FGCU (23-4 | 11-0 A-Sun) vs. Kennesaw State (17-8 | 8-2 A-Sun)
FGCU Head Coach: Karl Smesko | Kent State '93 | 14^th Season at FGCU: 368-71 (83.7%) | 17^th Season as Head Coach: 429-98 (81.2%)
Kennesaw State Head Coach: Nitra Perry | Mississippi State '00 | 4^th Season at KSU: 30-77 (28.0%)
When: Saturday, Feb. 20 | 4 p.m.
Where: Alico Arena | Fort Myers, Fla.
Watch: ESPN3 with David Moulton and Peter Lonergan
Stats: via StatBroadcast.com
Game Series: FGCU leads 17-2 since first meeting in 2008 with 11-straight wins
Game Notes: FGCU | Kennesaw State
 
FORT MYERS, Fla. – With just three games remaining in the regular season, the FGCU women's basketball team returns to Alico Arena for a two-game swing. The Eagles host Kennesaw State University Saturday, Feb. 20 with a 4 p.m. tipoff.
 
With 16-straight wins behind them and the perfect league record, the Eagles look secure their sixth-straight A-Sun Regular Season Championship outright with a win against the Owls. The Green and Blue have already guaranteed a piece of the championship and the No. 1 seed in the postseason as the team holds the tiebreakers over both USC Upstate and Jacksonville.
 
GAME DAY ACTION
Tickets are still available and can be purchased by visiting FGCUAthletics.com/tickets, calling the Ticket Office at 239-590-7145 or by visiting the Alico Arena Ticket Office.
 
All FGCU home games will be streamed live via ESPN3 this season with David Moulton and Peter Lonergan on the call Saturday afternoon. Live stats will be available through FGCUStats.com, while fans can also find live, in-game updates on Twitter by following @FGCU_WBB.
 
Fans are encouraged to wear blue to the game for a 'Blue Out'.
 
Saturday's game serves as Senior Day for the Eagles. Prior to tipoff, the team's eight seniors will be recognized for their contributions to the program.
 
QUICK HITS:
-RAINING THREES: FGCU's 254 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 (10th) and assist to turnover ratio (12th).  
- The Eagles have held opponents to just 49.6 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 288 career blocks and stands just two swatted shots away from the Atlantic Sun record.
- The Eagles are 142-13 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 six-straight regular season championships with seven overall since joining the A-Sun. Currently, the team is undefeated in conference action since Feb. 1, 2014.
- FGCU's 40-game win streak against conference foes ranks second nationally, only behind UConn's 60-game run. The 16-game win streak ranks fourth nationally behind UConn (62), Colorado State (20) and Notre Dame (18).
-The Green and Blue boast a 67-game win streak in home games played against Atlantic Sun Conference foes and hold a 92.5 win percentage at Alico Arena all-time.
- FGCU is one of only nine remaining teams undefeated in conference play. FGCU joins Connecticut, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Colorado State, 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.
 
The Eagles continue Atlantic Sun Conference play with an overall record of 23-4 and an unblemished conference mark of 11-0. The team extended the win streak to 16 games with a victory at USC Upstate Monday. With the nonconference success and the unblemished conference slate, the team currently holds an official RPI of 62 with a strength of schedule rating of 168.
 
Kaneisha Atwater (Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce Westwood High School/VCU) leads the team with an average of 14.0 points per game through the season's first 27 games. Atwater is also contributing 5.6 rebounds per contest and has added 86 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 6.1 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 17-1 record since her return with 45 3-pointers and a team-best 54 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 two more double-figure performances over the weekend.

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 64 3-pointers. Gradinjan's 3-point shooting stands among the league's top-four and has accounted for 72 percent of her scoring this season.
 
Senior captain DyTiesha Dunson (Albany, Ga./Westover High School) has dished out 120 assists and has added 5.6 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 3.0. The assist to turnover mark also ranks fifth nationally.
 
As a team, the Green and Blue have averaged 63.7 points per game with a 38.6 percent clip from the field. The Eagles have been narrowly outrebounded 36.3 to 37.7 boards per game but have held a heavy advantage in turnovers as the team has forced 17.0 turnovers per game with only 11.1 miscues per game. The margin of 5.85 ranks 10th nationally, while the limited number of turnovers is the country's second-best mark.
 
KENNESAW STATE
After a 20-point win over North Florida Monday, the Owls of Kennesaw State University travel to Fort Myers with a record of 10-16 and an Atlantic Sun Conference mark of 5-6. The team has earned wins over Lipscomb, UNF and NJIT in league action with a 2-2 mark in road contests since conference play began. KSU is 2-3 in its last five games including an overtime win at NJIT.
 
Head coach Nitra Perry's squad went 17-13 last season and was predicted to finish fourth in the conference this year. The squad returns seven players from last year's team, including senior Jasmine McAllister. McAllister leads the team with 10.9 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. The 6-1 forward has produced 10 double-doubles on the year and leads the team with a 48.6 percent shooting clip and 33 blocks on the year. 206 of McAllister's 283 points this season have come from inside the arc with 77 scored from the free-throw line. She has yet to attempt a 3-point shot and will be a presence in the post Saturday. In addition to McAllister's point contributions, the Owls boast three others averaging between eight and 10 points per game. Sophomore Kelly Dulkoski leads the team with 63 3-pointers made with an average of 9.8 points per game, while Aareon Smith has knocked down 42 long-range shots with 8.7 points per contest. Junior Deandrea Sawyers rounds out the top scorers 8.5 points per outing. Clara Young paces the Owls with 20 steals and a team-high 71 assists this season, with Dulkoski and McAllister adding 18 and 17 steals, respectively.
 
As a team, the Owls average 60.2 points and allow foes to 64.6 points per game. The team ranks third in the Atlantic Sun with a shooting percentage of 39.0 and holds the fifth position in defensive numbers, holding opponents to a 39.2 percent clip overall with a 28.7 percent mark from 3-point range.  The Owls average 37.4 rebounds per game with 12.1 assists and 16.8 turnovers.
 
Through the first 26 games of the season, the Owls hold an official RPI of 297.
 
FGCU holds a 17-2 advantage over the Owls in 19 meetings since the 2007-08 season. The Eagles have won 11-straight games since a loss in 2011, including postseason wins in 2012 and 2013 and a 78-47 win in Kennesaw last month. The Eagles are 10-0 against KSU at Alico Arena.
 
ATLANTIC SUN STANDINGS
The Eagles still boast the top league record in the A-Sun at 11-0 and have secured the No. 1 position in the 2016 A-Sun Tournament. The Eagles hold a three-game lead over second place and would secure the outright A-Sun Regular Season Championship with a win against KSU as no other team has fewer than three losses on the year.
 

FGCU	11-0	23-4	W16
USC Upstate	8-3	17-9	L1
Jacksonville	8-3	16-10	W2
Stetson	7-4	16-9	W1
Kennesaw State	5-6	10-16	W1
North Florida	2-9	6-20	L7
Lipscomb	2-9	5-21	L1
NJIT	1-10	4-22	L4

 
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The nonconference slate put the Eagles up against five top-100 teams and eight top-130 teams, giving the Green and Blue a strength of schedule rating of 168 according to RealTimeRPI. The team's resume includes five top-110 wins with victories at George Washington (RPI No. 29) and against Auburn (No. 52), Arizona (No. 111), Western Michigan (No. 118) and Akron (No. 128). The losses to the top-tier teams came at the hands of Ohio (No. 31), Mississippi State (No.32) and Arkansas State (No. 43).
 
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 385 career assists.
 
FGCU CAREER ASSISTS

1	Shannon Murphy	2007-11	419
2	DyTiesha Dunson	2012-16	385
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 288 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	288
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, 11 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	1,404
4	Kelsey Jacobson	2008-12	1,251
5	Shannon Murphy	2007-11	1,185

 
Knight also ranks fourth in the FGCU record books with 184 career steals, 13 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	184
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	628
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 254 long-range makes on the year. The Eagles' signature shot has produced 762 of the team's 1,721 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 Saturday afternoon matchup, the Eagles will host Lipscomb University Monday, Feb. 22 in the final regular season game at Alico Arena. Tipoff against the Bisons 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 368-71 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.5 with a mark of 142-13 (91 W%) in Atlantic Sun contests and has led the team to a 72-1 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 429-98 (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.