MIAMI (Feb. 4, 2021) – Returning to action, the FIU women's basketball team sets its sights to the Lone Star State for a pivotal two-game set at the UTSA Roadrunners.   
 
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, while both games can be streamed on CUSA.tv. 
   
Click here for full game notes.
 
Series History
FIU and UTSA have met 13 times with all but one game coming since 2011. The Roadrunners hold a slim 7-6 advantage all-time, but the Panthers have won two of the last three.
 
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 8.4 made threes per game, which is good enough to rank 30th nationally.
 
Nelson and Danielsson both rank in the top 10 of C-USA in made threes per game, with Nelson averaging 2.93 (3rd) and Danielsson splashing 1.93 (10th).

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 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 4.4 assists per contest midway through the year. The performance has catapulted the Spaniard in the assists per game rankings, landing her at 79th nationally. The JUCO transfer leads all of C-USA in assist-to-turnover ratio with 2.82, where she enters this weekend's play ranked 21st 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 74.9 points per game, which places the Panthers second in C-USA and 44th nationally.
  
Panthers Helping Panthers
The increase of scoring for FIU has brought an influx of assists, with the Panthers averaging 14.6 assists per game, which ranks second in C-USA and 89th 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.
 
Bombs Away On The Road
In FIU's thrilling 81-80 victory over Old Dominion on Jan. 2, the Panthers splashed 14 threes, which sits as the most for a game in program history. The previous mark was 13 against N.C. State on Nov. 13, 2009, and Jan. 5, 2018, against UTEP. Not to be outdone, the Panthers also matched this feat on Jan. 22 in the 75-60 victory over Marshall.
  
Roary Stays Swiping
The increased pressure on the defense has led to more steals for the Panthers. FIU currently ranks second in C-USA with 105 total steals.
 
Turning The Corner  
Another win at any point this season would give the Panthers eight victories which would tie for the most in a season since the 2013-14 campaign when the Panthers won 15.

Up Next
After the two-game series with the Roadrunners, FIU returns to sunny South Florida for a two-game home set with visiting UTEP on Feb. 12-13.  
   
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.