MIAMI, Fla. - The FGCU women's basketball team opens a seven-game, 12-day road trip with a 7 p.m. matchup at FIU on Wednesday. 
 
LAST TIME OUT
FGCU is coming off an 85-61 win over Illinois on Sunday at Alico Arena in front of a crowd of 2,200. Sophomore Nasrin Ulel (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta HS) scored a career-high 17 points to lead four players in double figures, while Taylor Gradinjan (14), Rosemarie Julien (13) and China Dow (11) were the other three. Tytionia Adderly had a team-high nine rebounds and three steals, while Lisa Zderadicka had a team-high five assists. The win helped the Eagles improve to 4-4 all-time against B1G schools, which includes a 4-0 mark in Alico Arena. 

SCOUTING FIU
FIU enters the game at 0-2, but they led by six against #24 Miami (Fla.) through three quarters in its season opener before being outscored 22-8 in the fourth. Junior guard Kristian Hudson leads the team at 22.0 PPG, while redshirt junior forward Kiandre'a Pound checks in at 9.5 PPG and a team-high 8.5 RPG. Sophomore guard Kayla Rogers leads FIU at 6 APG.

SERIES HISTORY
FGCU is 8-0 all-time against FIU, which includes an even four-game split in home and away records. The Eagles have scored at least 69 points in each of the games and have beaten FIU by an average of 25.5 points per game. The past five outings have seen a 33.4 average point margin of victory. The largest win in the series was a 97-49 win on Nov. 18, 2014, and the last matchup featured an 89-42 win on Nov. 15 of last year.

PRESEASON OUTLOOK
FGCU entered this season picked to win its seventh ASUN regular season championship in the past eight years. The media and the league's head coaches both picked the Eagles to repeat and tabbed senior Julien (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Treasure Coast HS) as the ASUN's preseason player of the year, while Dow (Louisville, Ky./Christian Academy of Louisville) and Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS) were both selected as preseason all-conference team members.

FGCU ON TOP
FGCU is one of only three non-Power 5 schools in the nation (Bucknell and Gonzaga) that can boast that both their women's and men's basketball programs won 26 games in 2016-17. In total, only nine schools accomplished the feat including Duke, Notre Dame, Michigan, South Carolina, Baylor and Florida State. Additionally, FGCU is one of only seven schools in the country which has had its men's and women's teams win at least 20 games in five-straight seasons, joining Duke, Louisville, Kentucky, Baylor, BYU and Saint Mary's.

The FGCU women's basketball program just one of six at the NCAA Division I level to win 25 or more games in each season since 2010-11. The others include: UConn, Baylor, Notre Dame, Stanford and James Madison. Only 10 schools have at least 25 wins in each of the past four seasons.
 
EXPERIENCE
FGCU returns four of five starters from last year and have added Zderadicka (Vienna, Austria/HAK Korneuburg), who averaged a team-high 11 PPG for Houston Baptist last year. The Eagles return 66 percent of the 71.9 PPG scored last year, or 1,737 of the 2,515 points scored. Furthermore, FGCU returns 63.2 percent of last year's rebounding production in addition to 67.8 percent of their 338 3-pointers. With Zderadicka's 276 points, the Eagles will put out a roster that features players who compiled over 2,000 NCAA Division I points last year.

WAITING IN THE WINGS
In addition to Zderadicka, FGCU added three transfers who will sit out this year due to NCAA Division I transfer rules who either led their school in scoring or finished in the top three last year. Davion Wingate (Atlanta, Ga./Stephenson) tied for the team-high in scoring at 11.8 PPG for Stony Brook; Keri Jewett-Giles (Fort Myers, Fla./Dunbar HS) tallied 9.0 PPG for Southern Miss; and Kerstie Phills (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian HS) poured in a team-high 13.1 PPG for Wagner en route to NEC Rookie of the Year recognition. Kerstie is the daughter of the late Bobby Phills, who played for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Charlotte Hornets.

EXPERIENCED SQUAD
Among eligible players, this year's roster features six upperclassmen, including five seniors and one junior. Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wis./Cudahy HS) is the elder statesman on the team with this being her sixth year following two ACL tears to start her career. Jessica Cattani (Muskego, Wisc./Muskego HS) and Dow are both fifth-year seniors, while Erica Nelson (Kansas City, Mo./Lee Summit North HS) and Julien are in their second season at FGCU following two years at Johnson County CC and Chipola College, respectively, and each player won an NJCAA national title. Zderadicka is a fourth-year junior.

OVERTIME HISTORY
FGCU is 6-6 all-time in the NCAA Division I era in overtime games. Three of those games have come against Stetson, and the Eagles hold a 2-1 record in those. The most recent overtime game was a 74-67 loss to Stetson on Feb. 25, 2017.
 
HEAD COACH KARL SMESKO
FGCU head coach Karl Smesko, who earned his 400th career victory on Feb. 21, 2015 with a win over USC Upstate, is now 34 wins away from 500 in his coaching career. He won his 400th in just 493 games. That's two faster than legend Geno Auriemma. His game preparation is one of the most crucial factors in the Eagles' all-time success. Last season, the Eagles went 10-4 in games when he had four or more days to prepare. Overall, in 15 seasons, Smesko holds a record of 153-25 in games with extra time to go over the film just one more time for a winning percentage of 86 percent.
 
SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
The 2017-18 schedule potentially boasts 11 postseason teams from last year with seven that made The Dance and six that played in the WNIT. The guaranteed opponents that made the NCAA Tournament last year include Chattanooga, DePaul and Kentucky, while the WNIT teams include South Dakota State, Kent State, Abilene Christian, Harvard, Jacksonville and Stetson. Also, FGCU is one of eight teams in the Play4Kay Shootout in Las Vegas. Including the Eagles, there are six teams that made the NCAA Tournament last year in it including Ohio State, Stanford, Gonzaga, Belmont and DePaul (FGCU's opening round opponent).
 
MID MAJOR POWER
FGCU, which received seven votes in the first USA Today Coaches Poll of the 2017-18 season, opened at No. 8 in the women's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. Following the win over Illinois, the Eagles have jumped all the way to #4 - just behind Green Bay, Gonzaga and South Dakota State, respectively.
 
SUCCESS AT HOME VS POWER-FIVES
FGCU has previously hosted 11 teams from a power five conference including Michigan, Wake Forest, Auburn, Virginia, Virginia Tech, LSU, Michigan State, Indiana, Florida State and Florida. Of those 11 previous contests, the Eagles earned wins in eight - defeating Michigan, Wake Forest, Auburn, Virginia Tech, LSU, Michigan State, Florida and Indiana.
 
NEXT UP
FGCU will be on the road through Dec. 3. Following Wednesday at FIU, the team flies to Akron, Ohio to battle Kent State and Akron in the Akron Classic on Nov. 17-18. Then, a short trip to Loudonville, N.Y. to face Siena ensues. The biggest event of the trip, a three-game slate in Las Vegas for the Play4Kay Shootout, is Nov. 23-25. The road stretch concludes Dec. 3 in Texas against Abilene Christian.

FOLLOW ALONG
For up-to-the-minute information and behind-the-scenes access to the women's basketball program, follow @FGCU_WBB on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook at /FGCUWBB.

COACH SMESKO
FGCU head coach Karl Smesko rallied the 2016-17 Eagles to their seventh-straight 25-win campaign, which culminated in the team's fourth NCAA tournament appearance in six seasons of eligibility. The seven-time ASUN Coach of the Year was named the espnW Mid-Major Coach of the Year in 2015-16 following a run that witnessed the Eagles finish a best-ever 33-6. Over a five-year stretch starting in 2011-12, FGCU racked up four ASUN seasons with a perfect record and capped the run with back-to-back 30 plus win seasons. In 2014-15, the team earned its first top-25 ranking and another NCAA Tournament trip as a seven seed, where FGCU won its first ever NCAA Division I Tournament game against No. 10 Oklahoma State. With 26 wins in 2016-17, Smesko has guided the Eagles to 13-straight 20-win seasons.  He maintains a record of 405-82 (.832) at FGCU, including a 160-15 (.914) mark in ASUN play. Over the past six seasons, he has guided FGCU to a 93-3 (.969) record in conference play. Smesko earned his 400th career coaching win in 2014-15 in just 493 career games, two games faster than UConn's Geno Auriemma. He holds a career head coaching record of 466-109 (.810). 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.

IRMA RELIEF DONATIONS
In the wake of Hurricane Irma, many individuals and families throughout Southwest Florida are still in desperate need of assistance. To aid in those relief efforts, FGCU Athletics will be collecting donations at all Eagle home games for the immediate future. Donation items most needed include: non-perishable food, clothing, household items and first-aid supplies. Additionally, those unable to attend upcoming home games can drop off donations in canisters located in the Alico Arena lobby. All donations will be given to those hardest hit in Lee and Collier counties.