FORT MYERS, Fla. – Undefeated Florida Gulf Coast University women's basketball travels to Queens University of Charlotte and University of West Georgia this Thursday and Saturday to complete its four-game road stand.
FGCU (13-3, 4-0 ASUN) tips off against Queens on Thursday at 7 p.m. and at West Georgia at 2 p.m. Saturday. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+. FGCU, winners of six straight and 13-1 under coach Lyles, soars north as the last remaining undefeated team in the league. Lipscomb, Central Arkansas, Stetson and Austin Peay each sit at 3-1 just four games into the conference season.
Queens remains winless in the conference at 0-4 and 6-9 overall. West Georgia is 1-3 in the ASUN and 7-8 overall, with their lone conference win coming against EKU. West Georgia also just took Bellarmine to overtime last Saturday.
FGCU IN THE POLLS:
The Green and Blue has earned votes in back-to-back weeks of the USA Today Coaches Top 25 Poll. South Dakota State and FGCU are the lone mid-major representatives in the current poll. FGCU also improved five spots in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, climbing up to No. 11 overall. Two of FGCU's three losses this season have come to opponents currently in the mid-major poll.
ASUN NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:
Lauryn Taylor, a fifth-year senior transfer from Francis Marion, earned ASUN Newcomer of the Week honors Monday for her double-double performance at North Florida and a game-high 16 points at Jacksonville. The Blythewood, South Carolina, native is averaging 8.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game for the Eagles. Her 7.9 rebounds per game is tied for second in the ASUN. Teammate Cerina Rolle is outpacing Taylor in offensive rebounds with 48 on the season.
FGCU VS QUEENS/WEST GEORGIA:
The Eagles are a perfect 4-0 when facing Queens and chalked up an 81-58 victory over the Royals earlier this season in the ASUN opener in Fort Myers. Four Eagles reached double figures in the game as Khamari Mitchell-Steen produced a game-high 20 points. As a team, FGCU shot 9-of-25 from behind the arc, and FGCU also sank a season-high 20 free throws in 31 attempts from the charity stripe.
Against UWG, FGCU is 3-1 all-time against the Wolves and 1-0 as both Division I programs. FGCU has defeated all four of its conference opponents this season by double-digits for an average of 28.5 points. The Wolves have put up the best fight against the Eagles thus far. The Eagles' tightest margin of victory has been a 14-point win against West Georgia, 63-49 back on Jan. 4. Mitchell-Steen produced another team-leading 16 points for the Green and Blue.
ASUN NO MATCH FOR THE EAGLES:
FGCU has produced 37 consecutive victories against ASUN opponents. The Eagles' last loss to an ASUN opponent occurred Jan. 21, 2023, against Liberty, some 726 days ago. Liberty has since moved on to the C-USA. Only South Carolina and South Dakota State currently hold a longer conference win streak at 42 games apiece. Entering this season, FGCU was an astounding 97-3 in its last 100 ASUN regular season games.
CHAMPS AGAIN (2023-24):
The defending ASUN regular season and tournament champion Eagles were picked as the preseason favorites in both the 2024-25 ASUN Coaches and Media Polls. FGCU posted its seventh undefeated mark in conference play a season ago, 16-0, to win its seventh straight ASUN regular season title and 14th all-time in program history. FGCU won each regular season conference game by double digits for an average dominating 24.5 points. FGCU went on to capture its eighth straight ASUN Tournament title on its home floor to punch its ticket back to the Big Dance for the 10th time in the last 13 years.
TOP 10 SCORING DEFENSE:
This season, the Eagles look to do the same while boasting one of the nation's top-scoring defenses, ranking No. 6 in the category by surrendering only 52.3 points per game. FGCU has held 15 of 16 opponents this season to 58 points or less with a season-high of just 62. FGCU has forced more than 12 turnovers in each game and has forced more than 20 turnovers eight times. The Eagles are averaging 11.3 steals per contest and leads the ASUN in six statistical categories. Mitchell-Steen leads the Eagles in steals with 29 on the year.
GET TO EIGHT, OR THE BASKET:
Offensively, FGCU is 11-0 on the year when the Eagles hit eight or more 3-pointers. Preseason All-Conference selection Dolly Cairns paces the Eagles from behind the arc, shooting 43.4 percent from long range with 33 made triples. Cairns' percentage from deep leads the ASUN and ranks No. 26 nationally. FGCU has knocked down 300 or more made threes for 15 straight seasons, leading the country in made threes in five out of the last seven seasons. The Eagles produced 325 treys a season ago, placing sixth overall in the nation. In 2018, the Green and Blue set the NCAA record for the most made threes in a single season with 431. Emani Jefferson, the Preseason ASUN Player of Year, leads the Eagles in points per game at 14.5, ranking fourth across the league in the category. She has scored double-digits in all but one game this season. Jefferson is shooting 62.6 percent from the field for the ninth-best shooting percentage in the nation.
3RD IN WINS, SEEKING ANOTHER 25+ WIN SEASON:
Coming into the 2024-25 campaign, FGCU had risen to No. 3 overall in total wins over the last three seasons. FGCU's 92 wins during the span trails only South Carolina (109) and UConn (94). Only FGCU and UConn have won 25 or more games for 14 consecutive years. FGCU has three 30-win seasons in the last five years, tying UConn and Stanford. Only South Carolina has more with four.
