FGCU (21-4 | 9-0 A-Sun) vs. NJIT (4-20 | 1-8 A-Sun)
FGCU Head Coach: Karl Smesko | Kent State '93 | 14^th Season at FGCU: 366-71 (83.7%) | 17^th Season as Head Coach: 427-98 (81.2%)
NJIT Head Coach: Stephen Laphner | College of St. Joseph '87 | 4th Season at NJIT: 37-65 (36.2%)
When: Saturday, Feb. 13 | 1 p.m.
Where: Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Center | Newark, N.J.
Watch: ESPN3
Stats: via Sidearmsports.com
Game Series: FGCU leads 2-0 since first meeting in 2008; won first A-Sun meeting 70-37 Jan. 18
Game Notes: FGCU | NJIT
 
NEWARK, N.J. – As the league leader, the FGCU women's basketball team travels to the Garden State to face the Atlantic Sun's newest member – NJIT - Saturday afternoon. The Eagles and Highlanders will face off at the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Center Feb. 13 in a game set for 1 p.m.
 
With 14-straight wins behind them, the Eagles look to increase their advantage in the league standings as only five regular season games remain.
 
QUICK HITS:
- RAINING THREES: FGCU's 237 total 3-pointers made this season ranks fifth nationally with the 9.5 makes per game standing as the nation's seventh-best mark.
- In addition to the 3-pointers, FGCU ranks among the nation's best in scoring defense (5th), turnovers per game (2nd), turnover margin (8th) and assist to turnover ratio (9th). 
- The Eagles have held opponents to just 50.5 points per game overall this season and have allowed only 44 points per game against #ASunWBB foes.
- Since Whitney Knight's return from injury, FGCU has compiled a record of 15-1 with its only blemish as a five-point loss to No. 12 Mississippi State.
- FGCU is 140-13 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.
- FGCU's 38-game win streak against conference foes ranks second nationally, only behind UConn's 60-game run. The 14-game win streak ranks fourth nationally behind UConn (60), Colorado State (18) and Notre Dame (16).
- FGCU is one of only 10 remaining teams undefeated in conference play. FGCU joins Connecticut, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Colorado State, Albany, UC Riverside, New Mexico State, Arkansas State and Penn in the group.
- In the latest espnW rankings, FGCU stands as the nation's No. 1 Mid-Major team.
- Senior Stephanie Haas (Avon Lake, Ohio/Magnificat High School) now stands just two points away from her 1,000^th point with the Green and Blue.
- Haas was named a CoSIDA Academic All-District Team Member Thursday afternoon. 2016 stands as the senior's second-straight year with the honor.
 
The Eagles continue Atlantic Sun Conference play with an overall record of 21-4 and an unblemished conference mark of 9-0. The team extended the win streak to 14 games with an overtime thriller at Jacksonville Wednesday and currently stand at 9-0 in road contests. With the nonconference success and the unblemished conference slate, the team currently holds an official RPI of 65 with a strength of schedule rating of 156.
 
Kaneisha Atwater (Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce Westwood High School/VCU) leads the team with an average of 14.3 points per game through the season's first 25 games. Atwater is also contributing 5.7 rebounds per contest and has added 79 assists and 36 steals.
 
Since her return from injury, senior Whitney Knight (Winston-Salem, N.C./R.J. Reynolds High School) has averaged 12.6 points per game and with 5.8 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 a 15-1 record since her return with 40 3-pointers and a team-best 48 blocked shots. Knight produced a double-double in Wednesday's win with 24 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks against the Dolphins.

Sophomore Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wisc./Cudahy High School) has also contributed heavily on offense for FGCU with 9.8 points per game and a team-high 57 3-pointers. Gradinjan's 3-point shooting stands among the league's top-three and has accounted for 70 percent of her scoring this season.
 
Senior captain DyTiesha Dunson (Albany, Ga./Westover High School) has dished out 113 assists and has added 5.9 points in a team-high 33.2 minutes per game. She has turned the ball over just 38 times and tops the league with an assist to turnover ratio of 2.97. The assist to turnover mark also ranks fifth nationally.
 
As a team, the Green and Blue have averaged 64.5 points per game with a 38.8 percent clip from the field. The Eagles have been narrowly outrebounded 37.9 to 36.0 boards per game but have held a heavy advantage in turnovers as the team has forced 17.2 turnovers per game with only 11 miscues per game. The margin of 6.24 ranks eighth nationally, while the limited number of turnovers is the country's second-best mark.
 
NJIT
The Highlanders of NJIT are 4-20 this season with a 1-8 mark in their first season of Atlantic Sun play. The Highlanders lost 13-straight games midway through the season but recently picked up a win over Lipscomb and took Kennesaw State to overtime.
 
NJIT is currently tied with Lipscomb at seventh place in the league standings and holds an official RPI of 343 with a strength of schedule rating of 310.
 
The team is led by Leah Horton's 10.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. The 6-1 junior also leads the team with 15 blocks and has recorded 23 steals. In the Jan. 18 game at FGCU, Horton played just 17 minutes with two points and two rebounds. In addition to Horton's offensive production, the Highlanders have two players averaging 8.6 and 7.6 points per game in Kelly Guarino and Alana Dudley. Guarino leads the team with 56 long-range shots made, with Dudley distributing a team-best 80 assists on the year. Guarino has scored 85 percent of her 197 points from beyond-the-arc and has converted at a rate of 38.9 percent. No other Highlander has attempted more than 66 shots from distance.
 
As a unit, the Highlanders have averaged 51.7 points per game and have allowed opponents to 63.7 points per game. NJIT is converting shots at a rate of 35.6 percent for the league's lowest mark with a 31.4 percent clip from beyond-the-arc. The team pulls down a league-low 32.6 rebounds per contest and has been outrebounded by an average of 7.7 boards a game this season.
 
In his fourth season in Newark, head coach Steven Lanpher holds a record of 37-65.
 
ATLANTIC SUN STANDINGS
The Eagles still boast the top league record in the A-Sun at 9-0. No other team has fewer than two losses on the year.
 

FGCU	9-0	21-4	W14
USC Upstate	7-2	15-8	W4
Stetson	6-3	14-8	W3
Jacksonville	6-6	14-10	L3
Kennesaw State	4-5	8-15	W2
North Florida	2-7	6-18	L5
NJIT	1-8	4-20	L2
Lipscomb	1-8	4-20	W1

 
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The nonconference slate put the Eagles up against five top-100 teams and eight top-125 teams, giving the Green and Blue a strength of schedule rating of 156 according to RealTimeRPI. The team's resume includes five top-110 wins with victories at George Washington (RPI No. 37) and against Auburn (No. 55), Arizona (No. 106), Akron (No. 110) and Western Michigan (No. 120). The losses to the top-tier teams came at the hands of Mississippi State (No.21), Ohio (No. 32) and Arkansas State (No. 44).
 
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 378 career assists.
 
FGCU CAREER ASSISTS

1	Shannon Murphy	2007-11	419
2	DyTiesha Dunson	2012-16	378
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 282 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	2011-16	282
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, 36 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	2011-16	1,379
4	Kelsey Jacobson	2008-12	1,251
5	Shannon Murphy	2007-11	1,185

 
Knight also ranks third in the FGCU record books with 182 career steals, 65 away from the program record.
 
FGCU CAREER STEALS

1	Sarah Hansen	2009-14	247
2	Courtney Chihil	2008-12	197
3	Whitney Knight	2011-16	182
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 fourth 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	Whitney Knight	2011-16	612
5	Courtney Chihil	2008-12	603

 
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 9.5 3-pointers made her game and 237 long-range makes on the year. The Eagles' signature shot has produced 711 of the team's 1,612 points on the year. On the national stage, the total 3-pointers made rank fifth 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 recently 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 the Garden State, the team will continue the three-game road swing in Spartanburg, S.C. FGCU to USC Upstate for a Monday night contest. Tipoff at the Hodge Center is set for 7 p.m.
                                                                         
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
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 366-71 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.5 with a mark of 140-13 (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 427-98 (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.