Miami, Fla. – The FIU women's basketball team wraps up their two-game road trip this weekend as they take on the top team in the conference, No.23 Middle Tennessee State University, Saturday afternoon (Jan. 28) at the Murphy Center for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off.
 
Saturday, Jan.28 at MTSU (17-2, 10-0 C-USA)

• Time / Site: 2:00 p.m. at Murphy Center
• TV: ESPN+
• Live Stats
• Series History: MTSU leads 29-10

The Panthers (10-9, 5-5 C-USA) enter Saturday's contest against the Lady Raiders winners of two of their last three games after falling to WKU in their previous game, 67-63. FIU is now in fifth place in the Conference USA standings with a 2-4 record on the road.
 
FIU's offense is fourth in C-USA averaging 71.79 points per game and fourth in the league with 118 three pointers made averaging 6.21 per game.
 
In FIU's last game against WKU, senior guard Kaliah Henderson recorded her fifth straight double-digit game and led the Panthers with 20 points off the bench.
 
Henderson is FIU's leading scorer averaging 13.8 points per game, the eighth best scoring mark in Conference USA. On the defensive end, Henderson is fifth in the conference with 37 steals averaging 1.95 per game. Redshirt freshman Sifa Joyeuse is second on the Panthers averaging 11.2 points per game (18^th in C-USA), and is fourth in the conference with 39 threes made this season.
 
The Panthers enter tomorrow's game against MTSU leading the conference in rebounds averaging 41.42 per game, and they are also first in C-USA averaging 16.32 offensive boards each contest (310 total). FIU corralled 11 offensive rebounds in their last game against the Lady Toppers that led to 10 second chance points.

Senior center Hope Butera is coming off her second highest scoring total of the season tallying 14 points on a perfect 7-7 shooting from the field and chipped in five rebounds. Butera is FIU's leading rebounder averaging 6.0 per game, (9^th in C-USA). Butera continues to find success on the offensive glass and is second in the conference averaging 2.89 offensive rebounds per game and second in the league with 55 total.

Defensively, the Panthers are second in the conference with 198 steals this season averaging 10.42 per game and second in causing 20.21 turnovers per game for opposing teams. Sophomore guard Tanajah Hayes leads the conference in steals averaging 2.72 steals per game, and also leads FIU averaging 4.0 assists per game (4^th in C-USA).
  
SCOUTING MTSU
The Lady Raiders enter Saturday's matchup first in the C-USA standings with a 17-2 record record on the season, including an undefeated 10-0 mark in C-USA action. MTSU looks to extend their impressive 15 game win streak after defeating FAU in their previous game, 63-48.
 
MTSU leads the conference in scoring averaging 74.53 points per game as a team on 42.8% shooting (3^rd in C-USA). The Lady Raiders also possess the top defense in the conference limiting opponents to just 55.1 points per game on 35.3% shooting from the field and pace the conference with 4.42 blocks each game.
 
MTSU's high scoring offense can be linked to their success from behind the arc. The Blue Raiders are third in the conference with 145 threes made on 32.2% shooting (3^rd in C-USA). MTSU has also recorded the most free throws made this season (333) and are first in the conference shooting 79.3% from the charity stripe.
 
MTSU has three players averaging double digit points and two of them are top five in the conference in points per game. Leading the trio and fourth in C-USA is redshirt senior Kseniya Malashka averaging 16.7. She is also second on the team averaging 5.6 rebounds per game and second in the conference shooting 47.6 percent from the field.
 
Not too far behind Malashka is junior guard Savannah Wheeler with 16.1 points (5^th in C-USA) and leads the conference in free throw percentage (91%). Wheeler also runs the offense for MTSU leading the team with 3.5 assists per game.
 
Rounding out the trio is Jalynn Gregory averaging 12.7 points per game. The sharpshooter leads the conference with 50 three pointers made and is also first in C-USA shooting 33% from long distance.

UP NEXT
Next week, the Panthers return home to the Ocean Bank Convocation Center for two games starting off against last year's C-USA champion Charlotte on Thursday, Feb. 2 at 11:00 a.m. The Panthers will then host UAB on Saturday, Feb. 4 for a 2:00 p.m. tipoff. Both games 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.