MIAMI, Fla. – The FIU women's basketball team returns home for two games this week hosting in-state rival Florida Atlantic University on Wednesday (Jan.11) at 5 p.m. inside the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
Wednesday, Jan.11 vs FAU (9-4, 2-2 C-USA)
The Panthers (8-5, 3-1 C-USA) will enter their contest against the Owls on a four-game winning streak including a win at Charlotte, last year's Conference USA champions. The win against the 49ers also marked the first time the program won at Charlotte and snapped an 11-game losing streak in the head-to-head matchup.
During the recent win streak, FIU's offense has improved within the last two weeks. The Panthers have jumped from fourth to second in C-USA averaging 76.62 points per game and they are fourth with 94 three pointers made while having the fifth best shooting percentage in the conference from behind the arc at 31.4%.
Senior guard
Kaliah Henderson is coming off a career high performance (25 points) against UAB on Jan. 7 and she has been the Panthers leading scorer the last three games, all off the bench. She has moved up as the Panthers leading scorer averaging 13.3 points per game which is the 12
th best scoring mark in the conference.
Redshirt freshman
Sifa Joyeuse and junior guard
Sariana Rodriguez Camacho have been leading the Panthers in scoring from three-point range. Joyeuse is second on the team averaging 12.4 points per game and is also fifth in the conference with 28 three pointers made.
Rodriguez Camacho was 3-5 from behind the arc in FIU's previous game against UAB and she has moved to eighth place in the conference with 23 three pointers made.
FIU continues to find success attacking the glass. As a team, they are first in the conference averaging 42.62 rebounds per game, and they also pace C-USA averaging 17.54 offensive boards each contest (228 total).
Senior center
Hope Butera has been one of the top rebounders in the conference sitting in 10
th place averaging 5.92 boards per game. FIU's success on the offensive glass can be link Butera's efforts as she leads the conference with 41 offensive rebounds averaging 3.23 per game.
Junior forward
Ajae Yoakum is fifth in the conference averaging 2.54 offensive boards a game while forward
Maria Torres is seventh with 2.46.
FIU's defense has excelled this season on initiating turnovers. The Panthers are first in the conference with 155 steals on the season averaging 11.92 steals per game and first in causing 21.54 turnovers per game for opposing teams.
FIU has three players in C-USA's top 10 in steals per game. Sophomore guard
Tanajah Hayes leads the conference with 2.67 steals per game and
Kaliah Henderson is right behind her in second place with 2.31. Joyeuse cracks the top 10 at sixth place recording 2.0 steals.
SCOUTING FAU
The Owls enter Wednesday's matchup fifth in the C-USA standings with a 9-4 record on the season, including a 2-2 mark in Conference USA. Their first conference win of the season came against FIU on Dec.13 when the Owls came away with a 70-60 victory at Boca Raton.
Since that win, FAU has won two of their next five games and are currently on a two-game skid dropping back-to-back conference matchups on the road against UAB and Charlotte.
The Owls are ninth in the conference in scoring averaging 63.92 points per game as a team on 39.1% shooting.
FAU's leading scorer is freshman guard Aniya Hubbard pacing the Owls with 13.5 points per game. Hubbard also leads the Owls in steals (1.8) and assists (2.4).
The Owls' strength is their defense limiting opponents to 60.08 points per game on 37% shooting from the field; both marks are top five in the conference. FAU's perimeter defense has also shined this season. They are first in the conference in surrendering only 4.61 three pointers per game and opponents are shooting only 25.9% from behind the arc.
Another freshman that has stepped up recently for the Owls is center Dyllan Hanna. She was announced CUSA Freshman of the Week for the week ending on Dec.11. The Saint Augustine, Florida native recorded a career-best 18 points against FNU while also pulling down six rebounds in the Owls' dominant 61-point win.
UP NEXT
The Panthers will play another game this week at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center as they host Western Kentucky University on Saturday, Jan. 14. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
TICKETS
For more information on FIU tickets to FIU basketball home games, including student ticketing, call 305-FIU-GAME or visit
HERE
SOCIAL MEDIA
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@FIUWBB), and Facebook (
@FIUWBasketball) for all the latest Women's Basketball news. General athletic news can also be found at
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