FGCU WBB vs Webber Preview

The FGCU women's basketball team (1-0) will square off against NAIA Webber International (1-1) on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Alico Arena. The matchup will signify the home opener for the Eagles, who are coming off a season-opening throttling of Florida International, 100-54, on Tuesday. In addition, the game will be listed as an exhibition/season game as it will be an exhibition for Webber and not count as a season game and a regular season game for FGCU that will count but will not effect their RPI ranking.

Banner Drop:
Last year's version of the Green and Blue will be honored prior to Thursday's game with a ceremonial banner drop to commemorate the program's A-SUN regular season and tournament championships.

Along with the banner drop, the game will also be dubbed as a blue out as marketing is encouraging fans to wear blue to the game.

Last Time Out:
FGCU opened the season with a record-breaking rout of FIU on the road. The Eagles became the first NCAA women's team to outscore an opponent by at least 39 points in a quarter with a 41-2 second frame. In fact, over a stretch from late in the first quarter to near the end of the half, the Green and Blue scored 47 straight points.

Nasrin Ulel (18), Keri Jewett-Giles (15), Davion Wingate (14) and Alyssa Blair (13) led the Eagles in scoring, while four others scored at least six points. Blair's (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie HS) total tied her career-high.

Fun in Alico Arena:
FGCU is 15-2 all-time in home openers, including wins in three straight. They've knocked off three Power 5 schools over the years - Illinois in 2017, Michigan State in 2011 and Florida in 2008.

Home Openers Year-By-Year
11/12/18 - W 99-68 vs Florida Memorial
11/12/17 - W 85-61 vs Illinois
11/15/16 - W 89-42 vs Florida International
11/17/15 - L 62-55 vs Florida Atlantic
11/18/14 - W 97-49 vs Florida International
11/12/13 - W 71-38 vs Bethune-Cookman
11/10/12 - W 100-31 vs Warner University
11/19/11 - W 59-58 vs Michigan State
11/12/10 - W 64-57 vs Seton Hall
11/13/09 - W 66-54 vs UTEP
11/14/08 - W 88-86 vs Florida
11/09/07 - L 93-53 vs No. 19 Florida State
11/16/06 - W 69-57 vs West Florida
11/19/05 - W 107-53 vs Puerto Rico - Bayamon
11/15/04 - W 90-69 vs Saint Leo
11/19/03 - W 91-32 vs Puerto Rico - Mayaguez
11/22/02 - W 75-58 vs Ohio Dominican

Different Lineup, Smilar Production:
This year's version of the Eagles will have a slightly different look as Davion Wingate and Kerstie Phills will look to fill the void in the starting lineup left by the graduations of Lisa Zderadicka and Destiny Washington. Wingate exploded for 14 points in the team's season opener, while Phills nearly had a double-double with seven points and eight rebounds.

Polls anyone?:
FGCU was slotted third in the initial CollegeInsider.com mid-major poll and seventh in the espnW mid-major poll to begin the season, and the Green and Blue received two votes in the preseason USA Today Coaches Poll. The Eagles were also picked to repeat as conference champions by A-SUN coaches and media.

Scouting Webber:
The Warriors opened their season on the road with a split as they defeated Tougaloo College (Miss.) 80-75 on the before falling 78-60 to Talladega College.

Senior Breyonna Reed and redshirt junior LeAndra Franklin are both averaging 15 points per game (Reed 15.5 to be exact) while redshirt senior RayGene Garner leads with 7.5 rebounds per game and averaging 8.5 points per game.

Series History:
This is the third all-time matchup against Webber International and the first since Nov. 28, 2011 when Amber Rechis shot 6-for-11 from 3-point range for a game-high 26 points in leading the Eagles to a 106-27 win. The other two matchups came in the 2002-03 season when FGCU picked up a pair of 38-plus point wins when both teams competed at the NAIA level.

Nearing 1,000 points:
The Eagles have several players nearing 1,000 points in their NCAA career: Nasrin Ulel (942), Keri Jewett-Giles (926), Davion Wingate (892) and Ashli O'Neal (863).

Livestats will be provided and will air on ESPN+. Commentary will be done by Tom James (play-by-play) and Pete Lonergan (Color).

Livestats Link: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=280883

ESPN+ Link: https://www.espn.com/watch?id=5c28460c-e59b-49c0-acd6-e58bcfecdeb6