approaches conference play.
 
Several Eagles gave noteworthy performances including Julien, Jordin Alexander (Fisher, Ind./ Hamilton Southeastern HS/Brown) and Mikala McGhee (St. Louis, Mo./Pattonville HS/George Mason/Missouri State) who set new career-highs with 18, 17 and nine points respectively.
 
Gradinjan added another four steals bringing her total to a team-high 24, while Alexander matched a personal-best with three takeaways of her own.
 
UP NEXT
The Green and Blue continue their five-game homestand next week with the Hilton Garden Inn Classic at Alico Arena. FGCU will take on Hampton on Thursday, Dec. 29 before facing UC Riverside on Friday, Dec. 30. Tipoff for both games is scheduled for 7 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 384-79 at FGCU for a win percentage of 82.9 with a mark of 145-13 (91.7 W%) in ASUN contests and has led the team to an 81-1 record in conference play in the last five seasons.  The six-time ASUN Coach of the Year earned his 400th career win in 2014-15 in just 493 career games, two games faster than UConn's Geno Auriemma, and holds a career record of 445-106 (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.