MIAMI (Feb. 11, 2014). – The FIU women's basketball team (11-11, 5-4 C-USA) returns home following a two-game road stretch on Wednesday, Feb. 11, to take on the MTSU Blue Raiders (19-4, 8-1 C-USA). The game is slated to tip at 6 p.m. from Lime Court in 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). Coverage of Saturday's matchup can also be heard by clicking HERE.
PLAY 4KAY INITIATIVE SET TO BEGIN
With February being National Cancer Prevention Month, the FIU Athletic Department will sell $1 raffle tickets at all home men's and women's basketball games during the month, in support of promoting breast cancer awareness. Throughout February, fans will have a chance to win pink, team-signed basketballs, with all proceeds from the men's raffle benefiting the Susan G. Komen Fund and the proceeds from the women's basketball raffle benefiting the Play 4Kay initiative. Winners will be announced during the men's and women's doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 22.
SERIES HISTORY
The Panthers and Blue Raiders are meeting for the 28th time in the series that dates back to the 2000-01 season. MTSU currently leads the series 9-18, and had won four-straight against FIU until the Panthers upset the Blue Raiders last season, 58-51, on Dec. 20, 2012 in Murfreesboro, Tenn. MTSU, however, evened the series for the year six weeks later on Jan. 31, 2013 in Miami with score of 61-51.
SCOUTING FIU
FIU's three-game winning streak was halted on Saturday at UTEP as the Panthers dropped an 83-62 decision to the Miners. Four players scored in double-digits as sophomore Taylor Shade led FIU with 14 points. Juniors Zsofia Labady and Kamika Idom chipped in double-figures with 13 and 12, respectively. Senior Jerica Coley was held to seven points for the majority of the game until a three-point basket with 36 seconds to go, put her at 10 for the night. Redshirt junior Arielle Durant led the Panthers on the boards, grabbing seven. For the game, FIU shot 34.4 percent (22-of-64), connecting on 8-of-23 three-point attempts and scored only 14 points in the paint. UTEP shot 44.1 percent (30-of-68) from the field and scored 50 of its 83 points in the paint. The Miners also won the rebounding battle, 48 to FIU's 36. UTEP also converted 26 second-chance points, compared to the Panthers' six. Coley continues to pace the FIU offense with an average of 28.9 points-per-game to rank second in the nation. She followed by Shade at 9.3 points-per-game. Junior Tynnia McKinzie leads the team in rebounds with 7.2 boards per contest.
#HolyColey
Reigning two-time Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and 2013-14 C-USA Preseason Player of the Year, Jerica Coley, has done everything and more this year. She currently ranks second in the nation in scoring, averaging 28.9 points-per-game. The senior sensation has scored double-figures in all 22 contests this season and in 111-of-120 career games. Coley has also registered 19, 20-plus point outings and 11, 30-plus point performances in 2013-14. For her career, she has contributed 76, 20-or-more point games and 29, 30-plus point outings. Coley ranks first on the FIU career charts for scoring average (23.1 ppg) and her career point total of 2,771 also ranks first in program history. This season, the 2012 and 2013 Associated Press All-America selection has been responsible for 42.2 percent of the Panthers' scoring efforts, and for her career, she has netted 36.5 percent of FIU's total points. In addition to scoring the St. Petersburg, Fla., native leads FIU in eight additional statistical categories: field-goal percentage (.424), field goals made (227), free-throw percentage (.839), free-throws made (151), three-point field-goals made (31), assists (4.1 apg), steals (1.6 spg), blocked shots (1.3 bpg) and minutes played 38.8). . The senior point guard, who scored a career-high and school record 47 points versus Wake Forest (12/29/13), has scored 40 or more points twice this season adding another record-breaking performance a couple weeks later at Tulsa. On Jan. 18, she broke four building records at the Reynolds Center in Tulsa with her 43 points. It was only the eighth time a Panther has scored 40 or more points in a single game.
SCOUTING MTSU
MTSU is currently sits atop C-USA boasting a record of 19-4 overall and 8-1 in conference action. The Blue Raiders are coming off a 68-56 loss at Southern Miss, which snapped a 17-game win streak a week ago. The streak was the fourth longest in program history and the second longest in the league. Last Saturday, MTSU defeated Rice, 65-54, where senior Ebony Rowe tallied her 19th double-double of the year with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Freshman Caroline Warden added 10 points and a career-high five assists, while senior Laken Leonard garnered a team-high 13 points and freshman Olivia Jones grabbed 12 boards. As a team, MTSU ranks first in the conference and seventh in the nation in scoring defense, as its opponents average only 55.0 points. Middle Tennessee also ranks second in C-USA in field-goal percentage defense, holding opponents to a .369 shooting percentage.
THE COACHES
Head Coach Cindy Russo recently picked up her 700th (Feb. 5, 2014) career victory at UTSA. Over 37 years of coaching, she is the ninth-winningest active coach in Division I. For her career, Russo has amassed an overall record of 700-375, and owns a record of 661-353 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.
The Blue Raiders are under the direction of ninth-year head coach Rick Insell, who has guided his teams to a remarkable 218-66 record, collecting more wins than any other coach in MTSU's history. His winning percentage of .768 ranks eighth among active NCAA Division I coaches. Insell boasts seven NCAA Tournament appearances, five All-Americans and three WNBA Draft picks in his eight full seasons with MTSU.
#PantherNation
Fans who 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.
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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 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, visithttp://www.fiu.edu/
