MIAMI (December 29, 2016) -- The Conference USA regular season begins this weekend on the road for FIU women's basketball, with a Friday night game at Marshall. The opening tip is scheduled for 6 p.m. from the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington, West Virginia.
 
The Panthers (2-9) wrapped up the final week of non-conference play by splitting its games in the FIU Holiday Classic in Miami. That included Tuesday's 58-57 win over UMass, the second win in the past seven games for the Panthers. Senior Janka Hegedus (Budapest, Hungary) secured FIU's second double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds in the victory.
 
The Panthers have a pair of performers averaging double-digit point totals. Freshman Alexis Gordon (Palm Bay, Florida / Covenant Christian) leads the team with an 11.1-point scoring average, while sophomore point guard Kristian Hudson (Birmingham, Alabama) is right behind at 10.8 per contest. Both average more than 30 minutes played per contest, with Hudson's 36.4 minutes-per-game average sitting second in the league and 30^th nationally. Gordon's three-point shooting prowess puts her second in Conference USA in three-point field goals made (30), made per game (2.71) and attempted (74), while third in percentage (.405). She won C-USA Freshman of the Week on November 28.
 
As a team, FIU is third in the league in free-throw shooting (.711) and in the middle of the pack in three-point percentage (.329) and forced turnovers (16.8) per game.
 
The Thundering Herd (8-3) has won three in a row, including a 136-62 victory on December 20 against Maine Fort Kent, setting new school marks for margin of victory and total points. Marshall produced 30-or-more points in all four quarters. The Herd produced wins in all six home contests this season.
 
Marshall has produced at both ends of the floor. They lead the conference in defensive rebounding (30 per game), field-goal percentage defense (.341), three-pointers made (86), while sitting second in blocks (62), free throws made (159), scoring margin (15.8 per game) and scoring (75.9).
 
Two-time league Freshman of the Week Ashley Saintigene is the league-leader in blocked shots (26) and average (2.36) and second in offensive rebounds per game (4.0). Talequia Hamilton leads the league with a .573 shooting percentage, while Shayna Gore is the fourth-leading scorer in the league, with 16.1 points-per-game.
 
The Thundering Herd defeated FIU twice last season, and was the final opponent for the Panthers, taking out FIU in the Conference USA Tournament in Birmingham last March. Marshall has a four-game win streak all-time. FIU won the first two of six all-time meetings against Marshall, the last in Miami on February 22, 2014, a 77-66 result.
 
Following the contest, FIU will head west to take on WKU for a Sunday afternoon contest, beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern.
 
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).
 
#####
 
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/.