GAME NOTES
MIAMI (Mar. 4, 2015) – The FIU women's basketball team (3-24, 0-16 C-USA) will hit the road for its final two games of the season, where it will first face Middle Tennessee (18-8, 12-4 C-USA) on Thursday evening. The game is slated for a 9 p.m. ET tip inside Monte Hale Arena.
BROADCAST Thursday's game can be seen and heard on GoBlueRaiders.com. Fans can follow live scoring via FIUSports.com or GoBlueRaiders.com. There will also be live updates throughout the game available on Twitter @FIUWBasketball.
SERIES HISTORY Thursday's game will be the 31
st meeting between FIU and Middle Tennessee and will be the second of the two games in the series this season. The Blue Raiders have won five of the previous games, while the Panthers have claimed nine wins in the series. FIU's last win in the series came on Dec. 20, 2012 in Murfreesboro by a score of 58-51.
SCOUTING FIUFIU dropped its final two home games, falling 74-50 to Marshall and 88-47 to (RV) WKU last week. Despite being officially eliminated from the conference tournament, the Panthers look to avoid going winless is conference play for the first time in FIU women's basketball history. Six-time C-USA Freshman of the Week
Kiandre'a Pound continues to lead the Panthers in scoring (15.0 ppg), while senior
Marita Davydova leads the way on the glass (9.9 rpg). Davydova and junior
Taylor Shade accompany Pound in double-digit scoring averages with 11.9 and 11.6 points-per-game, respectively.
SCOUTING MIDDLE TENNESSEE The Blue Raiders enter the final week of the regular season dropping its last two games, most recently a 62-57 setback at home to UAB. Sophomore Olivia Jones paced MT with a game-high 22 points to go along with five boards, three assists and three steals. Jones leads C-USA and ranks 30
th in the nation in scoring with 20.1 points-per-game. Jones also leads the squad in rebounds (8.4 rpg), while Petty dishes out a team-best 4.5 assists-per-contest.
LAST MEETING FIU fell in its second Conference USA contest of the season, 75-60, to Middle Tennessee on Jan. 8 from Lime Court at FIU Arena.
Pound and senior
Marita Davydova chipped in double-digit scoring figures with 11 and 10, respectively. Davydova led the Panthers on the boards with nine, one shy of her fifth double-double of the season. Freshman
Aajah Hawkins and senior
Zsofia Labady stepped up big on the glass with six rebounds apiece. The six rebounds for Hawkins were a then career-best. Sophomore Olivia Jones had a game-high 27 points for Middle Tennessee, 19 of which came in the first half. FIU shot 46.5 percent (20-of-43), while Middle Tennessee was 40.5 percent from the floor (30-of-74). It was the second of three games the Panthers have out-shot their opponent. Although the rebounds were tied, Blue Raiders had 17 second-chance points, compared to FIU's six and had 25 points off of the Panthers' 29 turnovers. The difference also came in the lane as Middle scored 46 of its 75 points in the paint, compared to 26 from the Panthers.
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).
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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 Ocean BankField at FIU Stadium. About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offer more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $8.9 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
