MIAMI (Jan. 19, 2021) – FIU women's hoops hits the road for a two-game road stint this week beginning with a contest against Marshall on Thursday (Jan. 20), before the Panthers see WKU on Saturday (Jan. 22).

Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. ET against the Thundering Herd and 1 p.m. ET against the Hilltoppers.

FOLLOW LIVE
Both contests will be streamed live via ESPN+. Click here to watch the contest against Marshall and here to watch WKU.

Live stats can be found here for Marshall's contest and here for Saturday's matchup against WKU.

PANTHERS MAKE STATEMENT 
FIU is fresh off its biggest victory of the season after defeating defending Conference USA champion Middle Tennessee (56-54) on Jan. 15 in overtime at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center. The win marked a turning of the tide for the FIU women's basketball program, as the Panthers defeated the Blue Raiders for the first time since the 2012-13 campaign while snapping a 15-game losing skid to MT. 

FIU now owns a 9-5 record on the season (1-2 Conference USA) as the Panthers look to continue the momentum in C-USA play on the upcoming road trip. The Panthers have played 11 of their 14 games at home this season and are looking to improve their away record to 3-1 with a win at Marshall.

MARSHALL PREVIEW
The Thundering Herd have posted a 9-5 record in the 2021-22 campaign including a 4-1 record in C-USA. Marshall is coming off a 66-53 win over Rice on Saturday, Jan. 15. The Thundering Herd have lost only once this season in their home arena and are looking to improve to 6-1 at the Cam Henderson Center.

WKU PREVIEW
C-USA's first-place Hilltoppers own a 12-4 record on the season (5-0 C-USA) and are currently riding a seven-game winning streak, while also taking 11 of their last 12 matchups. Two of WKU's four losses have come on its home floor, where the Lady Toppers will be playing for the first time since Jan. 1. WKU defeated North Texas (61-54) in its recent contest last Saturday, Jan. 15.

INSIDE THE SERIES
The Panthers and Thundering Herd have met 15 times in program history, with Marshall leading the series by a margin of 10-5. FIU and Marshall split their two meetings last season, with FIU winning the first contest (75-60) on Jan. 22, 2021, before dropping the next day's contest (56-65).

FIU and WKU have met 42 times in the all-time series, with the Hilltoppers owning a 32-10 record. The Panthers were edged by WKU (63-51) earlier this season in a tight contest at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center on Saturday, Jan. 8.

SCOUTING THE THUNDERING HERD
Marshall features C-USA's second-highest scorer, sophomore guard Savannah Wheeler, who puts up 19.93 points per game. Wheeler also ranks sixth in C-USA with 1.93 made 3-pointers per game and ninth in the league in field goal percentage (.419).

Senior guard Aaliyah Dunham ranks first in C-USA in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.73) and fourth overall with 4.29 assist per game.

As a team, Marshall ranks fourth in C-USA in scoring offense with 69.93 points per game and fifth in scoring defense (58.07).

SCOUTING THE LADY TOPPERS
WKU is led offensively by senior Meral Abdelgawad, who recently earned the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year mid-season watch list on Wednesday (Jan. 19). Abdelgawad paces all of C-USA with 20.3 points per game.

As a team, the Lady Toppers rank 15th in the nation with 22.31 forced turnovers per game and 18th nationally with 12 steals per contest. WKU holds opponents to a lowly 24.9 shooting percentage from beyond the arc, which ranks 20th nationally.

WKU also leads C-USA with 72.1 points per game and ranks second overall with 8.1 made 3-pointers per game.

FIU BY THE NUMBERS
Emerald Ekpiteta is fast approaching the thousand career-point mark, as the fifth year forward currently sits at 955 total points.

Sharpshooting forward Kyla Nelson is leading C-USA in 3-point field goal percentage with a .378 clip and ranks second in the league with 2.64 made 3-pointers per game. Nationally, Nelson ranks 37th in 3-pointers per game and 81st in deep-ball percentage.

Nelson leads FIU in scoring with 13.21 points per game and ranks 14th in scoring average among all C-USA players.

As a team, FIU ranks third overall in C-USA with 97 made 3-pointers, including 6.93 per contest.

Freshman guard Tanajah Hayes ranks sixth in the country among NCAA Division I freshmen with 2.64 steals per game. Hayes also leads all C-USA freshmen in the category and ranks third overall in the league.

Collectively, the Panthers rank third in C-USA with 10.50 steals per game and sit at fifth overall in the conference with a +3.36 turnover margin.

FIU's defense has allowed a stingy 58.07 points per game this season, which ranks fourth-best in C-USA.

The Blue & Gold rank second overall in the league in rebounding defense, giving up only 34.57 rebounds per game.

Hayes is proving to be a two-way player in her first collegiate season, as the freshman leads FIU with 41 total assists on the season.

Sophomore Maria Torres leads FIU with 1.14 blocks per game and is tied for 11th in C-USA in the category.

Ekpiteta leads FIU with 6.71 rebounds per game and ranks 14th in C-USA in the category, while also ranking 11th in the league with 2.71 offensive boards per contest.

UP NEXT
The Panthers return to the Ocean Bank Convocation Center next Thursday, Jan. 27, for a battle against UTSA. Game time against the Roadrunners is slated for 7 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.