Wednesday, January 19, 2011

MACON, Ga. – After earning two more conference victories, FGCU women’s basketball team jumped to No. 2 in the CollegeInsider.com Women’s Mid-Major Poll after being accompanied by a loss by previously second-ranked, Bowling Green. The Eagles (14-0, 7-0) are one of two remaining undefeated teams in the nation alongside Duke (17-0) and own the nation’s third longest winning streak at 14.

For the previous seven weeks, the Blue and Green earned a third-place ranking in the Mid-Major Top-25 Poll trailing only Wisconsin-Green Bay (17-1) and Bowling Green (16-2) as the Eagles climbed their way to near the top of the poll after being ranked 14th in the preseason poll.

In their previous game, the Eagles knocked down a 2010-11 NCAA single-game high 20 three-pointers on a NCAA Division I record 55 long range attempts en route to a 87-52 win against Mercer. FGCU's 20 three-point makes are one short of the NCAA record of 21 set by New Mexico State on Feb. 23, 2002. The 20 three's are also an A-Sun record, as FGCU made 10 in each half.

On a national note, FGCU picked up votes in both the USA Today/ESPN Women's Coaches poll and the AP Top 25 with 18 and 1 point, respectively. This marks the fourth time in program history that the Eagles have earned votes in both polls in the same week. It is also the sixth consecutive week that the Eagles have earned at least one vote in the USA Today/ESPN poll. FGCU earned six points in last week’s poll (Jan. 10).

The Blue and Green’s one vote in the AP Poll is the seventh time the program has received votes in the national poll. FGCU received one vote in the 2009-10 AP Preseason Top 25 and also picked up a vote in back-to-back weeks in the AP Top 25 to close out the 2008-09 season.

ESPN.com's Graham Hays also has the Eagles ranked as his No. 6 team in his Mid-Major Poll, which includes programs from Conference-USA, Mountain West Conference, Western Athletic Conference and the Atlantic 10.

The Eagles will be put to the test in their next four games, all of which on the road, facing off against four A-Sun teams that are in the top-five of the conference standings, which includes a showdown with second-place team Campbell on January 24th.

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