Miami, Fla. – The FIU women's basketball team is back on the road for two conference games this week and will start its road trip Thursday evening (Jan. 26) against Western Kentucky University at E.A. Diddle Arena for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.
 
Thursday, Jan.26 at WKU (9-9, 6-3 C-USA)

• Time / Site: 7:30 p.m. at E.A. Diddle Arena
• TV: ESPN+
• Live Stats
• Series History: WKU leads 6-1

The Panthers (10-8, 5-4 C-USA) will enter their contest against the Lady Toppers on a two-game win streak after defeating UTSA in their most recent game, 51-48. Both conference wins came at home, and it has propelled FIU to fourth place in the Conference USA standings with an 8-5 home record.
 
FIU's offense is fourth in C-USA averaging 72.78 points per game and fourth in the league with 117 three pointers made averaging 6.50 per game.
 
Last week the Panthers played in three games and redshirt freshman Sifa Joyeuse went 7-20 from behind the arc during that span. Against UTEP on Jan. 19, Joyeuse shot 4-7 from three-point range and recorded 14 points.
 
Joyeuse is second on the Panthers averaging 11.8 points per game, the 16^th best scoring mark in the conference, and is fourth in the conference with 39 threes this season.

The Panthers' leading scorer is senior guard Kaliah Henderson averaging 13.4 points per game and has cracked the top 10 in conference scoring sitting in ninth place. In FIU's previous game against UTSA, Henderson led the Panthers off the bench with 15 points and scored seven of the 15 in the fourth quarter.  On the defensive end, Henderson is fifth in the conference with 35 steals averaging 1.94 per game.

The Panthers enter tomorrow's game against WKU leading the conference in rebounds averaging 41.72 per game, and they are also first in C-USA averaging 16.61 offensive boards each contest (299 total). FIU corralled 19 offensive rebounds in their last game against the Roadrunners that led to 10 second chance points.

Senior center Hope Butera is FIU's leading rebounder averaging 6.1 per game, (8^th in C-USA). Butera continues to find success on the offensive glass and is second in the conference averaging 3.00 offensive rebounds per game and first with 54 total.

Defensively, the Panthers are second in the conference with 190 steals this season averaging 10.56 per game and second in causing 20.44 turnovers per game for opposing teams.
 
Sophomore guard Tanajah Hayes followed up her 21 point, 9 assists performance against UTEP with 12 points, five rebounds and led the team in assists (4) and steals (5) against UTSA. Hayes continues to lead the conference in steals averaging 2.82 steals per game, and she also leads FIU averaging 3.94 assists per game (4^th in C-USA).
  
SCOUTING WKU
The Lady Toppers enter Thursday's matchup third in the C-USA standings with a 9-9 record on the season, including a 6-3 mark in C-USA action. WKU dropped their most recent game losing to Charlotte, 72-65, snapping a five-game win streak.
 
WKU is fifth in the conference in scoring averaging 68.44 points per game as a team on 38.3% shooting. The Lady Toppers have a slight lead over FIU in steals per game and are first in the conference averaging 12.17.
 
The Lady Toppers like to shoot the ball from three-point range pacing the conference with 504 attempts making 144 of them (2^nd in C-USA). The high volume of three-point attempts has led WKU to make an average of 8.00 per game but are ninth in the conference shooting 29%.
 
WKU's leading scorer is freshman guard Acacia Hayes pacing the Lady Toppers with 10.5 points per game. Sophomore forward Jaylin Foster is second on the team averaging 9.9 points and leads the Lady Toppers in rebounds (6.0) and steals (2.3) per game.  

UP NEXT
The Panthers next stop in the road trip will be in Murfreesboro to play Middle Tennessee State University on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 2:00 p.m. 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
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Instagram (@fiuwbb), Twitter (@FIUWBB), and Facebook (@FIUWBasketball) for all the latest Women's Basketball news. General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.