FORT MYERS, Fla. – Head coach Chelsea Lyles prepares FGCU women's basketball for its home opener Sunday against NJIT at 1 p.m. at Alico Arena. The first 1,000 fans in attendance receive FGCU Jersey Koozies.
Fans are encouraged to wear white to WHITEOUT Alico Arena. FGCU Athletics will commemorate the 2023-24 championship team with three banner drops pregame. $3 hotdogs and $3 beer for students (+21 and up) will also be available Sunday.
Tickets start at just $12 for general admission. Eagles fans can create and select their own mini-plan of four-, six-, or nine-game packages starting at $44. For more information on single-game and season tickets, please click here or call the FGCU Ticket Office at 1-866-FGCU-TIX (866-324-8449).
On Tuesday, 23-year head coach and Fort Myers legend Karl Smesko handed over the reins of the program to coach Lyles. Smesko is heading to the WNBA as the head coach of the Atlanta Dream. Lyles has spent the last six seasons as an associate head coach alongside Smesko at FGCU. She has also been a part of all 24 Atlantic Sun Conference Championships at FGCU, either as a player or on the coaching staff.
"I'm going to keep his same principles," Lyles said. "The standard is still excellence, and the goals are still the goals."
FGCU renews pleasantries with NJIT on Sunday for the first time since 2020, a former ASUN foe. FGCU is 14-0 all-time against the Highlanders, winning the last meeting 68-39 in Newark, New Jersey. NJIT returns to Fort Myers 2-2 on the year as FGCU eyes its first victory of the season.
In both of the Eagles' losses this season, FGCU has held its opponents to 62 points or less. FGCU led by as many as 11 points in the third quarter at Davidson and had only 11 points at the half up at Columbia, but managed to knock down a season-high seven 3-pointers.
The Eagles have never started a season 0-3. The last time the Green and Blue started 0-2, one has to go back as far as 2003, the year in which FGCU was in its second-ever season of existence as an infant Division II program. FGCU fell to No. 6 overall in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll.
FGCU also eyes to protect the nation's second-longest active home win streak of 32 games. 2024 National champion South Carolina leads the nation with 60 consecutive wins at home.
