MIAMI (March 2, 2021) – The FIU women's basketball team is set to host the Florida Memorial Lions for a final tune-up before heading to the Conference USA Basketball Championships for the first time since 2016.
  
The final home game of the regular season is slated for a 7 p.m. tip-off and can be streamed on CUSA.tv.
   
Click here for full game notes.
  
Series History
The Panthers have dominated the series with the Lions, going a perfect 12-0 against Florida Memorial, including a 96-57 victory this past December. The contest was the first meeting between the two squads since 1987.

Panther Sharpshooters 
Led by Kyla Nelson and Alma Danielsson, FIU's offense has been firing on all cylinders from behind the arc this season. The Panthers rank second in all of C-USA with 8.4 made threes per game, which is good enough to rank 36th nationally.
 
Nelson and Danielsson both rank in the top 10 of C-USA in made threes per game, with Nelson averaging 3.85 (3rd) and Danielsson splashing 2.05 (9th).
 
Ekpiteta Grabbing Boards 
Emerald Ekpiteta has made her presence known in 2020-21 since coming to FIU this past offseason. The grad transfer from Niagara ranks third in C-USA on the glass, averaging 9.7 rebounds per contest, which ranks 47th nationally.

The Emergence of RFB 
Panther point guard Raquel Ferrer-Bernad is averaging 3.7 assists per contest this year. The JUCO transfer leads all of C-USA in assist-to-turnover ratio with 2.31, while she enters this weekend's play ranked 40th 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 73.0 points per game, which places the Panthers third in C-USA and 60th nationally.

Roary Stays Swiping
The increased pressure on defense this season has led to more steals for the Panthers. FIU currently ranks first in C-USA with 181 total steals.

Burks-Wiley COY???  
In her first year at the helm for FIU, head coach Jesyka Burks-Wiley has already set a standard for years to come with the most wins in a season since the 2013-14 campaign and the most wins ever in C-USA play.
 
Burks-Wiley is also making waves nationally, as she owns the fifth most-wins of any first-year coach in the country.
 
Most Wins By 1st-Year Head Coaches
1. Kyra Elzy, Kentucky - 16
2. Lindy La Rocque, UNLV - 15
3. Shereka Wright, UT-Arlington - 13
4. Mike Petrino, Montana - 12
5. Jesyka Burks-Wiley, FIU - 11
     
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.