Women's Basketball Gameday Information vs. Florida Gulf Coast

Game 25	Florida Gulf Coast (21-4, 9-0 A-Sun) at NJIT (4-20, 1-8 A-Sun)
Date | Time	Saturday, February 13 | 1 pm
Location | Arena	Newark, NJ | Fleisher Athletic Center (1,500)
Live Video|Audio	ESPN3 streaming telecast (WatchESPN app., www.watchespn.com) Michael Ventola (PBP); Cathy Andruzzi (Color)
Live Stats	In-game statistics (free)
Social Media	@njithighlanders
All-time series	FGCU leads, 2-0 | FGCU 7-, NJIT 37 (1.22.16)
Game Notes	NJIT Notes | FGCU Notes

NJIT will return to action on Saturday at 1pm, hosting A-Sun leader Florida Gulf Coast in the Fleisher Athletic Center.

PLAY4KAY
In conjunction with the NJIT vs. Florida Gulf Coast contest, the NJIT Women's Basketball team will collect donations for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, a charitable organization committed to the fight against women's cancers through raising money for scientific research, assisting the underserved and unifying people for a common cause.

Coach Kay Yow, former North Carolina State University women's basketball coach, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987, and passed away in 2009 after facing her third bout with the disease.

"Play4Kay" is an annual nationwide initiative in partnership with the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and The V Foundation, with hundreds of women's college basketball teams planning to take part during the month of February.

SERIES
In the teams' first meeting in Florida, FGCU won 70-37.  The Eagles now lead the all-time series, 2-0.  In the first-ever meeting, on March 6, 2008 in the opening round of the Division I women's basketball National Independent Tournament, FGCU defeated NJIT, 75-63.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES
FGCU (21-4 overall, 9-0 A-Sun) has won 14 straight, the fourth-longest active streak in the country behind UConn (60), Colorado State (18) and Notre Dame (16)) with five regular season games remaining before conference tournament. 

The Eagles are coming off a thrilling 59-55 overtime win at Jacksonville on February 10, after trailing by nine points in the second quarter and outscoring the Dolphins, 13-9, in the extra period.

FGCU is 140-13 in A-Sun women's basketball contests since 2007 with just one loss since the 2011-12 campaign (lost at Northern Kentucky; February 1, 2013).  FGCU has posted three perfect seasons in the last four years for a record of 67-1 in A-Sun games.

FGCU's 38-game win streak against conference foes ranks second nationally, behind UConn's 60-game run.

The Eagles are one of only 10 remaining teams undefeated in conference play. FGCU joins Connecticut, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Colorado State, UAlbany, UC Riverside, New Mexico State, Arkansas State and Penn in the group.

Karl Smesko, in his 14^th season at Florida Gulf Coast, has enjoyed a tremendous run at the helm of the women's basketball program.  Smesko's coaching career began at Walsh (1997-98) followed by two seasons at IPFW (1999-2001).

The six-time Atlantic Sun Conference Coach of the Year and regular season champion holds a 345-67 record in 13 seasons and 213-46 mark in NCAA Division I play at FGCU (first season Division I 2007-08).

The 2014-15 campaign saw historic breakthroughs for the FGCU women's basketball team. The team finished the season with a record of 31-3 for the program's third 30-win season.

The team compiled a win-streak of 26 games to rank third in the nation and went undefeated in Atlantic Sun Conference play for the third time, winning all 14 regular season games.

The program earned its first-ever Division I national ranking, ranking as high as No. 20 and finished the season at No. 21. FGCU earned its first Division I NCAA Tournament win with a 75-67 win over 10th-seeded Oklahoma State.

WOMEN'S MID-MAJOR POLL
The Eagles are ranked third in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll as of February 9, 2016.

DRAINING THREES
FGCU is ranked 5th in the nation in three-point field goals made (237) and three-point field goals made per game (9.5).

FLORIDA GULF COAST LEADERS
Points: Kaneisha Atwater (14.3), Whitney Knight (12.6), Taylor Grandinjan (9.8)
Rebounds: Whitney Knight (5.8)
Field Goal Percentage: Katie Meador (40-81; 49.4)
3-Point FG Made: Taylor Grandinjan (57)
Assists: DyTiesha Dunson (113)
Steals: Whitney Knight (40)

SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS
NJIT (4-20, 1-8 A-Sun) is currently tied with Lipscomb (4-20, 1-8 A-Sun) at seventh place in the league standings.  Lipscomb holds the tiebreaker with NJIT, as the Lady Bisons rank 335 and Highlanders sit at 343 in the latest RPI rankings.

The Highlanders picked up their first A-Sun victory on February 4, defeating Lipscomb in Newark, behind a program-best 20 rebounds from junior Leah Horton.  Horton's 10.7 points per game and 7.6 rebounds per game pace the Highlanders this season.

Junior point guard Alana Dudley has dished out 34 assists in the last eight games and leads the team with 80.  The 80 assists in a single season ranks fourth all-time in the NJIT Division I era.

Redshirt freshman Kelly Guarino is averaging 8.6 points per game and paces the Highlanders with 56 three-point baskets made.

NJIT LEADERS
Points: Leah Horton (10.7 ppg)
Rebounds: Leah Horton (8.6 rpg)
Field Goal Percentage: Leah Horton (87-for-201; 43.3)
3-Point FG Made: Kelly Guarino (56) – ranked fourth in the A-Sun
Assists: Alana Dudley (80) – ranked fifth in the A-Sun
Steals: Alana Dudley (31)