SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The FGCU women's basketball team travels to USC Upstate and NJIT for its final regular season road trip of the year. The Green and Blue take on the Spartans Saturday, Feb. 18 at 5 p.m. before flying north to face the Highlanders on Monday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m.
 
THE GREEN AND BLUE
> With a 10-1 conference record and a head-to-head advantage over Stetson, FGCU remains in first play in the ASUN.
 
>  The Eagles can clinch a top-two seed this weekend with a win against USC Upstate or a Jacksonville loss,
 
> On Monday, the Eagles came close to a program record with 20 three-pointers against Lipscomb. FGCU's 281 three-pointers on the season rank third in the nation.
 
> The Eagles' RPI jumped from 144 to 97 since the conference play began.
 
> Freshman Tytionia Adderly was rewarded for her outstanding play with the ASUN Newcomer of the Week honor. She has been dominating the boards with 27 combined rebounds last weekend.
 
SCOUTING USC UPSTATE
> The Spartans dropped a heartbreaker in triple overtime on the road last weekend against North Florida. That game is the season longest in the ASUN since 2005, when Stetson and Lipscomb went to four OTs.
 
> USC Upstate is averaging a league-best 10.1 steals per game. Last weekend they combined for 25 steals in the River City against Jacksonville and North Florida.
 
> USC Upstate hasn't been able to take down the Eagles at home since 2011.
 
> The Spartans grab 39.5 rebounds per game at home, over 7.0 more boards per game than on the road. They are also dishing out 13.2 assists per game at home, compared to 7.3 on the road this year.
 
KEY PLAYERS
13 Raven Jefferson - Jefferson leads Upstate with 14.9 points per game, which is third-best in the conference. She is also in the top-10 in field goals, 3-point field goals made, 3-point attempts, free throws, free throw percentage and steals.
 
21 Riley Popplewell - Popplewell leads the team with 5.0 boards per contest and 17 blocks on the season.
 
23 DeNisha Swain - Swain scored a team-high 14 points against Jacksonville last time out, her first double-digit scoring game since Jan. 28th when she
scored 13 against Kennesaw State.
 
SCOUTING NJIT
>  NJIT gained the largest lead of any ASUN opponent at Alico Arena this season when they went up 11 on FGCU, before falling by 20 points.
 
> While NJIT only attempts 13.1 three-pointers per game (7th in the ASUN), they are converting 31.8 percent of those triples (3rd in the league). In ASUN play, that percentage has risen to 35.3 percent.
 
>  The Highlanders have struggled with their free throws this season - averaging a league-low 64.5 percent from the line.
 
> FGCU knocked NJIT out of the postseason in the first round of last season's ASUN Champsionship.
 
KEY PLAYERS
1 Alana Dudley - Dudley is averaging 11.8 ppg and shooting .722 percent from the free throw line (57-79). Her 101 assists on the season ranks third on the NJIT D1 single-season records, 26 shy of the current record, 127, held by Alyssa Albanese.

13 Kelly Guarino - Guarino has combined for 54 three-pointers on the season, which ranks second in the ASUN with 2.3 per game and in the top 9 in three-point field goal percentage at 33.5 percent.
 
22 Tatianna Torres - Torres is the Highlanders second-leading scorer at 10.0 ppg.  Her 63 steals on the season ranks in the top 60 in the NCAA and is a new NJIT D1 single season record.
 
RAINING THREES
The team's moniker Raining Threes isn't just for show. FGCU has made an incredible 4,349 3-pointers in 15 seasons for an average of nine per game. The Eagles are riding a 363-game streak with at least one three ball and have made a long-range shot in 478 of 479 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 281 in 28 games. Their average of 10.0 per contest ranks fifth in the nation.
 
3pt FGs Made
1. Saint Francis (PA) 284
2. Washington 282
3. FGCU 281 
4. DePaul 252           
5. Sacramento St. 248
 
3pt FGs PG
1. Saint Francis (PA) 11.4
2. Washington 10.4
3. Sacramento St. 10.3
4. Idaho 10.3
5. FGCU 10.0
 
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 148-11 at home since making the jump to Division I in 2007-08 and have won 84 out of 85 ASUN games with the home crowd behind them.
 
ASUN LEADERS
This season the Eagles are leading the ASUN in scoring offense (72.5) scoring defense (55.9 pg), assists (15.6 pg), FG made (725), 3pt FG made (281), 3pt FGs per game (10.0) and turnover margin (6.8).
 
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 106-5 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 155-14 all-time in conference games and maintains a 92-2 record in ASUN games played at Alico Arena (including postseason). Since earning postseason eligibility during the 2011-12 season, the Eagles have won three of four ASUN Tournament Championships.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
FGCU has not fallen in an ASUN game at Alico Arena since Jan. 8, 2009.  That's 75-straight regular season ASUN wins at home over a span of 7 years - the longest active streak in the nation. FGCU is a perfect 15-0 at home so far this season.
 
ASUN STANDINGS
1. FGCU 10-1*       
1. Stetson 10-1*
3. Jacksonville 8-3*
4. Kennesaw State 6-5
5. NJIT 3-8
5. North Florida 3-8 
7. USC Upstate 2-9
7. Lipscomb 2-9
* - Clinched a home game in ASUN Championship
 
RECAPPING LIPSCOMB
FGCU put on a show at Alico Arena, knocking down 20 long-range shots en route to a 98-50 win over Lipscomb on Monday night. The Eagles' 20 triples tied for third-most all-time by an FGCU team in a single game. The program record is 22.
 
With the win, the Eagles remain perfect at the Nest with a 15-0 record at Alico this season. Another ASUN victory in front of the home crowd also extended FGCU's streak to 75-straight conference wins at home. The Eagles have not fallen in a regular-season ASUN game at Alico Arena since Jan. 8, 2009.
 
As a unit, the Eagles gave an outstanding offensive performance shooting 31-of-64 (48.4 pct.) from the field and 20-of-48 from three. Defensively, FGCU recorded its 15th game this season with double-figure steals and eighth game with 40-plus rebounds.
 
Haley Laughter shot lights out from long-range knocking down 7-of-11 threes, just one shy of a program record, and finishing with a total of 21 points. Jessica Cattani matched Laughter with a career-high 21 of her own, including 4-of-5 makes from beyond the arc.
 
Taylor Gradinjan and Nasrin Ulel also got hot from three-point land with four triples each. Gradinjan finished with 12 points, while Ulel amassed 13 in just 10 minutes of play.
 
Reigning ASUN Newcomer of the Week Tytionia Adderly continued to crush the boards, recording her second double-double in a row with 12 point and 13 rebounds. The Eagles freshman also added three steals, but it was Rosemarie Julien who led the Green and Blue in the category with four.
 
Sydnei McCaskill served as a key distributor for FGCU, dishing out a career-high nine assists.
 
UP NEXT
The Eagles return home next week for a first place showdown against Stetson. Secure your tickets here to cheer on the Eagles as they fight for their seventh-straight regular season ASUN title.
 
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 399-80 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.3 with a mark of 155-14 (91.7 W%) in ASUN contests and has led the team to a 92-2 (93.0) 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 460-107 (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.