MIAMI (Jan. 14, 2021) – The FIU women's basketball team is back at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center (OBCC) this Saturday, Jan. 15, for an afternoon contest against Middle Tennessee.
 
Game time is set for Noon ET against the Blue Raiders.

FOLLOW LIVE
The contest will be streamed live on ESPN+. Live stats for the game can be found here. 

MT MATCHUP PREVIEW
The Panthers own an 8-5 record on the season and are looking to earn their first win in C-USA play this season. FIU was edged by UAB last night, Jan. 13, by a margin of 56-65 at the OBCC. The Blue & Gold is aiming to improve its home record to 7-4 in the current campaign with a win over the Blue Raiders

MT has posted a 12-3 overall record (4-1 C-USA) and is coming off a win over FAU (60-56) on the road in Boca Raton on Jan. 13. The Blue Raiders are riding a three-game winning streak, after knocking off C-USA foes North Texas (80-52) and Rice (87-63) in the two games prior. MT has fared well on the road this year, owning a 5-2 record in away contests.

INSIDE THE SERIES
FIU is looking to snap a 15-game losing skid to MT, with the Blue Raiders leading the all-time series by a margin of 32-9.

SCOUTING THE BLUE RAIDERS
MT is led offensively by guard Dor Saar, who averages 13.3 points per game and leads the squad with 47 total assists. Saar also ranks 19th in the country in 3-point field goals made (40).

Junior forward Courtney Whitson leads the Blue Raiders on the boards with 7.1 rebounds per game.

On the defensive end, Alexis Whittington has nabbed a total of 36 steals on the season and is tied for 38th nationally in the category. Forward Kseniya Malashka and center Anastasiia Boldyreva have provided rim protection for MT with 18 total blocks apiece.
 
As a team, MT is fifth nationally in 3-point field goals per game (10.1) and tied for eighth in 3-point field goals made (142). Defensively, the Blue Raiders rank ninth in the nation in opponent 3-point percentage (23.9) while holding foes to 55.1 points per game (28th nationally).

FIU BY THE NUMBERS
Emerald Ekpiteta is approaching the thousand career-point mark, as the Panther currently sits with 947 total points over her five NCAA seasons.

FIU ranks third overall among all 14 Conference USA teams with 93 made 3-pointers, including 7.15 per contest.

Sharpshooting forward Kyla Nelson is leading C-USA in 3-point field goal percentage with a .370 clip and ranks second in the league with 2.62 made 3-pointers per game.

FIU's defense has allowed a stingy 58.38 points per game this season, which ranks fourth-best in the league.

The Panthers also rank third in C-USA with 10.69 steals per game.

The Blue & Gold rank second overall in the league in rebounding defense, giving up only 34.69 rebounds per game.

Nelson leads FIU in scoring with 12.9 points per game, while fifth-year transfer Ariel Colon ranks second on the squad 12.7. Among all C-USA players, Nelson ranks 18th in scoring average while Colon ranks 19th.

Forward Ekpiteta leads FIU with 7.3 rebounds per game, while also contributing a solid 8.7 points per game.

Freshman guard Tanajah Hayes is providing a two-way impact for FIU this season as the Panther leads the squad with 37 total assists and 32 steals.

Hayes ranks fourth overall in C-USA with 2.46 steals per contest.

Sophomore Maria Torres leads FIU with 1.15 blocks per game and is tied for ninth in C-USA in the category.

UP NEXT
FIU hits the road to begin the upcoming week, as the Panthers travel to face Charlotte on Monday, Jan. 17. Game time against the 49ers is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.

TICKETS
For tickets to all upcoming women's basketball home games, click here.

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.