DELAND Fla. ­– The FGCU women's basketball team faces stiff competition as it kicks off ASUN play with a 1 p.m. contest against in-state foe Stetson. The game will be the first of a double-header as the FGCU men's basketball team faces its Stetson counterpart at 4 p.m.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
Fans can follow along with a video broadcast of the game on ESPN3 and a radio broadcast on ESPN Southwest Florida 99.3. Live stats will also be available from StatBroadcast.
 
THE GREEN AND BLUE
FGCU travels to Deland at 11-6 after beginning the week with a lopsided victory over Savannah State, which gave the Eagles their fifth-straight win. 
 
The Green and Blue have a history of success in conference play and went a perfect 28-0 over the past two seasons.
 
The Eagles run a balanced attack with five different players averaging more than eight points per contest. Leading the pack is JUCO transfer Rosemarie Julien (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Treasure Coast HS/Chipola College) with 9.6 points per game. Right behind Julien is team leader and Eagle veteran Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wis./Cudahy HS) with 9.2 points per game. So far, when Gradinjan has been hot, the team has been hot as the Eagles are 6-1 in games where the Wisconsin-native has reached double-figure points.
 
Reigning ASUN Newcomer of the Week China Dow (Louisville, Ky./Christian Academy of Louisville/Middle Tennessee State) has been steadily improving in all areas. She averages 10 points per game over the last three contests and has added three steals and 16 rebounds over that time.
 
SCOUTING STETSON
> As non-conference play comes to an end, Stetson is tied with Jacksonville with the league's best record at 11-4.
 
> Stetson has won nine of it's last 10 games following a loss (2-1 this season).  The Hatters have won 27 of their last 31 games following a loss dating back to 2012-13.
 
> Stetson has won 20 consecutive games when scoring 63 points or more, dating back to last season's 80-72 overtime loss to Georgia State.  Stetson has won 62 consecutive games when scoring 74 points or more, dating back to the 2012-13 season opener (lost 77-75 vs. Hofstra).
 
> The Hatters also lead the ASUN in scoring (72.1), field goal pct. (.446), free throw pct. (81.9), and blocks (4.3).
 
KEY PLAYERS
10 Brianti Saunders - Saunders ranks fourth in the NCAA with a .932 mark from the charity stripe and leads the team in scoring (16.9 ppg), assists (43) and steals (24).  She has scored in double figures in all 15 games this season.
 
23 Breana Bey - Bey averages 14.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, and her .586 field goal percentage ranks 19th nationally.
 
23 Sarah Sagerer - Sagerer ranks sixth in the nation with 46 blocks on the season.
 
SERIES HISTORY
FGCU holds a 19-3 advantage all-time over Stetson and has won the last eight straight.
 
The teams' last meeting took place on Mar. 10, 2016 in the ASUN Tournament Semifinals. After eight lead changes and eight tie scores, FGCU team rallied to outscore No. 4 Stetson in the fourth quarter and earned a 61-46 win.
 
FLORIDA FOES
Since transitioning to Division I in 2007, the Eagles hold a record of 83-19 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 4,228 3-pointers in 15 seasons for an average of nine per game. The Eagles are riding a 352-game streak with at least one three ball and have made a long-range shot in 467 of 468 games in program history.
 
ASUN LEADERS
This season the Eagles are leading the ASUN in scoring defense (56.8 pg), assists (14.5 pg) and 3pt field goals made (160, 70 more than any other team in the conference and tied with DePaul for second most in the NCAA).
 
ASUN SUCCESS
The Eagles joined the ASUN for the 2007-08 season and immediately saw success among the conference ranks. The team has won six-straight regular-season championships with a record of 96-4 over that span. The Eagles have won seven total regular-season championships and have never finished lower than second in the final conference standings. FGCU holds a record of 145-13 all-time in conference games and maintains an 81-2 record in ASUN games played at Alico Arena. Since earning postseason eligibility during the 2011-12 season, the Eagles have won three of four ASUN Tournament Championships.
 
RECAPPING SAVANNAH STATE
The FGCU women's basketball team won its fifth-straight on Monday night in its final non-conference contest of the season, by taking down Savannah State 89-40. With the victory, the Eagles begin league play with a record of 11-6 and remain a perfect 9-0 at home, while the Tigers slide to 2-10.
 
The Green and Blue shot .508 from the floor, topping the .500 mark for the second time this year. With 13 three-pointers and 10 steals on the night, FGCU now has 10 games with double-figure treys and eight with double-figure steals. Defensively, the Eagles forced more than 20 turnovers for the seventh time this season.
 
Putting points on the board was definitely a team effort for FGCU tonight, as three Eagles reached double-digit scores and 10 Eagles put up at least five points. Erica Nelson (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee Summit North HS/Johnson County CC) led the pack with 12 points, including 5-of-6 makes from the floor. Jessica Cattani (Muskego, Wis./Muskego HS) and Ulel (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta HS) trailed closely behind with 11 points each.
 
Mikala McGhee (St. Louis, Mo./Pattonville HS/George Mason/Missouri State) tied her career-high with nine points and added five rebounds, while Tytionia Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman) secured a team-high 10 boards and finished just three points shy of her first double-double.
 
UP NEXT
The Eagles will enjoy a week off before traveling embarking on a two-game roadtrip with contests against Lipscomb and Kennesaw State. FGCU faces the Bisons on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 1:30 p.m. ET before squaring off with the Owls on Monday, Jan. 16 at noon.
 
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 390-79 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.1 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 451-106 (80.9 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.