MIAMI (Jan. 14, 2021) – The FIU women's basketball team tips off rivalry week on Friday in Boca Raton, before the Panthers return home on Saturday to close out the weekend.  

The series-opener is set to tipoff at 5 p.m. ET on Friday, followed by a 4 p.m. ET start time on Saturday. Friday's game can be streamed CUSA.tv, while Saturday's contest will be on ESPN+.
   
Click here for full game notes.

Series History
The South Florida rivalry between FIU and FAU is long and storied on the hardwood, dating back to 1985. FIU holds a commanding 33-13 lead in the series despite the series being tied at 3-3 over the last six meetings.
 
Panther Sharpshooters 
Led by Kyla Nelson and Alma Danielsson, FIU's offense has come out of the gates firing on all cylinders from behind the arc. The Panthers rank second in all of C-USA with 8.6 made threes per game, which is good enough to rank 28th nationally.
 
Nelson and Danielsson both rank in the top 10 of C-USA in made threes per game, with Nelson averaging 2.80 (4th) and Danielsson splashing 2.00 (10th).

Ekpiteta Grabbing Boards 
Emerald Ekpiteta is also making her presence known in 2020-21. The grad transfer from Niagara ranks second in C-USA on the glass, averaging 10.8 rebounds per contest, which ranks 20th nationally. Ekpiteta also enters this weekend's play as one of only four players in C-USA that is averaging a double-double for the season.
 
The Emergence of RFB 
Panther point guard Raquel Ferrer-Bernad is averaging 4.8 assists per contest after a stellar stretch of games to close out non-conference and open C-USA play. The performance has catapulted the Spaniard in the assists per game rankings, landing her at 58th nationally. The JUCO transfer leads all of C-USA in total assists (48) and assist-to-turnover ratio with 3.00, where she enters this weekend's play ranked 28th nationally.

Scoring In Bunches
Under first-year head coach Burks-Wiley, the Panther offense has been resurrected near the top of the C-USA and rank among the leaders in the entire nation. FIU is averaging 78.4 points per game, which places the Panthers second in C-USA and 48th nationally.
 
Panthers Helping Panthers
The increase of scoring for FIU has brought an influx of assists, with the Panthers averaging 16.0 assists per game, which ranks second in C-USA and 70th nationally. More impressively, FIU's average of 16.0 assists per game is six assists better than the 2019-20 average of 9.7.
 
Roary Stays Swiping
The increased pressure on the defense has led to more steals for the Panthers. FIU currently leads C-USA with 86 total steals.  

Up Next
After the two-game series with the Owls, FIU returns to the road for a two-game set at Marshall on Jan. 22-23.
   
SOCIAL MEDIA
Get all the latest information on the team by following @FIUWBB on Facebook and @FIU_WBB on Twitter and @FIUWBB on Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.