The FGCU women’s basketball team will get a crack at the defending national runner-up over Thanksgiving weekend as part a four-game slate following the announcement of the 2019 Cancun Challenge field this afternoon.
The Eagles, coming off their third straight ASUN championship and NCAA Tournament appearance, will square off against Notre Dame at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 28 in Riviera Maya. Following that, they’ll face South Florida (Nov. 29, 1:30 p.m.) and South Dakota State (Nov. 30, 1:30 p.m.). As part of the event, FGCU will also host Florida Memorial in Alico Arena on Dec. 9.
“We are excited to take part in this event,” FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. “We are playing three great teams, and our players will be excited about the trip and the competition.”
The 15th edition of the Cancun Challenge features 10 teams in two groups: Mayan – FGCU, Notre Dame, South Dakota State and South Florida; and Riviera – Creighton, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Temple and West Virginia. The games will take place in the modified ballroom of the all-inclusive Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya in a setting where teams and fans can walk from their rooms to the restaurants to the games.
The full schedule is as follows, with all game times being in the Eastern time zone and the home teams being listed second.
Thursday, Nov. 28
Mayan Tournament
South Dakota State vs. South Florida, 11 a.m.
FGCU vs. Notre Dame, 1:30 p.m.
Riviera Tournament
Missouri vs. New Mexico, 4 p.m.
West Virginia vs. Creighton, 6 :30 p.m.
Temple vs. North Carolina, 9 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 29
Mayan Tournament
Notre Dame vs. South Dakota State, 11 a.m.
South Florida vs. FGCU, 1:30 p.m.
Riviera Tournament
New Mexico vs. West Virginia, 4 p.m.
North Carolina vs. Missouri, 6:30 p.m.
Creighton vs. Temple, 9 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 30
Mayan Tournament
South Florida vs. Notre Dame, 11 a.m.
South Dakota State vs. FGCU, 1:30 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 9
Florida Memorial vs FGCU, TBA
Opponent Capsules
Notre Dame
2018-19 Record: 35-4, 14-2 ACC
Lost to Baylor in NCAA championship game
The Irish saw all five of their starters drafted in the first round of the WNBA, so head coach Muffet McGraw will get to experiment with her roster. Sophomores Mikayla Vaughn and Jordan Nixon headline a top-10 recruiting class from a year ago. If she can remain healthy, graduate transfer Destinee Walker from North Carolina would be useful as she topped double figures in scoring in her first two seasons. Incoming freshmen of note are Sam Brunelle (espnW’s No. 4 prospect) and Anaya Peoples (No. 21 overall). Brunelle was slowed her senior year with a foot injury and surgery but returned to play in her prep postseason.
South Dakota State
2018-19 Record: 28-7 overall, 15-1 Summit League
Lost to Oregon in NCAA Sweet 16
This will be the third consecutive season the Eagles have met the Jackrabbits, who became the first Summit League team to reach the NCAA Sweet 16 last year, anchored by a senior (Macy Miller) who was picked by the defending champion Seattle Storm with the final pick of the WNBA draft. Junior-to-be Myah Selland is the top returning scorer (12.1 PPG). She is joined by classmate Tylee Irwin (7.5 PPG) and senior-to-be Tagyn Larson (10.5 PPG, team-high 6.4 RPG), as all three were primary starters last season. Head coach Aaron Johnston is approaching his 500th career victory (469-156, .750). His team shot great from 3-point range (37 percent) and ranked eighth nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (631-441) last year, and the incoming recruiting class includes Tori Nelson, who topped 2,000 points in her prep career.
South Florida
2018-19 Record: 19-16 overall, 7-9 AAC
Lost to James Madison in WNIT Second Round
The Bulls had an unusually harsh injury problem last year and still almost won 20 games. One key returner is Enna Pehadzic, who as a junior averaged 12 PPG and five RPG, while the team gets stability in the backcourt with Sydni Harvey, who averaged 11.7 PPG as a freshman and showed promise as a 3-point threat. Head coach Jose Fernandez made sure his team fought through adversity, as it finished No. 6 nationally in rebound margin. Still unknown is the status of Kitija Laksa, the program’s sixth-leading scorer all-time who lost all but three games of her senior year with an ACL injury and may apply for a medical hardship to suit up again.
Opponent History
While this will be the first time FGCU meets Notre Dame, South Dakota State is a familiar foe and South Florida is an old rival. The Eagles are 2-1 all-time against the Jackrabbits with wins in the 2013-14 and 2017-18 season, the first of which came in Puerto Vallarta. Meanwhile, they’re 2-2 against the Bulls with the last matchup resulting in a 60-55 win for the Green and Blue on Dec. 4, 2013. Of note, FGCU’s first-ever Division-I postseason game came against USF on March 21, 2008 in the first round of the WNIT.
Road Trippin’ with the Green and Blue
Over the past 10 seasons, FGCU has hit the road to face big-name opponents and tough competition nine times – in addition to hosting the Gulf Coast Showcase in November 2016. This will be the team’s third trip to Mexico, including the Hardwood Tournament of Hope in Puerto Vallarta in 2013-14 and the Caribbean Challenge in Riviera Maya in 2010-11.
2010-11 – Caribbean Challenge (Riviera Maya, Mexico)
2011-12 – Rainbow Wahine Invitational (Honolulu, Hawaii)
2012-13 – U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam (U.S. Virgin Islands)
2013-14 – Hardwood Tournament of Hope (Puerto Vallarta, Mexico)
2014-15 – U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam (U.S. Virgin Islands)
2015-16 – Puerto Rico Classic (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
2016-17 – Gulf Coast Showcase (Estero, Fla.)
2017-18 – Play4Kay Shootout (Las Vegas, Nevada)
2018-19 – Rainbow Wahine Showdown (Honolulu, Hawaii)
2019-20 – Cancun Challenge (Riviera Maya, Mexico)
FGCU against Power-5 schools
The Notre Dame announcement means FGCU will play at least three Power-5 schools in 2018-19, including two in Alico Arena – LSU on Dec. 19 and Duke TBA. The Eagles are 16-27 all-time in 43 games against such schools:
Power-5 history by conference
5-7 vs SEC
5-10 vs ACC
4-5 vs B1G
1-2 vs Big 12
1-3 vs Pac 12
Power-5 history game-by-game
*11/09/07 – L 93-53 vs No. 19/19 Florida State (Fort Myers, Fla.)
12/04/07 – L 78-52 @ Florida (Gainesville, Fla.)
#03/24/08 – L 60-55 @ Florida (Gainesville, Fla.)
11/14/08 – W 88-86 vs Florida (Fort Myers, Fla.)
11/16/08 – L 81-62 @ No. 21/24 Florida State (Tallahassee, Fla.)
11/21/09 – L 58-48 @ Georgia Tech (Atlanta, Ga.)
12/13/09 – L 94-71 @ No. 21/24 Michigan State (East Lansing, Mich.)
#03/18/10 – L 70-57 @ Miami (Coral Gables, Fla.)
11/25/10 – W 73-65 vs Virginia Tech (Riviera Maya, Mexico)
12/21/10 – W 73-69 vs Indiana (Fort Myers, Fla.)
#03/21/11 – L 74-69 vs Florida (Fort Myers, Fla.)
11/19/11 – W 59-58 vs Michigan State (Fort Myers, Fla.)
12/21/11 – W 69-41 vs Virginia Tech (Fort Myers, Fla.)
12/28/11 – L 69-64 vs NC State (Honolulu, Hawaii)
11/23/12 – L 65-46 vs South Carolina (U.S. Virgin Islands)
12/16/12 – W 63-56 @ Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, Va.)
12/28/12 – W 76-70 vs LSU (Fort Myers, Fla.)
11/26/13 – L 68-47 vs TCU (Puerto Vallarta, Mexico)
11/27/13 – L 83-59 vs No. 6/5 Stanford (Puerto Vallarta, Mexico)
12/17/13 – L 69-46 @ No. 12/12 LSU (Baton Rouge, La.)
12/21/13 – L 85-56 vs Virginia (Fort Myers, Fla.)
^03/22/14 – L 61-60 (OT) vs Oklahoma State (West Lafayette, Ind.)
11/20/14 – L 72-69 @ Auburn (Auburn, Ala.)
11/28/14 – W 86-61 vs Clemson (U.S. Virgin Islands)
11/29/14 – L 90-83 (2 OT) vs Ohio State (U.S. Virgin Islands)
^03/21/15 – W 75-67 vs Oklahoma State (Tallahassee, Fla.)
^03/23/15 – L 65-47 @ Florida State (Tallahassee, Fla.)
12/19/15 – L 65-60 vs No. 9/9 Mississippi State (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
12/20/15 – W 57-55 vs Arizona (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
12/30/15 – W 52-45 vs Auburn (Fort Myers, Fla.)
#03/21/16 – W 67-48 vs Wake Forest (Fort Myers, Fla.)
#03/31/16 – W 71-62 vs Michigan (Fort Myers, Fla.)
11/25/16 – L 79-66 vs No. 8/8 Ohio State (Fort Myers, Fla.)
12/17/16 – L 82-73 @ Illinois (Champaign, Ill.)
^03/18/17 – L 62-60 @ Miami (Coral Gables, Fla.)
11/12/17 – W 85-61 vs Illinois (Fort Myers, Fla.)
11/24/17 – L 104-62 vs No. 9/8 Ohio State (Las Vegas, Nev.)
12/08/17 – W 70-64 vs No. 20/23 Kentucky (Fort Myers, Fla.)
^03/17/18 – W 80-70 vs No. 17/15 Missouri (Stanford, Calif.)
^03/19/18 – L 90-70 @ No. 15/19 Stanford (Stanford, Calif.)
11/23/18 – L 88-65 vs No. 8/7 Stanford (Honolulu, Hawaii)
12/30/18 – L 57-41 @ Duke (Durham, N.C.)
^03/22/19 – L 69-62 @ Miami (Coral Gables, Fla.)
*FGCU’s Division-I debut
^ NCAA Tournament
#WNIT
Season Ticket Information
Those interested in becoming new season-ticket holders for 2019-20 can do so by visiting the link below. Joining the Season Ticket Priority List requires a $100 non-refundable deposit which will be credited toward the complete price of the season tickets.
Join The 2019-20 Season Ticket Priority List
Fans can also join the Season Ticket Priority List by contacting an FGCU Ticket Office representative over the phone at 239-590-7145 or by visiting Monday-Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
The priority list will be processed on a first-come, first-serve basis. Because nearly all Priority Level 1 and 2 season ticket locations were sold out in 2018-19, seating in these sections cannot be guaranteed for new purchasers. Seating location availability for new ticket packages will depend on renewals and upgrades of current season ticket holders. Like in the past, Eagles Club membership may be required for certain seats, with giving levels utilized for access to better locations.
Season-ticket renewal information, including pricing, Eagles Club membership requirements and renewal deadlines will be sent via email from the FGCU Ticket Office on May 20. To ensure contact information is up-to-date, fans are encouraged to fill out the form below.
FORM: Current Season Ticket Holder Contact Information
FOLLOW ALONG
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SUPPORT THE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PROGRAM
Do you enjoy watching or following the FGCU women’s basketball program? Would you like to play a role in the growth of the program and help take it to heights never before experienced? If so, you can reach out to Director of Advancement, Matt Ring, about opportunities to make an impact on the experiences of our student-athletes. He can be reached by email atmring@fgcu.edu or by office phone at 239-745-4434.