Raining 3s @ Stetson Preview

Several winning streaks will be on the line when the FGCU women's basketball team (20-4, 11-0 A-SUN) hits the road to battle rival Stetson (13-11, 8-2 A-SUN) on Saturday at 1 p.m.

The Eagles, who have won 11 straight overall this year, will be looking for the the program's 19th-straight regular season A-SUN victory. Meanwhile, the Hatters will enter the game having won six straight and are 10-2 at home this year.

Last Time Out:
The Eagles are coming off of a 61-42 win over NJIT at the Alico Arena despite going 3-for-33 behind the arc

Key Players:
Offensively, junior Nasrin Ulel and redshirt junior Keri Jewett-Giles set the path for the Eagles.

Ulel is averaging 15.5 points per game. Ulel had 16 points against NJIT. Ulel became the 15th Eagle to reach 800 career points and now has 812 in her career.

Jewett-Giles did not dress against NJIT due to a suspension, but is averaging 12.3 points and 2.9 assists per game. Jewett-Giles was held to five points against Liberty. Jewett-Giles currently has 785 in her career.

1,000 Empress's of Assists:
Redshirt senior Lisa Zderadicka has done wonder as her new role of the "Empress of Assists", but has also set a milestone that she got against Liberty. Zderadicka is averaging 9.6 points and four assists per game. Against NJIT, Zderadicka had a season-high 19 points and two assists. Zderadicka reached the milestone of scoring 1,000 career points against Liberty. In addition, Zderadicka currently has 352 career assists, which includes the 152 she had with Houston Baptist.

The Rebound Queens:
As far as rebounding, leading the way for the Eagles in the category are junior Tytionia Adderly and redshirt senior Destiny Washington.

Adderly is averaging 6.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Adderly had six points and 16 rebounds against NJIT (four offensive, 12 defensive). Adderly has 310 career offensive rebounds and is 20 shy of passing Sarah Hansen (329, 2010-14) as the all-time leader while for defensive rebounds, she has 459 in her career. Adderly has already passed Adrianne McNally (418, 2002-04) for fourth all-time. and Courtney Chihil (420, 2008-12) for third all-time. Her next milestone is Hansen (588) for second all-time. In overall rebounds, Adderly has 765 (2nd all-time). Adderly already passed Whitney Knight (735, 2011-12, 2013-16) and needs 123 to pass Hansen (887) as the all-time leader.

Adderly also has 581 career points and needs 19 to reach 600 career points.

Meanwhile, Washington is averaging 8.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Like Jewett-Giles, the Loyola Chicago/Ball State transfer was also suspended in the game against NJIT.

Additionally, Washington has 973 points in her career and is now 27 away from reaching 1,000 in her career.

CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll:
FGCU is ranked No. 3 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll. They received one first-place vote in the latest poll. Here's how the top 10 looks:

1. Gonzaga (28) - 21-2
2. South Dakota (1) - 22-3
3. FGCU (1) - 20-4
4. South Dakota State - 18-5
5. Drake - 17-5
6. Ohio - 20-2
7. Buffalo - 16-5
8. Central Michigan - 16-6
9. Bucknell - 194
10. James Madison - 17-4

Elite Company:
FGCU is one of just 14 teams across 32 NCAA Division-I conferences to have an undefeated slate in league play. Here's the full group:

UConn - American Athletic Conference
NC A&T - MEAC
Missouri State - Missouri Valley Conference
Robert Morris - Northeast Conference
FGCU - A-SUN
Baylor - Big 12 Conference
Oregon - Pac-12
Marquette - Big East
Mississippi State - SEC
Mercer - Southern
Stephen F. Austin - Southland
Rice - Conference USA
Penn - Ivy League
Quinnipiac - MAAC

Scouting Stetson:
The Hatters enter Saturday having won six straight games after a comeback victory over Jacksonville on Tuesday. In that game, sophomore forward Day'Neshia Banks, who has reached double figures in eight straight, scored a career-high 20 points to help lead the Hatters to a 54-46 victory over Jacksonville after her team trailed 17-4 early.

The Hatters are currently tied with North Alabama for second place in the ASUN.

Senior guard McKenna Beach has reached double-figure points in 11 straight. She made her 100th career start on Tuesday and has played 160 consecutive minutes without subbing out. Beach is averaging 13.8 points and 4.3 assists per game.

Junior guard Addi Walters has made at least three 3-point field goals in three straight. Sophomore forward Megan Vincent is coming off a career-high five-block performance against Jacksonville. She also took over the A-SUN lead in field goal percentage (.643) and made the second 3-point field goal of her career. Walters is averaging 10.8 points per game.

Steston will be without the services of Sarah Sagerer, who was lost for the season due to injury a few weeks ago. The senior forward was named the A-SUN's preseason player and defensive player of the year. She finished her career with 952 points, 717 rebounds and a school-record 213 blocks. Prior to the injury, she was averaging team-highs in points per game (15.0), rebounds per game (7.8) and total blocks (36).

Series History:
FGCU is 23-4 all-time against Stetson in a rivalry that dates back to Jan. 12, 2008. The Eagles have won 12 of the past 13 games, including a pair of wins last year, and they are 10-2 all-time in DeLand.

The series has featured many battles despite the lopsided series record. Over a three-game stretch from March 8, 2014 to Jan. 10, 2015, the Green and Blue won three games by a combined total of five points, which included a pair of overtime wins. Meanwhile, Stetson's 67-64 win in Alico Arena on Feb. 25, 2017 is FGCU's only loss at home since Jan. 10, 2009 against ASUN competition. Overall, five of the Green and Blue's wins in the series are by five points or less.

How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available for the game and will air on ESPN+.

Fans can also keep updated on the teams' Twitter accounts:
FGCU: @FGCU_WBB
Stetson: @STETSONWBB

ESPN+:
The A-SUN will air on the new, subscription-based digital platform ESPN+, which will be the new home for select FGCU and A-SUN games and event broadcasts. Subscribers can try the new app for free for 30 days, which follows to $4.99 a month fee afterwards or can pay $39.99 per-year based on the viewers subscription choice.

Livestats Link: https://gohatters.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary

ESPN+ Link: http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/0f12dbe9-f964-41e8-914f-130a113a6acc/florida-gulf-coast-vs-stetson

No comments:

Featured Post

Bobo-McKenzie Named Head VB Coach

Bradenton, Fla - Following Lynn Burnett's departure to run the indoor and beach volleyball program at New College of Florida and an exte...