FGCU (25-4 | 13-0 A-Sun) at Stetson (18-9 | 9-4 A-Sun)
FGCU Head Coach: Karl Smesko | Kent State '93 | 14^th Season at FGCU: 370-71 (83.8%) | 17^th Season as Head Coach: 431-98 (81.4%)
Stetson Head Coach: Lynn Bria | Charleston '90 | 8^th Season at Stetson:  149-104 (58.8%) | 21^st Season as Head Coach: 302-317 (48.7%)
When: Saturday, Feb. 27 | 1 p.m.
Where: Edmunds Center | DeLand, Fla.
Watch: ESPN3
Stats: via StatBroadcast.com
All-Time Series: FGCU leads 17-3 with six-straight wins
Game Notes: FGCU | Stetson
 
DeLAND, Fla. – As the 2015-16 Atlantic Sun Conference season winds down, the FGCU women's basketball team hits the road to take on conference rival Stetson University in a 1 p.m. tipoff Saturday, Feb. 27. The Eagles and Hatters meet for the second time this year as the Green and Blue continues its quest for a fourth undefeated conference season in five years.
 
The Green and Blue recently secured its sixth-straight A-Sun Regular Season Championship and its seventh title in eight seasons in the league. Regardless of Saturday's result, FGCU will hold the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage through the 2016 A-Sun Championship with the remaining seeds yet to be determined.
 
QUICK HITS:
-RAINING THREES: FGCU's 279 total 3-pointers made this season ranks fifth nationally, while the 9.6 makes per game ranks seventh among the nation's best.
-The Eagles have held opponents to just 49.3 points per game this season for the nation's second-best defensive mark. The team also ranks among the top-25 in field goal percentage defense by holding foes to a 35.6 percent clip.
-The Green and Blue is the nation's only team to rank among the top-10 in 3-point shooting and the top-50 in team defense.
-With a 13-0 mark in A-Sun play, the Eagles are one of just nine Division I teams to remain undefeated in league play. FGCU joins Connecticut, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Colorado State, UC Riverside, New Mexico State, Arkansas State and Penn in the group.
- The Eagles are 144-13 in A-Sun contests since 2007 with just one regular-season loss since the 2011-12 campaign for a record of 69-1 and a win percentage of .986 in that span. 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.
-The 42-game win streak against Atlantic Sun Conference foes ranks second in the nation, behind only Connecticut's 72-game run. The team previously won 44-straight A-Sun games with a streak that spanned from Feb. 28, 2011 to the Feb. 1, 2014 loss.
-The team's 18-game win streak this season stands fourth nationally, behind Connecticut (64), Colorado State (22) and Notre Dame (20).
-FGCU boasts a 69-game win streak in home games played against Atlantic Sun Conference foes and holds a 92.7 percent win percentage at Alico Arena all-time
-In the latest espnW rankings, FGCU stands as the nation's No. 1 Mid-Major team.
-Whitney Knight (Winston-Salem, N.C./R.J. Reynolds High School) set a new standard in the A-Sun record books last Saturday afternoon as the senior became the league's all-time leader in career blocks with 294 and counting.
-Knight took over as the program's second all-time scorer last week, passing Adrianne McNally and now stands at 1,438 career points. She also ranks as the second all-time rebounder at 649.
 
The Eagles continue Atlantic Sun Conference play with an overall record of 25-4 and an unblemished conference mark of 13-0. The team extended the win streak to 18 games with a victory against Lipscomb Monday and is unbeaten since before the Christmas holiday.  With the nonconference success and the unblemished conference slate, the team currently holds an official RPI of 67 with a nonconference strength of schedule rating of 61. The Eagles will vie for a fourth unblemished conference season in the last five years in Saturday's game at Stetson.
 
ATLANTIC SUN STANDINGS
The Eagles still boast the top league record in the A-Sun at 13-0 and have secured the No. 1 position in the 2016 A-Sun Tournament. The Eagles hold a three-game lead over second as no other team has fewer than three losses on the year.
 

No. 1 FGCU*	13-0	25-4	W18
Jacksonville*	10-3	18-10	W4
Stetson*	9-4	18-9	W3
USC Upstate*	9-4	18-10	L1
Kennesaw State	5-8	10-18	L2
North Florida	3-10	7-21	W1
Lipscomb	2-11	5-23	L3
NJIT	1-12	4-24	L6

*the top-four teams have secured home-court advantage through the first round with final seeding still to be determined.
 
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The nonconference slate put the Eagles up against nine top-125 teams this season to push the team to a strength of schedule rating of 61. The slate included eight teams that made the postseason last year with seven programs that finished the 2014-15 season among the top-100.
 
The Eagles compiled a record of 6-3 against the top-140 teams with a notable victory at George Washington (41) and against Auburn (62), Quinnipiac (94), Harvard (100), Western Michigan (135) and Arizona (136). The triumph over GW in Washington, D.C. stands as the team's strongest win of the season as it was a true road game played without reigning A-Sun Player of the Year Whitney Knight. The Eagles were also without Knight during losses to top-50 teams Ohio (36) and Arkansas State (42), while the senior played limited minutes on doctor's orders when the team battled No. 13 Mississippi State (26) to a 65-60 finish in Puerto Rico.
 
WITH WHITNEY
Knight missed the first eight games of the season while battling a foot injury but picked up right where she left off upon return with 16 points and 10 rebounds at Providence on Dec. 12. In 20 games on the court, Knight has led all players with 13.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. She also tops the team and the league with 60 blocks in her 20 games played. During her recovery, the team faced tough competition in Ohio, Arkansas State, George Washington and Harvard and amassed a 5-3 record to start the year. With Knight, the team is 19-1 with an 18-game win streak and has outscored opponents by an average of 63.4 to 46.3 points per game.
 
THE GREEN AND BLUE
Kaneisha Atwater (Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce-Westwood High School/VCU) currently tops FGCU's three double-figure scorers at 13.6 points scored per game through the season's 29 contests. Atwater has added 5.4 rebounds per contest with 9 assists and 39 steals. Since her return from injury, Knight has added 13.1 points per game with a team-high 6.5 rebounds. Knight has blocked 60 shots so far this season with 52 shots made from the perimeter. Knight produced double-doubles in four of the last five games. Sophomore Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wisc./Cudahy High School) has also contributed double-digits for the Eagles with 10.2 points per contest. The strong shooter has made a team-best 72 3-pointers this season.
 
Senior captain DyTiesha Dunson (Albany, Ga./Westover High School) has facilitated the offense with 131 assists on the year. Dunson's assist to turnover ratio of 3.12 ranks fifth nationally.
 
As a unit, the Eagles have score 64.7 points per game, while holding opponents to just 49.3 points per contest. The defensive mark ranks second nationally, only behind Connecticut. FGCU has converted 38.8 percent of shots with 9.6 makes from 3-point range per game. The Eagles have been narrowly outrebounded 36.7 to 37.4 boards per game but hold a heavy advantage in turnovers as the squad has forced 16.8 miscues per game with only 10.9 turnovers of its own. The margin of 5.9 ranks 10th nationally, while the limited number of turnovers is the country's second-best mark.
 
ROAD WARRIORS
The Eagles are known nationally for their success at home, but this season the team is excelling away from Southwest Florida as well. FGCU holds an 11-0 record in games played on the home court of its opponent with an average margin of victory of over 19 points. The team has held foes to just 49.2 points per game with a 35.5 percent clip from the floor. The road slate this year includes a win in Washington, D.C. over A-10 power George Washington (while Knight was out with injury). The Eagles are one of just four teams nationwide with an unblemished record on the road, joining Connecticut (14-0), South Carolina (11-0) and Green Bay (10-0).
 
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 since making the jump to Division I. 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 9.6 3-pointers made her game and 279 long-range makes on the year. The Eagles' signature shot has produced 837 of the team's 1,875 points on the year. On the national stage, the total 3-pointers made rank fifth among the NCAA's 349 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.
 
THE STETSON HATTERS
Stetson enters Saturday's regular-season finale with a record of 18-9 overall and an Atlantic Sun Conference mark of 9-4. The Hatters started the season with a win over Trinity Baptist and have since earned notable wins against UCF, UNC Wilmington, Georgia Southern and Hampton with losses to Georgia, Minnesota, Boise State, Georgia State and Tennessee in the nonconference season. The Hatters stand in a tie for third place in the league as the season concludes after falling against FGCU and USC Upstate and splitting a two-game series Jacksonville. Stetson's RPI stands at 190.
 
After going 23-8 with an early exit from the A-Sun Championship on a loss to Northern Kentucky last season, the Hatters entered the 2015-16 slate ranked second in the preseason poll. The Hatters returned just one starter from last year's team but outscored foes by nearly seven points per game. This year's team averages 68 points per contest and has held opponents to 61.3 points per game. The Hatters lead the A-Sun with a shooting percentage of 43.0 percent and have limited opponents to a clip of 39.0 percent. Stetson has made 5.9 3-pointers an outing with a success rate of 29.1 from 3-point range and leads the league with a 74.3 percent mark from the free throw line. Stetson pulls down 36.0 rebounds per contest, a near match to its opponents and records 8.1 steals to help force 15.9 turnovers per game.
 
Junior Brianti Saunders leads all players in the league with 18.5 points per game. She tops the league with 117 made shots on 138 attempts from the charity stripe and has dished out 69 assists through the team's 27 games so far. Juniors Breana Bey and Aisha Turner also contribute to the offense with 11.7 and 9.3 points per game, respectively. Bey paces the team and ranks second in the A-Sun with a shooting percentage of 55.8, while three other Hatters have shot over 45 percent this season. Bey also tops the team with 7.4 rebounds per game and adds 18 total blocks. Turner has contributed a team-high 87 assists with 50 steals.
 
MILESTONES MOUNTING
With such an experienced squad, several players on the team hold and are within reach of program milestones.
 
Dunson leads the team and ranks second in program history with 396 career assists.
 
FGCU CAREER ASSISTS

1	Shannon Murphy	2007-11	419
2	DyTiesha Dunson	2012-16	396
3	Megan Jones	2002-05	338
4	Adrianne McNally	2006-10	335
5	Courtney Chihil	2008-12	333

 
Knight tops the FGCU record book with 294 blocked shots in her career and took over the top spot in the league records Saturday, Feb. 20.
                                                                                                                                                                           
ATLANTIC SUN CAREER BLOCKS

1	Whitney Knight	2011-16	294
2	Jessica Bobbit	Belmont 05-09	290
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 passed Adrianne McNally to move to second all-time with 21 points scored Feb. 20.
 
FGCU CAREER POINTS

1	Sarah Hansen	2009-14	1,901
2	Whitney Knight	2011-16	1,438
3	Adrianne McNally	2006-10	1,415
4	Kelsey Jacobson	2008-12	1,263
5	Shannon Murphy	2007-11	1,185

 
Knight also ranks fourth in the FGCU record books with 186 career steals, 13 away from the second position in the record books.
 
FGCU CAREER STEALS

1	Sarah Hansen	2009-14	249
2	Courtney Chihil	2008-12	199
3	Whitney Knight	2011-16	186
4	Shannon Murphy	2007-11	168
5	Brittany Kennedy	2011-13	148

 
Knight entered the 2015-16 season with 516 career rebounds and will continue to climb the FGCU records. She currently stands third all-time and is on pace to finish second in the record books.
 
FGCU CAREER REBOUNDS

1	Sarah Hansen	2009-14	887
2	Adrianne McNally	2006-10	658
4	Whitney Knight	2011-16	649
3	Robyn Swain	2002-04	640
5	Courtney Chihil	2008-12	603

 
Gluesing tops the squad with 130 games played through a four-year career. The senior is on pace to break Sarah Hansen's all-time appearances record, while Haas and Meador also stand in the program's top-five.
 
FGCU CAREER APPEARANCES

1	Sarah Hansen	2009-14	132
2	Jaime Gluesing	2012-16	130
3	Stephanie Haas	2012-16	129
	Adrianne McNally	2006-10	128
5	Katie Meador	2012-16	125

 
UP NEXT
As the No. 1 seed, the Eagles will hold home-court advantage for each game of the 2016 Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament, which begins Friday, Mar. 4. The remaining seeds in the tournament will be determined based on Saturday's results. Complete details on ticketing, schedule and opponent for the A-Sun Championship can be found on FGCUAthletics.com as it becomes available.
 
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 last season. 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 24 wins and counting, Smesko has guided the Eagles to 12-straight 20+ win seasons.  He maintains a record of 370-71 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.9 with a mark of 144-13 (91.6 W%) in Atlantic Sun contests and has led the team to a 80-1 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 431-98 (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 raise awareness.