MIAMI (Feb. 10, 2016) -- After splitting a home conference series last weekend, the FIU Panthers women's basketball program will make its longest road trip of the season this weekend, with a Thursday night game at league-leading UTEP at 9:05 p.m. Eastern and concluding in a Saturday afternoon game at 2 p.m. Eastern at UTSA.
 
FIU is 3-19 overall, with a 1-10 Conference USA mark. UTEP is 19-2 and sits atop the league standings at 10-1. UTSA is 7-14 overall and 3-8 in league games.
 
This is the first repeat opponent for the Panthers this season and for first-year FIU Head Coach Marlin Chinn. The Miners defeated FIU 69-57 back on January 23 in Miami. In that game, senior Destini Feagin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) hit a three-pointer to start the game, but UTEP put together a 24-4 run and staved off an FIU charge in which the Panthers outscored the Miners the rest of the way. Four Miners scored in double figures, led by Starr Breedlove's 20. Junior Tianah Alvarado (St. Petersburg, Florida / Gulf Coast State) had 15 points in 25 minutes, while Feagin added 14 and nine rebounds for the Panthers, who shot just .302 in the contest.
 
In last Saturday's game, FIU came out hot, hitting a .643 mark from the field in the first quarter, but stifling Middle Tennessee pressure forced a .167 second quarter and a 10-point halftime deficit. A 22-point lead by MT was whittled to 10, but the Panthers got no closer in an 85-62 Saturday home loss. Alvarado and Kristian Hudson (Birmingham, Alabama) had 16 each to lead the Panthers, while Taylor Shade scored 14, her 51st career double-digit scoring game.
 
The Miners won their 10th-straight game by snapping a four-game Louisiana Tech win streak in an 86-80 home win last Saturday. At 18-1, the Miners are experiencing their best-ever start to a season. Starr Breedlove scored 22 points, while team leading scorer Cameasha Turner added 19 in the victory.
 
The Panthers lead the league in free-throw shooting (.776) and sit fourth in the league with a .336 three-point shooting mark. FIU is shooting an astounding .450 mark in the first quarters of games this season, ramping up to .510 in first quarters in the 11 Conference USA games this season.
 
The Miners lead the league in rebounding margin (+11.1), steals average (11.1) and turnover margin (+5.1), but also are in the best four in statistical rankings in scoring (72.0), rebound average (39.9) and field goal percentage (.420) among the 14 teams.
 
Following the weekend road trip, FIU will be home for the next three games over the next two weekends. The Panthers will honor their former coach, Cindy Russo, in a ceremony at halftime of the nationally-televised game against Rice on February 20.
 
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/.