FRISCO, Texas (March 10, 2021) – Propelled by a 34-point game from Jiselle Thomas, the FIU women's basketball team raced past Southern Miss in its opening game at the Conference USA Championships, 85-75. FIU advances to the next round and will face top-seeded Rice on Thursday, March 11, with tipoff slated for Noon ET. 
 
Thomas was brilliant on Wednesday afternoon as the Norwalk, Ohio native posted a double-double with a career-high 34 points and 15 boards. The 34 points for Thomas are the 10th-most by a player in C-USA history at the tournament, dating back to 1996. Additionally, the 34 points are the most for an FIU player since Jerica Coley scored 42 points in 2014.

Joining Thomas in the stat sheet was Emerald Ekpiteta, who earned her team-leading ninth double-double of the year after she posted 20 points and 11 rebounds. Fujika Nimmo added 14 points of her own to round out the double-figure scorers for FIU on the day. 

FIU never trailed on Wednesday afternoon, leading for 38:50 of the contest. The Panther lead swelled to as much as 16 points in the second half, before USM cut the lead to three prior to a 9-2 run by FIU to close out the game.  
 
UP NEXT
The Panthers will face regular-season champion Rice on Thursday, March 11 at Noon ET. The game will be televised on Stadium.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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