MIAMI (February 8, 2017) -- The first of two trips to Texas is on the docket for this weekend for FIU women basketball, as the Panthers start the road trip with a Thursday night Conference USA tilt at Rice, tipping at 8 p.m. Eastern. The Owls and Panthers are among three teams at 3-7 in C-USA. Rice enters the game at 12-9 overall and FIU is 5-16.
 
The Panthers took two tough losses against teams near the top of the standings at home last weekend following a win in the previous road game. After a road victory at Florida Atlantic on January 26, the Panthers are looking to win back-to-back road games for the first time since 2014.
 
Sophomore Kristian Hudson (Birmingham, Alabama) sits 16^th in the league with a scoring average of 13.1 points-per-contest. She is also second in the conference and 16^th in the country with 37.2 minutes played per contest. She scored 10 points or more for the 15th time this season last Thursday, giving her 31 games at that plateau for her career. She also has five-or-more assists in 20 games in two seasons with the Panthers. FIU is fifth in steals average (8.1) and sixth in free-throw percentage (.693) so far this season.
 
Rice is 3-3 in its last six contests, which includes a win at league-leading Charlotte two Saturdays ago. The Owls led by 17 points at home last weekend to North Texas, before falling in overtime by a 77-69 result in their lone game of the weekend. Five Owls got into double figures in scoring in the loss. Rice leads the league in points allowed (59.0) and is second in assists (15.6 average), but is near the bottom of the league in scoring (65.2 points per game) and steals (7.0). Rice does not have a scorer in the Top 20 in the league, nor does it have a Top-20 rebounder in conference.
 
Following the Thursday contest, the Panthers will head north to the Dallas area for a Saturday game at North Texas, with the opening tip scheduled for 4 p.m. Eastern. Live stats and video of both games can be found through links at FIUSports.com.
 
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/.