MIAMI (Jan. 21, 2021) – Looking to keep the momentum going, the FIU women's basketball team is set to take a trip north for a two-game weekend showdown with the Thundering Herd of Marshall. 
 
The series-opener is set to tipoff at 6 p.m. ET on Friday, followed by a 4 p.m. ET start time on Saturday, while both games can be streamed on CUSA.tv. 
   
Click here for full game notes.
 
Series History
FIU and Marshall have met 15 times on the hardwood, with all the meetings coming since 2004. The Thundering Herd owns a 9-4 record over the Panthers with four of those wins coming in Huntington.

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 8.3 made threes per game, which is good enough to rank 33rd nationally.
  
Nelson and Danielsson both rank in the top 10 of C-USA in made threes per game, with Nelson averaging 2.83 (3rd) and Danielsson splashing 1.92 (9th).
 
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 10.6 rebounds per contest, which ranks 27th nationally. Ekpiteta also enters this weekend's play as one of only three 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 4.5 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 71st nationally. The JUCO transfer leads all of C-USA in total assists (54) and assist-to-turnover ratio with 2.70, where she enters this weekend's play ranked 41st nationally.
 
Scoring In Bunches
Under first-year head coach Jesyka 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 76.5 points per game, which places the Panthers second in C-USA and 43rd nationally.
  
Panthers Helping Panthers
The increase of scoring for FIU has brought an influx of assists, with the Panthers averaging 15.4 assists per game, which ranks second in C-USA and 70th nationally. More impressively, FIU's average of 15.4 assists per game is almost a full 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 105 total steals and is the only team in the league that is in triple-digits.    

Up Next
After the two-game series with the Thundering Herd, FIU returns to sunny South Florida for a two-game home set with visiting Charlotte on Jan. 29-30.  
   
SOCIAL MEDIA
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