LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University women's basketball team is set for a trip to the Sunshine State, as the Knights will face FGCU at 7 p.m. (ET) Thursday before heading to Stetson for a 2 p.m. contest Saturday.

Reigning ASUN champion FGCU (10-11, 6-4 ASUN) and Stetson (13-8, 6-4) are tied with fellow Florida program Jacksonville for third place in the ASUN.

ABOUT FGCU
FGCU started ASUN play 4-0, but the Eagles have dropped four of their last six, including a 60-55 contest Saturday at North Alabama. FGCU did split last week's action after starting off with a 63-52 road win over Central Arkansas. The Eagles' defense has been their primary strength — they rank second in the ASUN in scoring defense (59.8) and third in field-goal percentage defense (37.8). Offensively, FGCU's 43.5 field-goal percentage is second in the league. Guard Sinai Douglas is the team's leading scorer (11.0) and tallied 17 and 16 points, respectively, against UCA and UNA.

ABOUT STETSON
Stetson has won five out of its last seven conference games and is coming off a big road sweep of North Alabama, 66-62, and Central Arkansas, 70-64. The Hatters will play Thursday at North Florida before welcoming Bellarmine. Guard Cameron Thomas is the ASUN's leading scorer (17.0) and ranks second in 3-pointers made (59). Guard Mary McMillan tops the league in assists (4.5) and averages 11.9 points per game. Forward Aleah Sorrentino ranks third in the conference in rebounding (7.9) and averages 11.2 points per contest. Stetson ranks second in the ASUN in 3-point percentage (33.9) and assists (14.5).

KNIGHTS NOTES
• FGCU leads Bellarmine 7-0 in series history, including 3-0 in Alico Arena. Last season, the teams played twice, with the Eagles capturing an 80-63 win in Fort Myers and a 74-57 victory in Louisville.
• Stetson holds a 5-3 series lead over Bellarmine. The teams split a pair of regular-season contests last season, with each winning on the road. The Knights claimed a 67-52 victory before the Hatters pulled out an 87-84 win.
• There will be no regular-season rematch this year against either opponent. Bellarmine plays the ASUN's four Florida schools once this season and the other seven programs twice.
• The two games will conclude a four-game road swing for Bellarmine. The Knights began the stretch with losses of 100-48 at Queens and 69-39 at West Georgia.
• Due to an epidemic of injuries, Bellarmine (2-21, 0-10) has competed with 6-10 players in each of the last 18 games, and the numbers have only been that high in January/February due to the addition of walk-ons. On Saturday against West Georgia, the Knights competed with four scholarship players and six January walk-ons.
• Four of the January walk-ons (Carly Bryant, Maddie Janszen, Clare Slocum and Megan Wearsch) joined the team last week and all made their collegiate debuts against Queens. They each saw action against West Georgia as well.
• In a rare piece of positive news on the injury front, Haya Abdel Aal returned after missing the previous two games with injury and erupted for career highs of 16 points, three blocks and seven made field goals while equaling a career best with nine rebounds against West Georgia. The freshman center's immense production came in only 22 minutes of action.
• Kayce Hyman tallied 13 points against West Georgia after recording 15 against Queens. The sophomore forward has registered 13 points or more in five straight games and seven overall in ASUN play. She's averaging a team-high 13.3 ppg in conference action.
• Hyman has been particularly efficient at the FT line during her streak of double-digit performances, both in trips to the charity stripe and capitalizing once there. Over the last five games, she is 34-for-39 (87.2%) from the line. Hyman entered the week ranked fourth in the ASUN in FT percentage (79.8).
• Andrea Chiquemba scored 12 points or more in three of the last four games. The redshirt junior forward notched a career-high 18 points in last week's Queens game.

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