MIAMI (January 25, 2017) -- FIU women's basketball plays its first repeat opponent and finishes a three-game road swing when the Panthers head to Boca Raton to tangle with Florida Atlantic Thursday night at 7 p.m. The Panthers (4-14, 2-5 Conference USA) defeated FAU 74-65 in Miami back on January 7. That was the first of two-straight wins, both at home and in conference, for the Panthers, the first time in three years the Panthers won back-to-back home games and conference contests.

FIU is 30-10 all-time in the series against the Owls, which includes a 16-4 mark away from Miami. The January FIU win snapped a four-game skid versus FAU in the series. 

FIU will be looking for its first road win of the season in seven tries. 

In the January 7 contest, the Panthers shot 60 percent from the field in the second half, hitting seven of its first 11 in the third quarter and seven of the first 12 shot attempts in the fourth to claim the victory. Sophomore Kristian Hudson (Birmingham, Alabama) scored the game-high total of 21 points, finishing one assist shy of a double-double. Freshman Alexis Gordon (Palm Bay, Florida / Covenant Christian) had 19 points. 

FIU is third in Conference USA in free-throw shooting (.700) and fifth in steals (8.2 per game). Hudson leads the Panthers with a scoring average of 12.9 points per game. She is 17th in the league in that category, but second in minutes played, at 36.9 per contest. Gordon is sixth in three-point shooting percentage (.402) and fifth in made threes per game (2.2). 

FAU enters play also at 4-14, but is looking for its first league win of the year (0-7). The Owls are sixth in rebound average (39.4) and ninth in rebound margin (-0.1), but last in turnover margin and steals. Sasha Cedeno is right behind Gordon in three-point percentage (.360, seventh) and made threes per contest (2.0, tied for eighth). 

The Owls have lost eight in a row entering this Thursday contest. 

Live stats and video links are available at FIUSports.com and the team will be off until the following Thursday, in a home contest against Old Dominion. Tip time is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will air live on beINSports.com with a tape delay airing as the second game of the C-USA doubleheader on beIN Sports. 

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/.