FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's basketball team continues league play at the Nest with games against Kennesaw State and Lipscomb. Saturday's showdown with the Owls tips off at 4 p.m. and will be part of a Homecoming Weekend double-header with the men's team. Tipoff for Monday's game against Lipscomb is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
Fans can find a live broadcast of both games on ESPN3. Live stats will also be available from StatBroadcast. For those looking to attend the games and support your FGCU Eagles, tickets can be purchased online at FGCUTickets.com or by calling the university's ticket office at 239-590-7145.
 
ALUMNI WEEKEND
As part of the Homecoming Weekend, several former women's and men's basketball players will be returning to campus and partake in an Alumni Game at Alico Arena at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, which the public is welcomed to attend.
 
Team Blue: Brittany Brown, Stephanie Hass, Jenna Cobb, Chelsea Lyles, Nate Hicks, Darren Wallace, Eddie Murray, Julian DeBose, Mike Anderson, Trevor Montgomery, Chad Lutkenhaus, Nick Goshay, Andy French and Andrew Culpepper.
 
Team White: Kelsey Jacobson, Sarah Hansen, Amanda Pierce, Zach Christian, Marcus Blake, Beau Bauer, Doug Kollmer, Roman Brown, Marcus Watts, Ed Rolax, Reed Baker, Leon Woodstock, Scott Niedermeier and Chelsea Banburry.
 
THE GREEN AND BLUE
> With an 8-1 conference record and a head-to-head advantage over Stetson, FGCU remains in first play in the ASUN despite last week's loss to Jacksonville.
> FGCU clinches a top-four spot in the postseason and a home game with a win or NJIT loss.
 
> With a win, the Eagles tally their 13th-straight 20-plus win season.
 
> The Eagles are a perfect 13-0 at home this season and own an 83-1 record at Alico Arena against ASUN opponents.
 
> The Eagles' RPI jumped from 144 to 90 since the conference play began.
 
> FGCU forced 19 steals against North Florida last time out, which is the second highest single-game total for the Eagles this season. Jordin Alexander has recorded five steals in back-to-back games. Three Eagles have tallied at least 30 steals on the season.
 
SCOUTING KENNESAW STATE
> Rolling on a five-game winning streak, a win over FGCU will give the Owls their first six-game winning streak since they won a DI program-record seven straight during the 2014-15 season.
 
> Kennesaw State gets to the foul line and makes the most free throws per game of any ASUN team. They average 17.0 made foul shots in conference play, while shooting at a 70.5 percent clip.
 
> Kennesaw State has never won a game at Alico Arena.
 
> During the Owls current five-game winning streak, they are averaging 72.2 points per game. On the season, the team's scoring average sits at 58.1 PPG. In ASUN play that number has moved up to 65.7 PPG.
 
KEY PLAYERS
4 Kelly Dulkoski - Dulkoski is Kennesaw State biggest long-range threat. She has combined for 13 made triples in the last three games, including five at NJIT on Wednesday.
 
13 Carlotta Gianolla - Gianolla is the current ASUN Newcomer of the Week. She leads all ASUN freshmen in scoring and rebounding this season.
 
44 Deandra Sawyers - Sawyers leads KSU with 13 double-digit scoring games and ranks No. 2 on the program's all-time Division I scoring list with 1,301. She is 73 points shy of tying Kristina Wells (1,374) for first place.
 
THE LAST TIME VS. KSU
Thanks to an outstanding second half performance, FGCU earned a 75-56 victory at Kennesaw State on Jan. 16, 2017. Freshman Tytionia Adderly gave her best performance of the season, posting FGCU's first double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
 
SCOUTING LIPSCOMB
> Lipscomb's road woes will be put to test this weekend as they take on Stetson and FGCU. The Bisons are 2-11 on the road this season, with one win coming in league play at North Florida.
 
> In 13 road games so far this season, Lipscomb is averaging 55.9 points per game, compared to 60.2 points per contest at Allen Arena. The Bisons nearly pulled off a win last year at Stetson, falling 79-75 late.
 
> When the Bisons take on FGCU, it will be a battle of the top-two three-point shooting teams in the ASUN. Lipscomb makes 6.3 triples per game, second only to FGCU's 9.3 made threes per contest.
 
> Eleven Bisons are averaging 10 or more minutes per game on the season.
 
KEY PLAYERS
3 Meredith Lovelady - Lovelady leads the Bisons from beyond the arc with 44 long-rang makes on the season.
 
22 Loren Cagle - Cagle is the leagues leading distributer with an ASUN-high 5.6 assists on the season. She's one of two Bisons to start every game this season.
 
24 Alex Banks - Banks leads the team in scoring (11.4 ppg) and rebounding (5.8 rpg). Her field goal percentage of 47.3 ties for fourth in the league.
 
THE LAST TIME VS. LIPSCOMB
With an impressive offensive performance, FGCU downed Lipscomb 90-36 on Jan. 14, 2016. The Eagles went 34-for-63 from the floor for a .540 shooting percentage, their best mark of the season against a Division I opponent.
 
RAINING THREES
The team's moniker Raining Threes isn't just for show. FGCU has made an incredible 4,320 3-pointers in 15 seasons for an average of nine per game. The Eagles are riding a 361-game streak with at least one three ball and have made a long-range shot in 476 of 477 games in program history.
 
THREES IN 2016-17
The Eagles have made the third most three-pointers in the NCAA so far this season with 252 in 26 games. Their average of 9.7 per contest ranks fifth in the nation.
 
3pt FGs Made
1. Saint Francis (PA) 271
2. Washinton 270
3. FGCU 252
4. Idaho 242
5. DePaul 232
 Sacramento St. 232
 
3pt FGs per Game
1. Saint Francis (PA) 11.8
2. Sacramento St. 10.8
3. Washington 10.8
4. Idaho 10.7
5. FGCU 9.7
 
PROTECTING THE NEST
Alico Arena stands as the second-toughest place to play in all of NCAA Division I women's basketball. The first: UConn's Gampel Pavilion. The Eagles hold a record of 146-11 at home since making the jump to Division I in 2007-08 and have won 82 out of 84 ASUN games with the home crowd behind them.
 
ASUN LEADERS
This season the Eagles are leading the ASUN in scoring offense (71.7) scoring defense (56.9 pg), assists (15.1 pg), FG made (669), 3pt FG made (252), 3pt FGs per game (9.7) and turnover margin (6.6).
 
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 104-5 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 152-14 all-time in conference games and maintains a 89-2 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.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
FGCU is a perfect 13-0 at home so far this season.  FGCU has not fallen in an ASUN game at Alico Arena since Jan. 8, 2009. That's 74-straight ASUN wins at home over a span of 7+ years - the longest active streak in the nation.
 
ASUN STANDINGS
1. FGCU 8-1
1. Stetson 8-1
3. Jacksonville 6-3
3. Kennesaw State 6-3
5. NJIT 3-6
6. USC Upstate 2-7
6. Lipscomb 2-7
8. North Florida 1-8
 
RECAPPING UNF
FGCU ran away with a 69-46 victory over North Florida after outscoring the Ospreys
29-9 in the third quarter with a .750 shooting percentage. With the win, FGCU remains a perfect 13-0 at home this season.
 
Despite leaving the game early with an injury, Rosemarie Julien led the Eagles offense with 13 points, including a pair of triples. She's scored at least one longrange shot in her last four games.
 
Jordin Alexander had another outstanding defensive game, tying a career high with five steals. Alexander now combines for 10 steals in the last two games. The Indiana native added 10 points offensively.
 
China Dow and Tytionia Adderly also caused problems for the Ospreys' shooters.
The duo combined for seven steals and 10 rebounds on the night. In total, the Eagles forced 26 UNF turnovers, which includes 19 steals.
 
In the absence of starting guard Erica Nelson, Jessica Cattani saw increased playing time and took advantage of it, shooting 4-of-8 from the field for 10 points.
 
UP NEXT
The Eagles fly north next weekend for their final regular season road games. FGCU will face USC Upstate on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 5 p.m. before squaring off with NJIT on Monday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m.
 
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 397-80 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.2 with a mark of 151-14 (91.1 W%) in ASUN contests and has led the team to an 89-2 (97.8) 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 458-107 (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.