MIAMI (Jan. 27, 2016) -- The FIU Panthers women's basketball team heads back out on the road for a pair of Conference USA games, starting with a game at Charlotte Thursday night, with the opening tip scheduled for 7 p.m. from Dale F. Halton Arena. FIU is looking for its first league win in its eighth try and enters the contest with a 2-16 record. Charlotte is 10-8, 3-4 in conference so far in 2016.
 
The Panthers have played their seven conference games closer than the non-conference portion of the schedule. Their first three league games were decided by single digits, and FIU's last two league opponents failed to get to 70 points on the scoreboard. The Panthers are the league's best free throw shooting team, hitting exactly three-fourths of their shots from the charity stripe. FIU is also sixth in the league in three-point shooting, at .324 for the year. FIU usually gets out of the gate hot from distance, nailing 43 percent (42-for-97) of their three-point attempts combined in the first quarters of games this year. Sustaining that mark and avoiding shooting slumps remains the challenge to be solved by the team to break through for the first league win.
 
FIU's Taylor Shade (Boynton Beach, Florida / Community HS) and Charlotte's Alexis Alexander are eighth (14.6 per game) and ninth (14.2) in scoring in the conference, respectively. They both lead their respective team in points per contest. Both teams have two players in the next 10 in scoring average. Alexander is eighth in rebounding (7.4) and third in field goal percentage (.562) in the league so far this season. FIU junior Tianah Alvarado (St. Petersburg, Florida / Gulf Coast State) sits third in the league in steals per game (2.5) and eighth in three-point field goals made (1.8) per game.
 
FIU Last Game: The Panthers got down 22-3 to league-leading UTEP in the opening quarter, but outscored the Miners 55-47 after that point in a 12-point home loss on Saturday. Junior Tianah Alvarado scored 14 of her team-best 15 points in the third quarter and senior Destini Feagin compiled a 14-point, nine-rebound day.
 
Charlotte Last Game: The 49ers got down as much as 11 points in the first half and ended up on the wrong end of 77-66 road loss at WKU on Saturday. Four 49ers finished in double figures, led by a double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds) from Lefty Webster. Alexis Alexander also added 10 points and 11 rebounds for Charlotte.
 
Following Thursday's action, the Panthers travel to Old Dominion to take on the Monarchs, with a 4 p.m. tipoff in Norfolk, Virginia.

 
For women's basketball ticket information, contact the FIU Ticket Office at 305-FIU-GAME or log onto www.FIUSports.com.
 
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUWBB) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUWBasketball) for all the latest FIU women's basketball news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Google+ (FIU Athletics), Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).
 
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and at the FIU Football Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelor¹s, master¹s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU is Worlds Ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded 200,000 degrees and enrolls 50,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.