MIAMI (May 1, 2020) – FIU women's basketball head coach Jesyka Burks-Wiley announced another addition to the squad on Friday as English forward Emerald Ekpiteta is set to join the Panthers in the fall. 

Emerald Ekpiteta (London, England) will join the Blue & Gold as a grad transfer after playing her undergrad career at Niagara University (Niagara, New York). 

"Emerald is going to bring us a lot strength and speed inside," Coach Burks-Wiley said. "Her rebounding ability will create a ton of opportunities for our team. With her experience and work ethic, I know she will make her year with us impactful on and off the court."

Ekpiteta, a 5-11 forward, comes to FIU after spending three seasons with the Niagara Purple Eagles. Ekpiteta improved her stat line each year with the Purple Eagles, averaging 1.1 points per game as a true freshman before raising her scoring clip to 7.1 as a sophomore and 9.3 as a junior. The forward also crashed the boards with Niagara, with her average per game hovering around 7.0 rebounds per game as a sophomore and junior. In her final season with the Purple Eagles, Ekpiteta was named to the MAAC Women's Basketball All-Championship Team, after capping the tournament with a double-double against top-seeded Rider. 

Prior to her collegiate career, Ekpiteta played for the City of London Academy, which was part of the Women's Elite Academy Basketball League (WEABL) and boasts some of the United Kingdom's top under-19 women's basketball programs. During her 2016-17 season, she nearly averaged a double-double with 14.9 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per contest en route to a WEABL National Championship. Ekpiteta played club basketball for Southwark Pride in London, which is part of the United Kingdom Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). In 2015-16, she was named WNBL Division II Finals MVP after leading her team in the championship game with 21 points and 10 rebounds. 

FIU enters its first season in the Burks-Wiley era, as she becomes the eighth coach in the program's history. Burks-Wiley joins the Panthers after spending the past three seasons as an assistant coach with the South Florida Bulls. FIU will be the sixth coaching stop for Burks-Wiley, as the former professional forward has spent time at Nebraska-Omaha (2012-13), UMass-Lowell (2013-14), Brown (2014-16), Boston College (2016-17) and USF (2017-20).

During her three seasons on Jose Fernandez's staff at USF, Burks-Wiley and the Bulls won 64 games and earned two postseason berths with a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2018 and the WNIT in 2019. The highlight year for Burks-Wiley and the Bulls came in her first season on the staff, as USF went 26-8 in 2017-18. The 26 wins for USF were the third-most of Fernandez's 20-year tenure.

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