PREVIEW: @FGCU_WBB Looks For Sixth-Straight In Sunday Tilt Against North Florida

FORT MYERS, Fla. - The FGCU women's basketball team (14-4, 5-0 ASUN) will look to win its sixth-straight overall and 13th straight in regular season conference play when it hosts North Florida (7-10, 2-4) on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Alico Arena. It will be the 27th all-time meeting between the two programs, and the Eagles are 13-0 all-time at home in the series.

Matchup: FGCU (14-4, 5-0 ASUN) vs North Florida (7-10, 2-4 ASUN)
When: Sunday Jan. 27 at 2 p.m.
Tickets: here
Rankings: FGCU is No. 4 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll
Where: Alico Arena | Fort Myers, Fla.
Watch (ESPN+): here
Game Notes: FGCU (Interactive | Printable) | North Florida (Printable)
Live Stats: here
Series: FGCU leads 23-3
Coaches: Karl Smesko (17th season at FGCU - 449-91; 20th season overall - 510-118 | Darrick Gibbs (4th season at North Florida - 37-71; same overall)
Game Sponsor: Culver's
Game Promotions: White Out | Azul's Birthday

North Florida Notes
The Ospreys enter Sunday having lost two straight to Liberty (69-53) and Jacksonville (80-72).

Jazz Bond led UNF with 18 points and 10 rebounds against Jacksonville. It was her third consecutive double-double, and she is the reigning ASUN newcomer of the week after averaging 16.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and two blocks per game last week.

Ty Purifoy had 10 assists against Liberty, which is tied for the most in North Florida's Division-I era. She previously dished out nine in an ASUN game twice, and she's coming off a seven-assist game against Jacksonville. She ranks second in the conference with 5.1 per contest.

The Ospreys will likely feature a starting lineup that includes Arianna Emanuel-Wright, Purifoy, Adrienne Jackson, Bond and Dasha Eremeeva. Emanuel-Wright led UNF with 17 points and six rebounds in the first matchup against FGCU a couple weeks ago. She finished 9-for-9 from the foul line, while Purifoy (12), Bond (11) and Jackson (10) also scored in double figures. In fact, they combined for 50 of the team's 66 points.

UNF's Tiffany Tolbert, a sophomore guard who averaged 18.3 PPG over the team's first three games this year after being named to the ASUN's All-Freshmen team last year, has not played since Nov. 18 due to an injury. She opened the season with 20 points against Florida State and dropped 21 against Indiana.

North Florida Leaders
PPG: Jazz Bond (14.7), Arianna Emanuel-Wright (13.6), Adrienne Jackson (9.4)
RPG: Jazz Bond (7.6), Adrienne Jackson (6.6)
APG: Ty Purifoy (5.1), Elli Bartley (1.9)
SPG: Ty Purifoy (1.9), Adrienne Jackson (1.7)
BPG: Jazz Bond (2.3)

Series History
FGCU hasn't allowed more than 54 points at home against UNF in 13 all-time matchups in Alico Arena. The Eagles are 23-3 overall and have won 19 of the 20 in the series, although the Ospreys handed FGCU a 75-73 loss in Jacksonville last year.

ASUN Dominance
FGCU is 175-16 all-time in ASUN matchups, which has led to eight regular season championships. In the conference tournament, they own a 19-2 record since becoming eligible in 2011-12, which has led to five titles. Since the start of last year, the Eagles have won 18 of the past 19 regular season conference games, including 12 straight entering Sunday.

At home, the Eagles own a dominant 92-2 record in the regular season against the ASUN and are 113-4 (.967) against conference teams overall since 2011-12. Furthermore, they're 110-10 (.916) against current ASUN teams, and they have won 85 of the past 86 conference home games dating back to Jan. 22, 2009.

Among The Nation's Best
FGCU will enter Saturday ranked among the top 50 teams in the nation in 12 categories:

Assist/turnover ratio - 29th, 1.18
Assists - 46th, 297
Assists/game - 33rd, 16.5
Fewest turnovers - 46th, 251
Field goal percentage - 31st, 44.8
Scoring margin - 21st, 16.1
Scoring offense - 22nd, 79.1
Turnover margin - 25th, 4.61
Fewest turnovers per game - 44th, 13.9
Win-loss percentage - 38th, 77.8

3-point field goals attempted
1. DePaul - 715
2. FGCU - 616
3. Western Illinois - 585
4. Syracuse - 573
5. Villanova - 547

3-point field goals made per game
1. DePaul - 12.0
2. FGCU - 11.7
3. Idaho - 11.3
4. Oregon - 10.4
5. Oregon State - 10.3
5. Creighton - 10.3

3-point field goals made
1. DePaul - 239
2. FGCU - 211
3. Denver - 204
4. Oregon - 197
5. Oregon State - 196

"The Best"
Tytionia Adderly (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman HS) became just the third player to reach 700 career rebounds in the Green and Blue with her six against Lipscomb on Tuesday. She now only trails Sarah Hansen (887) and Whitney Knight (735) on the all-time list. The forward, who was ranked as the best rebounder in program history by head coach Karl Smesko in Tuesday's post-game interview, is also two points shy of 500 in her career.

Scoring Milestones
A total of five Eagles have eclipsed 700 career points and are on pace to reach 1,000 points in their NCAA careers either this year or next. Two of those five, Lisa Zderadicka and Destiny Washington are less than 100 away, while Davion Wingate, Nasrin Ulel and Keri Jewett-Giles round out the group.

Zderadicka (Vienna, Austria/HAK Korneuburg) is the closest to the mark with 958 over 110 career games, which includes 432 in the Green and Blue. Washington (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North HS) has 922 points over 103 games, including 144 this year with the Eagles.

The next two closest are Wingate (Atlanta, Ga./Stephenson HS), who has 758 points over 79 games - including 124 with FGCU, and Jewett-Giles (Fort Myers, Fla./Dunbar HS), who has 734 points over 78 games, which includes 232 in the Green and Blue. Ulel (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta HS) was the most recent to join the club after her 17-point outburst against Lipscomb gave her 709 through 80 career games.

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
At FGCU, head coach Karl Smesko has turned FGCU into one of the premier 3-point shooting teams in the nation. This season alone, NCAA Division-I teams have recorded 14 games with at least 18 3-point field goals made, and the Eagles own four of them. They've had a season-high 19 twice, including the first matchup against North Florida on Jan. 19.

In 16 + seasons, Smesko's teams have shot a combined 5,067-for-14,610 (.347) from long range, or 9.38 per game. Earlier this season, Kerstie Phills (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian) made the program's 5,000th 3-point field goal. In fact, the team has made at least one 3-point field goal in 426 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 --- 211-for-616 (.343)
TOTALS: 5,067-for-14,610 (.347)

Including 11 of 18 games this season, FGCU has made at least 10 or more 3-point field goals in a single game 248 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 11 seasons, including this year.

RPI Tracker
The Green and Blue enter Saturday ranked 95th in the latest RPI poll. Here's how the rest of the teams in the ASUN rank:

North Alabama - 154
Jacksonville - 195
Stetson - 248
Liberty - 267
Kennesaw State - 288
North Florida - 299
NJIT - 317
Lipscomb - 326

Next Up
FGCU will travel to NJIT on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. matchup. before returning home for two straight.

FGCU Career Record Book

Rebounds
1. 887 - Sarah HANSEN (329o-558d) - 2010-14
2. 735 - Whitney KNIGHT (114o-621d) - 2011-12,13-16
3. 704 - Tytionia ADDERLY (292o-412d) - 2016-present
4. 658 - Adrianne MCNALLY (240o-418d) - 2006-10
5. 640 - Robyn SWAIN (236o-404d) - 2002-04
6. 603 - Courtney CHIHIL (183o-420d) - 2008-12
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 (85 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. 412 - Tytionia ADDERLY (292o-412d) - 2016-present
6. 404 - Robyn SWAIN (236o-404d) - 2002-04
7. 381 - Taylor GRADINJAN (117o-381d) - 2012-13,14-18
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. 292- Tytionia ADDERLY (292o-412d) - 2016-present
3. 240 - Adrianne MCNALLY (240o-418d) - 2006-10
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

Assists average (min. 40 games)
1. 4.7 - Chelsea DERMYER (65 games) - 2006-08
2. 4.5 - Brittany KENNEDY (58 games) - 2011-13
3. 3.9 - Megan JONES (86 games) - 2002-05
4. 3.9 - Ebonie HALLIBURTON (60 games) - 2004-06
5. 3.4 - DyTiesha DUNSON (132 games) - 2012-16
6. 3.4 - Shannon MURPHY (124 games) - 2007-11
7. 3.3 - Lisa ZDERADICKA (53 games) - 2017-present
8. 3.0 - Erica NELSON (66 games) - 2016-18
9. 2.8 - Courtney CHIHIL (120 games) - 2008-12
10. 2.6 - Adrianne MCNALLY (128 games) - 2006-10

WE'VE GOT YOUR SEAT
Experience FGCU basketball this season. The following ticket opportunities are on sale now:
Group Sales
Bring your group of 20 or more to an FGCU men's or women's basketball game. All group tickets include an FGCU hat ($15 value), a $5 game day discount at The Boardwalk restaurant, in-game group recognition and more. For more information on group outings, click HERE or call 239-590-7145.
Single Game Tickets
Single game tickets are available for all remaining home games. Discounts are available for current or former Military and Youth ages 3-15. Purchase online HERE or call 239-590-7145.

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 510-118 (.812) overall in his career, including a 175-16 (.916) mark in ASUN play. Over the past seven + seasons, he has guided FGCU to a 113-4 (.966) 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 2018-19, 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.

SUPPORT THE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PROGRAM
Do you enjoy watching or following the FGCU women's basketball program? Would you like to play a role in the growth of the program and help take it to heights never before experienced? If so, you can reach out to Director of Advancement, Matt Ring, about opportunities to make an impact on the experiences of our student-athletes. He can be reached by email at mring@fgcu.edu or by office phone at 239-745-4434.

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Players Mentioned

#42 Tytionia Adderly: F; 5' 10"; Junior

#3 Keri Jewett-Giles: G; 5' 6"; Redshirt Junior

#13 Kerstie Phills: G; 5' 9"; Redshirt Sophomore

#31 Nasrin Ulel: G/F; 5' 9"; Junior

#0 Davion Wingate: G; 5' 6"; Redshirt Junior

#5 Lisa Zderadicka: G; 5' 6"; Redshirt Senior

#22 Destiny Washington: G/F; 5' 10"; Redshirt Senior

Players Mentioned

#42 Tytionia Adderly
: 5' 10"; Junior
: F

#3 Keri Jewett-Giles
: 5' 6"; Redshirt Junior
: G

#13 Kerstie Phills
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G

#31 Nasrin Ulel
: 5' 9"; Junior
: G/F

#0 Davion Wingate
: 5' 6"; Redshirt Junior
: G

#5 Lisa Zderadicka
: 5' 6"; Redshirt Senior
: G

#22 Destiny Washington
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Senior
: G/F