Matchup: FGCU (0-1) vs Florida Memorial (3-3)
When: Monday Nov. 12 at 7 p.m.
Rankings: FGCU is No. 8 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll
Where: Fort Myers, Fla. | Alico Arena
Tickets: Here
Watch: ESPN3 | David Moulton (PBP) | J. Webb Horton (Color)
Live Stats (StatBroadcast) here
Series: FGCU leads 10-0 (FGCU won 82-43 on Dec. 30 last year)
Coaches: Karl Smesko (17th season at FGCU - 435-88; 20th season overall - 496-115 | Gregory Stanback (5th season at Florida Memorial - 50-69; same overall)

FORT MYERS, Fla. - The FGCU women's basketball team (0-1), which is ranked eighth in the first CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll of the season, will look for its first win of the season in a home-opening matchup against Florida Memorial (3-3) on Monday at 7 p.m. in Alico Arena.

Prior to the game, FGCU will drop the banner to honor last year's team that made its fifth NCAA tournament trip in seven seasons and broke the NCAA's single season record for most 3-point field goals. At halftime, the men's basketball team will receive their watches for winning last year's ASUN regular season championship.

Throughout the night, the FGCU athletic department will honor veterans, who can receive a free Priority 4 or 5 general admission ticket with a valid U.S. Military ID and receive half off tickets for all family members. Rally towels will also be presented to the first 100 fans and students.

Home Openers
Since becoming a Division-I program, FGCU has compiled a 9-2 record in home openers, including some notable wins over Power-5 schools such as an 85-61 win over Illinois last year, a 59-58 win over Michigan State on Nov. 19, 2011 and an 88-86 win over Florida on Nov. 14, 2008.

Division-I Era Home Openers
11/12/17 - W 85-61 vs Illinois
11/15/16 - W 89-42 vs Florida International
11/17/15 - L 62-55 vs Florida Atlantic
11/14/14 - W 88-75 vs George Washington
11/08/13 - W 71-38 vs Bethune-Cookman
11/10/12 - W 100-31 vs Warner
11/19/11 - W 59-58 vs Michigan State
11/12/10 - W 64-57 vs Seton Hall
11/13/09- W 66-54 vs UTEP
11/14/08 - W 88-86 vs Florida
11/09/07 - L 93-53 to No. 19/19 Florida State

Approaching History
FGCU head coach Karl Smesko entered this season with a 496-114 (.813) career head coaching record, which ranked him as the third winningest active Division-I head coach behind UConn's Geno Auriemma (1,027-136, .883) and Baylor's Kim Mulkey (539-98, .846). Thus, Smesko is just four wins shy of a major coaching milestone, his 500th win. He earned his 400th victory in just 493 games, which was two faster than UConn's Geno Auriemma.

Here's a look at his previous milestones:

100th career win – Dec. 28, 2003 vs Cheyney (85-46)
200th career win – Jan. 19, 2008 vs Kennesaw State (75-64)
300th career win – Dec. 19, 2011 vs USC Upstate (77-53)
400th career win – Feb. 21, 2015 vs USC Upstate (75-59)
500th career win – four wins away

Last Time Out
FGCU opened the season with an 80-62 loss at South Dakota State on Friday. They were hurt by a 21-2 run that started late in the first half and included a 14-0 run to open the third quarter. Chandler Ryan (Groveland, Ill./Morton HS) matched her career-high with 12 points, while draining a new career-high four 3-point field goals. Lisa Zderadicka added 10 points, and Destiny Washington-Mabon (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North HS) blocked a game-high five shots.

Inside Look at Florida Memorial
Florida Memorial, led by fifth-year head coach Gregory Stanback, finished 16-10 overall in 2017-18. This year, his team features a trio of sisters - Brianna, Tyesha and Kanesha Battle. Brianna and Kanesha are Division-I transfers from Bethune-Cookman. The team competes as an NAIA member of The Sun Conference.
 
Series History
FGCU is 10-0 all-time against Florida Memorial, although the first nine meetings predated the Green and Blue's Division-I era. Last year's 82-43 win over the visiting Lions witnessed Jessica Cattani (23) and Erica Nelson (16) combine for 39 points. Among returning players, Tytionia Adderly (8), Nasrin Ulel (7) and Zderadicka (Vienna, Austria/HAK Korneuburg) (5) combined for 20 points, while Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS) led the way with 12 rebounds.

Mid-Major Power
Over the past four seasons, FGCU has recorded 121 wins, which is the most among all mid-majors and seventh-most among any Division-I program, trailing only UConn (148), Notre Dame (137), Baylor (135), South Carolina (129), Mississippi State (126) and Maryland (123). On top of that, the program is one of only six in Division-I with three 30-win seasons during that stretch – joining UConn, Baylor, Notre Dame, Maryland and South Carolina.
 
Leading the 3-Point Revolution
Smesko's 1999-2000 team at Purdue Fort Wayne provided a glimpse of what would become a staple of his offense with the Green and Blue as his team made 9.3 3-pointers per game, which led the nation and was the seventh-best single season in NCAA Division-II history at the time.

At FGCU, Smesko has turned FGCU into one of the premier 3-point shooting teams in the nation. In 16 + seasons, his teams have shot a combined 4,866-for-13,917 (.350) from long range, or 9.23 per game. In fact, the team has made at least one 3-point field goal in 410 straight games and went without at least one make in only one game in program history – Feb. 21, 2006 vs Lynn University (0-for-11).

In 2017-18, the Green and Blue made an NCAA Division-I single season record 431 3-pointers on 1,190 attempts, equating out to a .362 percentage. In doing so, the team made and attempted over twice as many as they did in the program's initial season in 2002-03 (212-for-535). Since that first year, FGCU has made at least 300 in a season 10 times, including each of the past nine seasons.

2002-03 --- 212-for-535 (.396)
2003-04 --- 118-for-406 (.291)
2004-05 --- 253-for-722 (.350)
2005-06 --- 242-for-747 (.324)
2006-07 --- 337-for-891 (.378)
2007-08 --- 255-for-734 (.347)
2008-09 --- 296-for-763 (.388)
2009-10 --- 317-for-876 (.362)
2010-11 --- 350-for-940 (.372)
2011-12 --- 342-for-925 (.370)
2012-13 --- 319-for-974 (.328)
2013-14 --- 347-for-1,000 (.347)
2014-15 --- 327-for-928 (.352)
2015-16 --- 372-for-1,194 (.312)
2016-17 --- 338-for-1,058 (.319)
2017-18 --- 431-for-1,190 (.362)
2018-19 --- 10-for-34 (.294)
TOTALS: 4,866-for-13,917 (.350)

Including this year's season-opener against South Dakota State, FGCU has made at least 10 or more 3-point field goals in a single game 238 times, including a single-season record 25 times in 2017-18. They have at least 15 games with at least 10 or more in each of the past 10 seasons.

ASUN Preseason Awards
Adderly and Ulel (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta HS) were each named to the ASUN's preseason all-conference team a couple weeks ago, while the Green and Blue took eight of the nine first-place votes and was selected to repeat as the ASUN champion.

McCaskill Returns
Former FGCU women's basketball student-athlete Sydnei McCaskill (2015-17) has returned to the program as the new video coordinator, replacing another former student-athlete, Stephanie Haas, who departed for an assistant coaching position at Ohio University. This will represent the third consecutive season that the Green and Blue's coaching staff is comprised of all former student-athletes of head coach Karl Smesko.

FGCU Record Book

Rebounds 
1. 887 - Sarah HANSEN (329o-558d) - 2010-14
2. 735 - Whitney KNIGHT (114o-621d) - 2011-12,13-16
3. 658 - Adrianne MCNALLY (240o-418d) - 2006-10
4. 640 - Robyn SWAIN (236o-404d) - 2002-04
5. 603 - Courtney CHIHIL (183o-420d) - 2008-12
6. 565 - Tytionia ADDERLY (240o-325d) - 2016-present 
7. 508 - Kaneisha ATWATER (187o-321d) - 2013-16
8. 498 - Taylor GRADINJAN (117o-381d) - 2012-13,14-18
9. 422 - Katie MEADOR (193o-229d) - 2012-16
10. 408 - Kate SCHRADER (194o-214d) - 2005-07
 
Rebounding average (min. 40 games) 
1. 11.2 - Robyn SWAIN (57 games) - 2002-04
2. 8.3 - Tytionia ADDERLY (68 games) - 2016-present 
3. 6.7 - Sarah HANSEN (132 games) - 2010-14
4. 6.3 - Kate SCHRADER (65 games) - 2005-07
5. 5.8 - Andrea CLARKE (55 games) - 2003-05
6. 5.7 - Whitney KNIGHT (130 games) - 2011-12,13-16
7. 5.6 - Delia DE LA TORRE (61 games) - 2006-08
8. 5.5 - Noreen MCCALLUM (57 games) - 2002-04
9. 5.4 - Chelsea LYLES (62 games) - 2008-10
10. 5.1 - Adrianne MCNALLY (128 games) - 2006-10
 
Defensive rebounds 
1. 621 - Whitney KNIGHT (114o-621d) - 2011-12,13-16
2. 558 - Sarah HANSEN (329o-558d) - 2010-14
3. 420 - Courtney CHIHIL (183o-420d) - 2008-12
4. 418 - Adrianne MCNALLY (240o-418d) - 2006-10
5. 404 - Robyn SWAIN (236o-404d) - 2002-04
6. 381 - Taylor GRADINJAN (117o-381d) - 2012-13,14-18
7. 325 - Tytionia ADDERLY (240o-325d) - 2016-present
8. 324 - DyTiesha DUNSON (61o-324d) - 2012-16
9. 321 - Kaneisha ATWATER (187o-321d) - 2013-16
10. 269 - Stephanie HAAS (96o-269d) - 2012-16
 
Offensive rebounds 
1. 329 - Sarah HANSEN (329o-558d) - 2010-14
2. 240 - Adrianne MCNALLY (240o-418d) - 2006-10
    240 - Tytionia ADDERLY (240o-325d) - 2016-present 
4. 236 - Robyn SWAIN (236o-404d) - 2002-04
5. 194 - Kate SCHRADER (194o-214d) - 2005-07
6. 193 - Katie MEADOR (193o-229d) - 2012-16
7. 187 - Kaneisha ATWATER (187o-321d) - 2013-16
8. 183 - Courtney CHIHIL (183o-420d) - 2008-12
9. 127 - Noreen MCCALLUM (127o-189d) - 2002-04
10. 122 - Andrea CLARKE (122o-196d) - 2003-05

GET YOUR PUNCH PASS
Get the best value in Southwest Florida with the FGCU Basketball Punch Pass. Three games for $15 or seven games for $30. Purchase online here.

GROUP TICKETS
Bring your group of 20 or more to an FGCU basketball game. Group tickets start as low as $7 per person and include a $5 off coupon for game day at The Boardwalk restaurant on the FGCU Waterfront. Contact the ticket office for more information 239-590-7145 or tickets@fgcu.edu.
 
COACH SMESKO
FGCU head coach Karl Smesko led the 2017-18 Eagles to another historic season. The Green and Blue finished 31-5 overall and 13-1 in ASUN play, capturing the program's eighth ASUN regular season championship and fifth ASUN tournament championship. The team finished the season ranked 25th in the final USA Today Coaches Poll, recaptured the NCAA record for most 3-point field goals made in a season with 431 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in seven seasons, where the Eagles knocked off 5th-seeded and No. 15 ranked Missouri in the opening round. It was the team's second tournament win over the past three appearances. Over the course of the season, FGCU knocked off three ranked teams - No. 15 Missouri, No. 20 Kentucky and No. 21 DePaul.

Over the past four seasons, Smesko has guided FGCU to three 30 plus win seasons while recording a 121-23 (.840) record overall. The now eight-time ASUN Coach of the Year rallied the 2016-17 team to its seventh straight 25-win campaign, culminating in an ASUN tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance. In 2015-16, he was named the espnW mid-major coach of the year following a run that witnessed the Eagles claim a WNIT runner-up finish and a Division-I program best ever 33-6 record. In 2014-15, the team achieved its first-ever top-25 ranking and made another trip to the NCAA Tournament, where the Eagles earned a No. 7 seed and won the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament game, toppling No. 10 seed Oklahoma State.

Including the 2017-18 campaign, Smesko has guided the Eagles to 14-straight 20-win seasons and eight-straight 25-win seasons. He maintains a record of 496-114 (.813) overall in his career, including a 170-16 (.914) mark in ASUN play. Over the past seven seasons, he has guided FGCU to a 106-4 (.964) record in conference play with four undefeated seasons. Smesko earned his 400th career coaching win in 2014-15 in just 493 career games, two games faster than UConn's Geno Auriemma. Entering 2016-17, he ranked 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. Over the past year, first-year NCAA Division-I head coaches Nancy Fahey (Illinois) and Bart Brooks (Belmont) pushed the list to six.

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.

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 contribute, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help.