MIAMI (Jan. 7, 2021) – The FIU women's basketball team opens Conference USA play at home this Saturday, Jan. 8, when the Panthers host WKU in an afternoon showdown.
 
Tipoff against the Hilltoppers is set for 12 p.m. ET from the Ocean Bank Convocation Center (OBCC).

FOLLOW LIVE
The contest will be streamed live on CUSA-TV. Live stats for the game can be found here. 

WKU MATCHUP PREVIEW
FIU enters the matchup against WKU boasting an 8-3 record, which marks the programs' best start to a season since the 2006-7 campaign. If the Panthers improve to 9-3 on Saturday, it would mark FIU's best start to a season through 12 games since the 2004-5 campaign.

The Panthers finished the non-conference portion of their schedule on a four-game winning streak after defeating Ave Maria in back-to-back home games. Against the Gyrenes, FIU secured its two largest margins of victory this season with a 25-point win (78-53) on Jan. 1, and a dominating 40-point blowout (93-53) of AMU on Jan. 3.

WKU is off to a 2-0 start in C-USA play and owns a 9-4 overall record. The Hilltoppers are coming off wins against Louisiana Tech (64-50) on Jan. 1, and Southern Miss (98-88) on Dec. 30. WKU is on a four-game winning streak of its own after defeating Fairleigh Dickinson and Miami (OH) to polish off the non-conference slate. A win over FIU would mark the Hilltoppers' ninth win in their last 10 games.

INSIDE THE SERIES
The Panthers are looking to win their second-straight game against the Hilltoppers dating back to last season, when FIU defeated WKU by a score of 82-79 (Feb. 27, 2021) at the OBCC to snap an eight-game losing skid to the Hilltoppers. FIU and WKU have met 42 times in the all-time series, with the Hilltoppers owning a 32-10 record.

SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
WKU is led by high-scoring senior guard Meral Abdelgawad, who ranks second in C-USA with 19.4 points per game this season, while her 252 total points rank 18th nationally.

Abdelgaward also leads WKU with 8.8 rebounds per game and ranks second overall in C-USA in total rebounds (115) and total steals (34).
 
As a team, the Hilltoppers lead C-USA in total assists (209) and rank second overall with 8.1 made 3-pointers per game. WKU also ranks second in C-USA in scoring average with 73.2 points per game.

FIU BY THE NUMBERS
FIU ranks third overall among all 14 Conference USA teams with 108 made 3-pointers, including 7.55 per contest.

Sharpshooting forward Kyla Nelson is leading C-USA in 3-point field goal percentage with a .368 clip and ranks second in the league with 2.55 made 3-pointers per game.

The FIU defense has allowed a stingy 57.36 points per game this season, which ranks fourth-best in the league. The Panthers also rank third in C-USA with 10.64 steals per game.

FIU has had success keeping opponents off the boards this season as the Panthers have given up only 34.91 rebounds per game, which ranks second-best in C-USA.

Fifth-year transfer Ariel Colon leads FIU in scoring (12.9 ppg) while shooting an efficient .454 percent from the field. Colon ranks second on the squad with 18 made 3-pointers on a .353 percent clip. Among all C-USA players, Colon ranks 15th in both scoring average and 3-pointers made per-game (1.64).

FIU has three players in Nelson, Colon, and Raquel Ferrer-Bernad (.474) that are shooting 35 percent-or-better from beyond the arc while having attempted at least 19 treys this year.

Forward Emerald Ekpiteta leads FIU with 7.7 rebounds per game, while Colon ranks second with 4.4.

Graduate students Nelson and Ekpiteta rank second and third on FIU in scoring with 12.2 ppg and 9.6 ppg, respectively.

Freshman guard Tanajah Hayes is having a nice two-way impact for FIU this season as the Panther leads the squad with 29 total assists and 28 steals while shooting an impressive 48 percent on field-goal attempts. 

Hayes ranks fourth overall in C-USA with 2.55 steals per contest.

Sophomore Maria Torres leads FIU with one block per game in 11 games played.
 
LAST TIME OUT 
FIU splashed 11 three-pointers in its last contest against Ave Maria, marking the sixth time this season that the Panthers have made at least nine treys in a game.
 
Nelson led the way for FIU with a season-high 26 points while knocking down six treys in the game. The fifth-year forward shot a scorching 67 percent from beyond the arc while firing 77 percent from the field.

Ekpiteta scored 17 points of her own, marking the Panthers' second-highest output of the season. Ekpiteta also grabbed eight rebounds in the game.

The Panthers rode a hot second half in which they outscored the Gyrenes 60-29 to help FIU secure its largest margin of victory this season.

The FIU defense held AMU to an icy cold 16 percent shooting in the fourth quarter, allowing only nine points from the Gyrenes in the period. The Panthers also recorded a season-high six blocks in the game while nabbing 17 steals.

Torres logged a season-high 12 points in the contest while posting two blocks and two steals on the defensive end. 

Hayes led the game with nine rebounds and five steals, while also contributing four assists and three points on the offensive end.

UP NEXT
FIU returns to the OBCC next week on Thursday, Jan. 13, when the Panthers welcome UAB for another C-USA showdown. Game time against the Blazers 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.