MIAMI (Jan. 7, 2014) – Senior
Jerica Coley only needs eight points to become FIU women's basketball's all-time leading scorer and surpass
Albena Branzova (2,515 points), when the Panthers welcome Rice in the program's inaugural Conference USA game tomorrow night. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. from Lime Court at U.S. Century Bank Arena.
Keeping up with the Panthers
Live stats are available for all games and can be accessed via the FIU women's basketball schedule page at FIUSports.com. A
FREE live video stream for all FIU home games is available via PantherVision, by clicking
HERE, and fans can also follow the action live on Twitter (@FIUWBasketball).
Last Time Out
The Panthers (6-7) are coming off a blowout, 34-point, win over the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish, 78-44, on Sunday afternoon. Coley scored 31 points, going 10-of-21 from the floor and 9-of-11 from the line. The two-time Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and 2013-14 Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year extended her streak to 43-straight games scoring in double-figures, dating back to her junior year. It's the 35th time since the 2012-13 season that Coley has scored 20-or-more points and the 17th time she's scored 30-plus.
Three other Panthers scored in double-figures, as
Tynia McKinzie had 13 points (6-of-12), sophomore
Taylor Shade netted 12 points (5-of-7) and redshirt sophomore
Brianna Wright scored 10 points, going 2-of-6 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the line and collected the team's only double-double, finishing with 11 boards. It's the second time in three games the Titusville, Fla., native has earned a double-double.
Scouting the Owls
Under the helm of ninth year Head Coach Greg Williams, the Owls are 7-6 entering conference play and 2-1 in the team's last three games, most recently winning, 72-57, versus Incarnate Word on Jan. 3. Led by Jessica Kuster (20.5 points-per-game), she is the only player for Rice who is averaging double-figures in points, accounting for 32.0 percent of the Owls' offense. Jasmine Goodwine (6.4 points-per-game) and Megan Palmer (6.2 points-per-game) round out the top three in scoring. Kuster is also leading the team in rebounds, collecting 166 total boards, while averaging 13.8 rebounds-per-game. Opponents are averaging 67 points-per-game, while holding Rice to 63.9 points-per-game, although Rice leads in rebounds, 42.8-39.0
#HolyColey
Following Sunday's win, Coley has increased her season points total to 373 points, averaging 28.7 points-per-game, and is only one of two players with 300-plus points in C-USA. The 5-foot-7 guard is second in the nation in scoring, while holding the top spot within the conference, as she's accounting for 41.0 percent of the Panther's total offense. Coley is only eight points away from setting a new program record for scoring. The St. Petersburg, Fla., native has scored eight points in under 10 minutes in 8-of-13 games this season, and has done it in under 3:20 twice.
Head Coach
Cindy Russo has led her squads to 695 victories over 37 years, making her the ninth-winningest active coach in Division I. For her career, Russo has amassed an overall record of 695-371, and owns a record of 655-349 in 35 seasons at FIU. Her 34 full seasons at FIU are the fifth-most across all NCAA institutions, regardless of division, for number of seasons spent with one program.
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUWBasketball) 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). The official hashtag of the 2013-14 FIU athletic season is PantherNation.
#####
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 U.S. Century Bank Arena and Alfonso Field at FIU 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 Florida¹s 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/
