FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's basketball team welcomes North Florida to Alico Arena for the Quarterfinals of the ASUN Tournament.

HOW TO FOLLOW
Fans can follow a live broadcast the game on ESPN3. Live stats will also be available from StatBroadcast.
 
Tickets are still on sale for the quarterfinal game, and with a sellout crowd expected, fans are encouraged to secure their seats in advance by visiting FGCUTickets.com, stopping by the Alico Arena Ticket Office during normal business hours or by calling 239-590-7145.
 
ASUN QUARTERFINALS MATCHUPS
Friday, Mar. 3 at 7 PM
 
No. 5 NJIT at No. 4 Kennesaw State
No. 6 Lipscomb at No. 3 Jacksonville
No. 7 North Florida at No. 2 FGCU
No. 8 USC Upstate at No. 1 Stetson
 
THE GREEN AND BLUE
> The Eagles enter the ASUN tournament as the second-seed after dropping a Saturday night heartbreaker to Stetson in overtime.
 
> The Eagles' RPI jumped from 144 to 103 since conference play began.
 
> The Eagles collected their 400th win as a program against USC Upstate on Feb. 18.
 
> FGCU owns a 15-2 all-time record in ASUN Championship games and has advanced beyond the opening round in each of its previous five appearances. FGCU's .866 winning pct. is best among current members.
 
> The Eagles enter the tournament as the highest scoring ASUN team averaging 72.6 PPG. In conference play, the team's average rose to 76.1 PPG. In 16 home games, the Eagles are scoring 74.8 points per game
 
 
SCOUTING NORTH FLORIDA
> North Florida travels to FGCU in opening round of the ASUN Championship as the No. 7 seed. The last No. 7-seed to win a game was the Ospreys in 2010 when they made the Championship Final.
 
> Two of North Florida's three ASUN Championship victories came in that run to the final in 2010. Outside of the Ospreys, No. 7 seeds are 0-27 in ASUN Championship history.
 
> North Florida has not fared well at Alico Arena in the past, as they enter Friday's game 0-11 at FGCU. North Florida's last victory against the Eagles came in 2010 at UNF Arena.
 
> The Ospreys are second in the ASUN in free-throw percentage entering the ASUN Championship at 68.5 percent. Claire Ioannidis shoots 91.9 percent, with Adrienne Jackson second at 75.9 percent.
 
KEY PLAYERS
2 Sierra Shepherd - Shepherd is averaging 1.5 triples per game and ranks second in the league with a 40.2 success rate.
 
4 Adrienne Jackson - Jackson was named to the ASUN All-Freshman Team after finishing her debut season fourth among league freshman in scoring. Jackson was the only Osprey rewarded ASUN postseason recognition.
           
12 Tesh Hanson - Hanson is North Florida's top scorer this season at 11.3 points per game. She ranks 12th in the ASUN in scoring and 5th in rebounding at 6.7 rebounds per contest entering the ASUN Championship.
 
ASUN POSTSEASON AWARDS
Four Eagles garnered ASUN Postseason Awards this season, as announced by the league on Thursday. Rosemarie Julien was named ASUN Newcomer of Year, while Jordin Alexander was placed on the Second Team and Tytionia Adderly earned All-Freshman accolades.
 
Taylor Gradinjan was recognized for her achievements on and off the court as a member of the eight-person ASUN All-Academic Team.
 
Julien (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Treasure Coast HS/Chipola College) becomes the first player in program history to be named ASUN Newcomer of the Year after leading the team with 11.2 points per game, including a mark of 13.1 in conference play with a success rate eclipsing 50 percent. In addition to her Newcomer of the Year status, the junior transfer was placed on the ASUN First Team extending FGCU's stretch of having at least one representative on the First Team to eight-straight years – the longest current streak of any ASUN member.
 
Alexander (Fisher, Ind./ Hamilton Southeastern HS/Brown) has been a defensive staple for the Green and Blue, usually guarding the opponent's best scorer. She owns a team-high 48 steals. Her 33 steals in conference play puts her just one shy of league-leader Tatianna Torres. Offensively, the senior transfer nearly doubled her production with 6.4 points per game in non-conference play compared to 11.0 when facing ASUN competition.
 
Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman) became a rebounding machine during conference play, leading the entire league with 123 boards. She averaged 7.4 per game on the season, including an ASUN mark of 9.5 per game. The freshman forward also racked up a team-high four double-doubles as part of a stellar rookie year.
 
Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wis./Cudahy HS) represented FGCU as a member of the All-Academic Team for the second-straight season. She leads the Eagles on the court with 63 triples and off the court with a perfect 4.0 GPA as a graduate student majoring in health sciences.
 
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 148-12 at home since making the jump to Division I in 2007-08 and have won 84 out of 86 ASUN games with the home crowd behind them.
 
#RAININGTHREES
The team's moniker Raining Threes isn't just for show. FGCU has made an incredible 4,378 3-pointers in 15 seasons for an average of 9.1 per game. The Eagles are riding a 366-game streak with at least one three ball and have made a long-range shot in 481 of 482 games in program history.
 
FLORIDA FOES
Since transitioning to Division I in 2007, the Eagles hold a record of 87-21 over teams from the state of Florida.
 
ASUN LEADERS
This season the Eagles are leading the ASUN in scoring offense (72.6) scoring defense (55.7 pg), assists (15.2 pg), FG made (810), 3pt FG made (310), 3pt FGs per game (10.0) and turnover margin (6.90).
 
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 110-5 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 157-15 all-time in conference games and maintains a 94-3 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.
 
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.
 
THREES IN 2016-17
The Eagles have made the third most three-pointers in the NCAA so far this season with 310 in 31 games. Their average of 10.0 per contest ranks fifth in the nation.
 
3PT FGs MADE
1. Washington - 319
2. Saint Francis (PA) - 314
3. FGCU - 310                      
4. Sacramento St. - 289
5. Idaho - 277
 
3PT  FGs PER GAME
1. Saint Francis (PA) - 10.8
2. Sacramento St. - 10.7
3. Washington - 10.3
4. Idaho - 10.3
5. FGCU - 10.0
 
ASUN FINAL STANDINGS
SCHOOL                         ASUN           OVERALL
No. 1 Stetson*            13-1    24-5
No. 2 FGCU*               12-2     23-8
No. 3 Jacksonville*     11-3     22-7
No. 4 KSU*                 8-6      9-19
No. 5 NJIT                   4-10    11-18
No. 6 Lipscomb          3-11    6-23
No. 7 North Florida   3-11    10-19
No. 8 USC Upstate     2-12    9-20
 
* - Clinched a home game in ASUN Championship
 
RECAPPING STETSON
An ASUN regular-season crown has eluded FGCU this year after a heartbreaking 64-67 loss to in-state foe Stetson at Alico Arena on Saturday night. In one of the most physical ASUN outings of the season, the teams battled to a 54-54 finish at the end of regulation before the Eagles fell just shy of their seventh-straight title.
 
While a conference loss at Alico Arena feels out of character for the Eagles, there was nothing uncharacteristic about the energy in the building and effort on the court. The fierce performance was lead by Erica Nelson (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee Summit North HS/Johnson County CC) who racked up a team-high 17 points despite foul trouble. Alexander and China Dow (Louisville, Ky./Christian Academy of Louisville/Middle Tennessee State) also carried their weight offensively with 15 and 12 points, respectively.
 
On the defensive end, Alexander, who battled through all 45 minutes of the game, held the Hatter's lead scorer Brianti Saunders to just eight points after averaging 15.7 on the season.
 
Once again, Adderly crushed the boards, pulling down a career-high 18 and adding 11 points for her fourth double-double of the season. With the regular season coming to an end tonight, Adderly will finish her freshman year with a league-best 123 rebounds in conference play.
 
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 401-81 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.2 with a mark of 157-15 (91.3 W%) in ASUN contests and has led the team to a 94-3 (96.9 W%) 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 462-108 (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.