FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's basketball team returns to the Nest for a second meeting with North Florida. The Eagles took down the Ospreys 68-51 just last week at UNF Arena.
 
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.
 
THE GREEN AND BLUE
> With a 7-1 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.
 
> The Eagles are a perfect 12-0 at home this season and own an 86-2 record at Alico Arena against conference opponents.
 
> The Eagles' RPI jumped from 144 to 90 since the conference play began.
 
> The Eagles have never lost at home to North Florida, owning a perfect 10-0 mark since joining the ASUN. They average victory margin for the Eagles is 23.7 points per game in those 10 home contests.
 
>  Jordin Alexander (Fisher, Ind./ Hamilton Southeastern HS/Brown)
is playing some of her best basketball with double-digit points in her last five games. She's had at least one steal in her last eight contests, including five against JU.
 
SCOUTING NORTH FLORIDA
> The Ospreys are looking for their first win against FGCU in nearly seven years this week. UNF's last win came on Feb. 13, 2010, a narrow 57-56 victory over the Eagles. They look to snap a 15-game losing streak.
 
>  The Ospreys are on a five-game skid - their longest of the season - heading into FGCU.
 
> North Florida features four players shooting more than 70.0 percent from the free throw line. Ioannidis is 2nd in the conference at 91.8 percent.
 
>  Junior Tesh Hanson recorded back-to-back doubles on the latest road trip. She had 14 points and 10 rebounds at NJIT and followed that up with a career-high 27 points and 12 rebounds at USC Upstate.
 
KEY PLAYERS
1 Claire Ioannidis - Ioannidis has made 48 triples so far this season to rank 86th in the NCAA, but she is struggling during conference hitting just 1.6 per contest.
 
2 Sierra Shepherd - Shooting 39.3 percent from behind the arc, Shepherd owns the second best three-point shooter in the ASUN. She scored a career-high 23 points last week against FGCU.
 
10 Simone Brown - Brown's rebounding has been strong lately, as she has grabbed seven or more boards in three straight games prior to FGCU. She ranks 11th in the league at 5.9 rebounds per game overall this year.
 
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 145-11 at home since making the jump to Division I in 2007-08 and have won 81 out of 83 ASUN games with the home crowd behind them.
 
RAINING THREES
The team's moniker Raining Threes isn't just for show. FGCU has made an incredible 4,311 3-pointers in 15 seasons for an average of nine per game. The Eagles are riding a 360-game streak with at least one three ball and have made a long-range shot in 475 of 476 games in program history.
 
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 103-5 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 88-2 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.
 
FLORIDA FOES
Since transitioning to Division I in 2007, the Eagles hold a record of 86-20 over teams from the state of Florida.
 
THREES IN 2016-17
The Eagles have made the third most three-pointers in the NCAA so far this season with 243 in 25 games. Their average of 9.7 per contest ranks fifth in the nation.
 
TEAM                        3FG MADE
1. Saint Francis (PA)  271
2. Washington            270
3. FGCU                     243    
4. Idaho                      236    
5. DePaul                    232
 
TEAM                        3FG 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
 
SMESKO'S OFFENSE
The Eagles run a motion offense with five equal parts constantly moving to create the best shots. Don't be surprised to see five 'G's in the starting lineup as 11 of the team's 15 players are listed as guards.
 
ASUN STANDINGS
1. FGCU (7-1)
2. Stetson (7-1)
3. Jacksonville (6-2)
4. Kennesaw State (5-3)
5. NJIT (3-5)
6. Lipscomb (2-6)
7. North Florida (1-7)
8. USC Upstate (1-7)
 
ASUN LEADERS
This season the Eagles are leading the ASUN in scoring defense (57.3 pg), assists (15.1 pg), FG made (641), 3pt FG made (243), 3pt FGs per game (9.7) and turnover margin (6.36).
 
RECAPPING JACKSONVILLE
FGCU saw its 12-game win streak come to an end after a 73-65 loss to Jacksonville on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles battled back from a nine-point fourth quarter deficit to come within one point before ultimately falling short of a comeback.
 
The bright spot of the game for the Green and Blue was undoubtedly the impressive play of Alexander The FGCU transfer gave the best performance by an Eagle since Rosemarie Julien (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Treasure Coast HS/Chipola College) put up a record-breaking 36 points at Stetson. Alexander, who played all 40 minutes of the game, connected on 8-of-11 field goals and 7-of-8 free throws for 24 points, marking a new career-high as an Eagle. She also set a career record with five steals and added an assist and an offensive rebound while committing no turnovers.
 
A big game from Alexander was definitely needed after the Eagles' lead scorer, Julien, fouled out of the game after clocking just 20 minutes of play. Even with shortened time, Julien collected 11 points for FGCU, including two signature threes.
 
In the absence of Julien, China Dow (Louisville, Ky./Christian Academy of Louisville/Middle Tennessee State) gave the Eagles big minutes off the bench with two important fourth quarter triples. In total, Dow racked up 10 points, all of which came in the fourth quarter, a team-high five rebounds and a career-high seven assists on the afternoon.
 
UP NEXT
The Green and Blue face Kennesaw State on Saturday, Feb. 11 as part of a double-header with the men's team. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 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 152-14 (91.6 W%) in ASUN contests and has led the team to an 88-2 (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 (81.2 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.