Matchup: FGCU (0-0) vs South Dakota State (0-1)
When: Friday Nov. 9 at 8 p.m. ET
Rankings: South Dakota State is No. 2 and FGCU is No. 8 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll
Where: Brookings, S.D. | Frost Arena
Watch: ESPN3
Live Stats: here
Series: FGCU leads 2-0
Coaches: Karl Smesko (17th season at FGCU - 435-87; 20th season overall - 496-114 | Aaron Johnston (19th season at South Dakota State - 441-149; same overall)

BROOKINGS, S.D. - The FGCU women's basketball team will open its 17th season of play, including its 12th at the Division-I level, with a Friday evening road matchup against mid-major power South Dakota State at 8 p.m. ET in Frost Arena.

Coaching Matchup
Friday night will feature a matchup between a pair of very successful head coaches.

FGCU head coach Karl Smesko has compiled a 496-114 (.813) record in his career, which ranks 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). Furthermore, he passed Stanford's Tara VanDerveer (1,036-242, .811) last year to become the fifth winningest head coach of all-time – behind Auriemma, former Louisiana Tech head coach Leon Barmore (576-87, .869), Mulkey and Tennessee coaching legend Pat Summitt (1,098-208, .841). If that isn't enough, he ranks among the top 20 winningest coaches all-time across all divisions.

Meanwhile, Aaron Johnston enters his 19th season at the helm of the Jackrabbits program, including his 18th full season after taking over in an interim role in his very first season. He has guided SDSU to 12 postseason appearances, including eight NCAA Tournaments, since the program turned Division I in 2004-05. The four-time Summit League Coach of the Year (2008, 2009, 2012, 2014) has guided the Jackrabbits to a winning record in all 18 years at South Dakota State, and has led SDSU to 15 20-win seasons, including 11 of the last 12 years.

South Dakota State Notes
- South Dakota State lost its season opener on the road to No. 19/19 Marquette, 91-52
- The Jackrabbits have won nine of their last 10 home games, dating to a 67-61 win over Oklahoma Dec. 6, 2017.
- SDSU is looking for its sixth consecutive home-opening win Friday. Last season, the Jacks defeated NJIT, 92-48, in Frost Arena.
- Last year, South Dakota State went 10-4 in non-league games.
- Both the Jackrabbits and the Eagles were picked to win their respective leagues.
- SDSU is 5-2 against teams from the ASUN and 2-2 versus teams from Florida.

Looking for 500
Smesko enters this season 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

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.

Season Openers
The Green and Blue are 12-4 all-time in season openers, although only four of those have come on the road, and those have resulted in a 2-2 record as FGCU defeated FIU to open the 2013-14 season and NC A&T to open the 2015-16 season while falling to Seton Hall and Quinnipiac on the road.

Last year, FGCU opened the season with an 85-61 win over Illinois in Alico Arena. Nasrin Ulel led the Eagles in scoring with 17, while Tytionia Adderly had seven points and nine rebounds.

Last year's matchup
The Eagles took down South Dakota State 87-78 on Dec. 29 last year in a thrilling finish as they closed the game on an 18-5 run after being down 73-69 with 3:51 left. For FGCU, only 20 of the 87 points from that game return, led by Adderly's (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS) 11 points. On the other side, however, the trio of Macy Miller, Madison Guebert and Myah Selland all return for the Jackrabbits after combining for 61 of the team's 78 points.
 
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 4,856-for-13,883 (.350) from long range, or 9.23 per game. In fact, the team has made at least one 3-point field goal in 409 straight games and went without at least one made 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.

3-POINT SHOOTING BY SEASON
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)
TOTALS: 4,856-for-13,883 (.350)

FGCU has made at least 10 or more 3-point field goals in a single game 237 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.

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. 559 - Tytionia ADDERLY (237o-322d) - 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 (67 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. 324 - DyTiesha DUNSON (61o-324d) - 2012-16
8. 322 - Tytionia ADDERLY (237o-322d) - 2016-present
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
3. 237 - Tytionia ADDERLY (237o-322d) - 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

VETERANS APPRECIATION GAMES
The women's home opener is a Veterans Appreciation game. Current and former U.S. Military with ID get a free Priority 4 or 5 general admission ticket and can purchase tickets for their families for half price.

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.