MIAMI (Feb 18, 2021) – For the final road swing of the regular season, the FIU women's basketball team treks to Southern Miss for a two-game showdown with the Golden Eagles.   
  
The series-opener is set to tipoff at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, followed by a 5 p.m. ET start time on Saturday. Both games can be streamed on ESPN+.
   
Click here for full game notes.
  
Series History
FIU and Southern Miss have met 11 times on the hardwood. Since FIU joined the C-USA in 2013-14, USM holds a 5-1 record over the Panthers.
 
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 29th nationally.
 
Nelson and Danielsson both rank in the top 10 of C-USA in made threes per game, with Nelson averaging 3.00 (3rd) and Danielsson splashing 2.22 (7th).
 
Ekpiteta Grabbing Boards 
Emerald Ekpiteta is also making her presence known in 2020-21. The grad transfer from Niagara ranks third in C-USA on the glass, averaging 10.6 rebounds per contest, which ranks 28th 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 4.1 assists per contest midway through the year. The JUCO transfer leads all of C-USA in assist-to-turnover ratio with 2.71, while she enters this weekend's play ranked 22nd 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 ranks among the leaders in the entire nation. FIU is averaging 76.8 points per game, which places the Panthers second in C-USA and 30th nationally.
 
Roary Stays Swiping
The increased pressure on defense has led to more steals for the Panthers. FIU currently ranks third in C-USA with 148 total steals.

Burks-Wiley COY???  
In her first year at the helm for FIU, Coach Burks-Wiley has already set a standard for years to come with the most wins in a season since the 2013-14 campaign.
  
Up Next
After the two-game series with the Golden Eagles, FIU comes home to polish off the regular season with a weekend series against WKU. Saturday's game will serve as Senior Day.
   
SOCIAL MEDIA
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