FRISCO, Texas (March 8, 2022) – The FIU women's basketball team pulled out a big comeback win over FAU in the first round of the Conference USA tournament on Tuesday night, as the Panthers downed the Owls by a score of 68-60 at the Ford Center.
With the win, the Panthers moved on to the second round and will play No. 3 seed Southern Miss on Wednesday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET.
Kyla Nelson tallied 23 points on the night and was the C-USA Player of the Game. Nelson shot a hot 50 percent from the floor on 16 attempts, including 4 splashes from behind the arc.
Three Panthers scored in double-digits, with Tanajah Hayes (14) and Grace Hunter (10) also contributing to FIU's offensive output.
After trailing 38-29 at the half, the Panthers played their best ball in the second half and utilized an excellent fourth quarter to pull out the comeback win.
In the third quarter, the Panthers grabbed a whopping nine offensive rebounds and logged eight second chance points to propel the Panther comeback. FIU went on a 10-0 run in the third period to cut the deficit to 41-43 at the 5:29 mark.
After FAU extended its lead back to six points, the Panthers finished the third quarter on a 6-0 run, including a big trey from Raquel Ferrer-Bernad in the waning moments of the period that cut FIU's deficit to only one point (48-49).
Hayes scored seven points in the third period to lead all Panthers.
FIU went on to outscore FAU by a margin of 20-11 in the fourth quarter while going on a 16-3 run to open the period. Nelson scored 11 of her points in the final frame and splashed two clutch threes as the Panthers came roaring back to down the Owls for a third consecutive game and stay alive in the league tournament.
The Blue & Gold defense held FAU to only 38 percent shooting in the contest while forcing 15 Owl turnovers.
As a team, the Panthers logged 34 points in the paint to the Owls' 24.
LOOKING AHEAD
FIU is set to play Southern Miss on Wednesday, Mar. 9, at 3 p.m. ET in the second round of the C-USA Tournament. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
The Panthers are looking for revenge after falling in the final seconds earlier this season to Southern Miss on the road by a score of 65-64. FIU saw Southern Miss in last year's C-USA Tournament, with the Panthers knocking out the Lady Eagles by a score of 85-75 in the opening round.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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