Hatters Host FGCU To Open Conference Play

The Stetson women's basketball team will face a familiar foe in Saturday's ASUN opener. For the fourth year in a row, Stetson will begin conference play against the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles, but for the first time during that stretch, the Hatters will enjoy home court advantage.

"It is good that we are opening up at home for a change," Stetson head coach Lynn Bria said. "The last couple of years we have gone down there to play. It is a great way to start the conference season."

Stetson (11-4) enters ASUN play as the highest scoring team in the league, averaging 72.1 points per game. However, in the three meetings with Florida Gulf Coast last season, the Hatters scored 48, 47, and 46 points, respectively.

"The issue the last couple of years has been scoring," Bria said. "We need to find a way to put some points on the board. This year we have more weapons. We have an inside-outside game. We have a good balanced attack, so I am looking forward to it."

After starting the year 2-5. Florida Gulf Coast (11-6) has won nine of its last 10 games overall. The Eagles average 9.4 3-pointers per game, the eighth-highest total in the NCAA.

"We have to get out on their shooters and we have to know who we are guarding," Bria said.

The Hatters have also spent a lot of practice time focusing on rebounding, which is likely to be one of the keys to the game. The Hatters are 9-1 this season when outrebounding its opponent, but the team surrendered 22 offensive rebounds in its previous outing at USF.

"We've worked on (rebounding) a lot, we've emphasized it, and we've talked about it," Bria said. "Now the players have to go out and do it - make it a priority. We are the bigger team, but (the Eagles) still go the glass really hard because they want extra shots. They want extra attempts to shoot 3s. We have to limit how many attempts they get."

Offensively, Stetson will look to get the free throw line where the Hatters own the highest free throw percentage in the entire nation (.819). Individually, Brianti Saunders (.932), Breana Bey (.872), and Sarah Sagerer (.791) rank second, third, and fourth in the ASUN in free throw percentage.

Saturday's game will tip-off at 1 p.m. at the Edmunds Center with live coverage on ESPN3 and WSBB radio. The men will play the second game of the doubleheader against FGCU at 4 p.m.

Tickets start at $7.00 for general admission and can be purchased online (GoHatters.com/tix) or the Hatter Ticket Office. Stetson students, faculty and staff are free with a valid I.D.

Live stats, the Stetson women's basketball twitter feed (@StetsonWBB), and the new HatCheck text messaging system will provide in-game updates as well.

The All-Time Series
FGCU leads the all-time series 19-3 over Stetson. The Eagles have won eight in a row in the series, including a 61-46 win in last year's ASUN semifinals. The Hatters last defeated FGCU on Mar. 9, 2013 in the ASUN Championship game.

Home Cooking
Stetson is 7-1 at home this year and the Hatters have won nine of their last 10 at home overall. In addition, the Hatters are 77-10 (.885) over their past 87 home games, and 35-6 (.854) over their past 41 ASUN home games.

Calendar Year
In the 2016 calendar year, Stetson went 23-11 while playing 34 games. Stetson did not lose two in a row until the last two games of the year. Brianti Saunders scored 584 points, which, had it been a full season, would have set the school record for most points scored. Nefertiti Walker scored 581 points in 2005-06.

Up Next
Stetson will travel to Kennesaw State and Lipscomb next weekend.

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