MIAMI (Jan. 26, 2022) – The FIU women's basketball team is set for a two-game homestand this week, beginning with a contest against UTSA on Thursday (Jan. 27), before the Panthers host UTEP on Saturday (Jan. 29).

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET against the Roadrunners and Noon ET against the Miners.

FOLLOW LIVE
Both contests will be streamed live on CUSA-TV. Click here to watch the contest against UTSA and here to watch UTEP.

Live stats for both contests be found here.

PANTHERS AT HOME
FIU owns a solid 7-4 mark at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center after defeating defending C-USA champion Middle Tennessee in double overtime (56-54) on Jan. 15. The Panthers aim to bounce back after a tough road trip last week against C-USA leaders Marshall (59-62) and WKU (66-87). FIU is looking for its tenth win of the season against UTSA on Thursday.

UTSA PREVIEW
The Roadrunners enter the contest against FIU with a 4-15 overall record (1-6 C-USA). UTSA has lost six-straight games in C-USA play and is looking for its first win since Jan. 1, against UAB (68-60).

UTEP PREVIEW
The Miners sport an impressive 12-5 record this season (4-3 C-USA) and are currently riding a two-game winning streak, while also winning three of its last four games in league play. Last week, UTEP swept UTSA in back-to-back games on Jan. 20 (69-52) and Jan. 23 (71-59). The Miners own a 3-2 mark on the road.

INSIDE THE SERIES
FIU holds an 8-7 all-time advantage against UTSA, with the Panthers winning four of the last five contests against the Roadrunners. The Panthers swept the season series against UTSA last year in head coach Jesyka Burks-Wiley's first run with FIU.

FIU and UTEP have met 13 times with 12 of those occurring since 2014. The Miners lead the all-time series by a margin of 11-2 and have won seven straight over the Panthers.

SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS
LaPraisjah Johnson leads UTSA in scoring with 9.7 points per game. Queen Ulabo paces the Roadrunners with six rebounds per game.

On the defensive end, Jayden Pimentel leads C-USA with 2.78 steals per game.

As a team, the Roadrunners are last in the league with 53.94 points per game. UTSA also ranks second to last in scoring defense (66.78).

SCOUTING THE MINERS
The Miners are led offensively by junior guard Thurman Destiny, who averages 12.9 points per game. Destiny also leads the team with 27 made threes on an efficient 35 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

The Miners rank third in C-USA in scoring offense with 69.18 points per game.

FIU BY THE NUMBERS
Emerald Ekpiteta is approaching the thousand career-point mark, as the fifth-year forward currently sits at 965 total points.

Sharpshooting forward Kyla Nelson is leading C-USA in 3-point field goal percentage with a .369 clip and ranks second in the league with 2.56 made 3-pointers per game. Nationally, Nelson ranks 40th in 3-pointers per game and 86st in deep-ball percentage.

Nelson leads FIU in scoring with 13.6 points per game and ranks 10th in scoring average among all C-USA players.

As a team, FIU ranks third overall in C-USA with 114 made 3-pointers, including 7.13 per contest.

Freshman guard Tanajah Hayes ranks seventh in the country among NCAA Division I freshmen with 2.50 steals per game. Hayes also leads all C-USA freshmen in the category while ranking third overall in the league and 45th overall in the country.

Hayes is proving to be a two-way player in her first collegiate season, as the freshman leads FIU with 46 total assists on the season.

Collectively, the Panthers rank third in C-USA with 10.38 steals per game and sit at fifth overall in the conference with a +2.94 turnover margin.

Sophomore Maria Torres leads FIU with 1.31 blocks per game and is tied for seventh in C-USA in the category. Torres is averaging two blocks per game in league play, which ranks second overall.

Ekpiteta leads FIU with 6.9 rebounds per game and ranks 14th in C-USA in the category, while also ranking 8th in the league with 2.94 offensive boards per contest.

The Blue & Gold rank second overall in the league in rebounding defense, giving up only 35 rebounds per game.

UP NEXT
FIU hits the road the following week for a three-game road trip, beginning with Southern Miss on Thursday, Feb. 3. Game time against the Golden Eagles is set 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.