FGCU (22-4 | 10-0 A-Sun) vs. USC Upstate (17-8 | 8-2 A-Sun)
FGCU Head Coach: Karl Smesko | Kent State '93 | 14^th Season at FGCU: 367-71 (83.7%) | 17^th Season as Head Coach: 428-98 (81.2%)
USC Upstate Head Coach: Tammy George | Charlotte '93  | 11^th Season at Upstate: 151-170 (47%) | 13^th Season as Head Coach: 194-192 (50.2%)
When: Monday, Feb. 15 | 7 p.m.
Where: Hodge Center | Spartanburg, S.C.
Watch: ESPN3
Stats: via USCUpstateSpartans.com
Game Series: FGCU leads 14-2 since first meeting in 2008 with nine-straight wins
Game Notes: FGCU | USC Upstate
  
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Atlantic Sun Conference's top-two teams will faceoff Monday, Feb. 15 as the FGCU women's basketball team takes on USC Upstate in its third-consecutive road game. Tipoff at Upstate's Hodge Center is set for 7 p.m.
  
With 15-straight wins behind them and the perfect league record, the Eagles look to increase their advantage in the A-Sun standings as only four regular season games remain.
 
QUICK HITS:
- RAINING THREES: FGCU's 244 total 3-pointers made this season ranks fifth nationally with the 9.4 makes per game standing as the nation's eighth-best mark.
- In addition to the 3-pointers, FGCU ranks among the nation's best in scoring defense (2nd), turnovers per game (2nd), turnover margin (7th) and assist to turnover ratio (10th).  
- The Eagles have held opponents to just 49.8 points per game overall this season and have allowed only 42.9 points per game against #ASunWBB foes. FGCU has held opponents to fewer than 40 points five times in the last month.
- Senior Whitney Knight holds the FGCU all-time block record with 285 career blocks and stands just five swatted shots away from the Atlantic Sun record.
- FGCU is 141-13 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 39-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) scored her 1,000^th career point Saturday at NJIT.
- 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 22-4 and an unblemished conference mark of 10-0. The team extended the win streak to 15 games with a victory at NJIT Saturday and currently stands at 10-0 in road contests. With the nonconference success and the unblemished conference slate, the team currently holds an official RPI of 66 with a strength of schedule rating of 174.
 
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 26 games. Atwater is also contributing 5.6 rebounds per contest and has added 80 assists and 37 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 16-1 record since her return with 42 3-pointers and a team-best 51 blocked shots. Knight produced a double-double in last Wednesday's win with 24 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks against the Dolphins and followed with another double-figure performance Saturday.

Sophomore Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wisc./Cudahy High School) has also contributed heavily on offense for FGCU with 9.5 points per game and a team-high 58 3-pointers. Gradinjan's 3-point shooting stands among the league's top-four and has accounted for 70 percent of her scoring this season.
 
Senior captain DyTiesha Dunson (Albany, Ga./Westover High School) has dished out 116 assists and has added 5.7 points in a team-high 33 minutes per game. She has turned the ball over just 40 times and tops the league with an assist to turnover ratio of 2.9. The assist to turnover mark also ranks fifth nationally.
 
As a team, the Green and Blue have averaged 64 points per game with a 38.7 percent clip from the field. The Eagles have been narrowly outrebounded 36 to 37.5 boards per game but have held a heavy advantage in turnovers as the team has forced 17.3 turnovers per game with only 11 miscues per game. The margin of 6.3 ranks seventh nationally, while the limited number of turnovers is the country's second-best mark.
 
USC UPSTATE
USC Upstate continues a strong season Monday night as the second-place Spartans host FGCU. The team is 17-8 this year with an 8-2 Atlantic Sun Conference mark. The Spartans are 7-2 since falling to FGCU on Jan. 9 and recently completed a season sweep over Stetson with a 73-58 win at home.
 
The Spartans have already matched their highest win total in the Division I era hold an official RPI of 205 with a strength of schedule rating of 338.
 
The team lost its top scorer from last year's team that went 14-16 with a 6-8 A-Sun record but returns four starters and a core of senior leadership. Brittany Starling is currently averaging a double-double with 15.8 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. The 6-0 senior has converted 52.4 percent of shots this season with no 3-point attempts. Starling's rebounding average tops the league and ranks eighth nationally, while her point total has accounted for 23 percent of Upstate's offense this season. In addition to Starling, the Spartans gain a combined 20.1 points per game from classmates Kristen Dickerson and Brittany Clency. Dickerson leads the team with 42 steals and has dished out 65 assists with 10.1 points scored her game, while Clency tops the team with 67 assists and adds 10.0 points per game. The 5-7 senior's assist total tops the team by a low margin as four different players have dished out at least 44 assists this season for the Spartans. The team also boasts six players with 25 or more steals on the year.
 
As a unit, the Spartans lead the league with an average of 68.4 points scored per game but have allowed opponents to 63.9 points per contest so far this season. The team matches FGCU with a 38.7 percent shooting clip overall, shoots 26.3 percent from beyond-the-arc and tops the league with 44.1 rebounds per game. The strong offense will match up against the Eagle defense, which has held foes to a 36 percent clip this season to lead the A-Sun. Upstate allows opponents to shoot 26.3 percent from 3-point range and 38.2 percent overall. Defensively, the Spartans force 17.8 turnovers per game with 3.4 blocks per game and 8.8 steals per contest.
 
In her 11th season with Upstate, head coach Tammy George holds a record of 161-170 with a 2-14 mark against the Green and Blue.
 
FGCU holds a 14-2 advantage over the Spartans since their first meeting in 2008. Since falling to Upstate in 2011, the Eagles have won each of the last nine meetings, including a 75-59 victory in Spartanburg last February to clinch the regular season championship and serve as Coach Smesko's 400th career victory. The Eagles defeated Upstate 54-43 in Fort Myers last month and have outscored the Spartans by an average of over 15 points per game in the last nine meetings.
 
ATLANTIC SUN STANDINGS
The Eagles still boast the top league record in the A-Sun at 10-0. No other team has fewer than two losses on the year.
 

FGCU	10-0	22-4	W14
USC Upstate	8-2	17-8	W6
Jacksonville	7-3	15-10	W1
Stetson	6-4	15-9	L1
Kennesaw State	4-6	8-16	L1
North Florida	2-8	6-19	L6
Lipscomb	2-8	5-20	W2
NJIT	1-9	4-21	L3

 
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 174 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 381 career assists.
 
FGCU CAREER ASSISTS

1	Shannon Murphy	2007-11	419
2	DyTiesha Dunson	2012-16	381
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 285 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	285
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, 24 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	1,391
4	Kelsey Jacobson	2008-12	1,251
5	Shannon Murphy	2007-11	1,185

 
Knight also ranks fourth in the FGCU record books with 182 career steals, 15 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	618
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 9.4 3-pointers made her game and 244 long-range makes on the year. The Eagles' signature shot has produced 732 of the team's 1,665 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 eighth. 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 Monday night matchup, the Eagles return to Southwest Florida for a Saturday afternoon contest against Kennesaw State. The Eagles will host the Owls Saturday, Feb. 20 in a 4 p.m. game. Prior to tipoff, the team's large senior class will be honored for their contributions to the Green and Blue.      
 
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 367-71 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.5 with a mark of 141-13 (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 428-98 (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.