Miami, Fla - FIU Women's Hoops looks to come off Holiday break with a win against the Utah Tech Trailblazers on Saturday, December 30th at 1 p.m. at the Oceanbank Convocation Center.
Saturday, December 30th vs Utah Tech
*Since 2006
FIU (8-5) is coming off a 73-55 win over Chicago State in their last game of the MTE Christmas Classic hosted at the Oceanbank Convocation Center.Â
FIU started fast, going up early thanks to a 7-0 run over the first 1:54 of the game. Six Panthers scored in the first 10 minutes en route to a 24-9 lead after the first quarter. The bench was a factor early for FIU, with Aileen Marquez leading the charge with 11 points off the bench, including five points in the first quarter. The junior ended the game shooting 4-8 from the field, including 2-5 from three, helping the Panthers beat Chicago State in points off the bench 30-24.Â
Chicago State cut the lead to single digits going into the half thanks to hot shooting, going on an 8-2 run coming into the quarter and shooting 4-5 during that span.
Sophomore Angena Belloso led the Panthers out of the half, scoring 5 points in the first 30 seconds of the second half and ending the quarter with 11 points on 4-5 shooting. The guard ended the game with a team high 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Belloso led the Panthers to an 19 point lead at the end of the third. Tight defense closed out the win for the Panthers, highlighted by two blocks and steals down the stretch and holding the Cougars to only 14 points in the quarter.
Graduate Student Courtney Prenger put up double digits in the contest as well, ending the night with 13 points as well as seven rebounds. Prenger was an all-tournament selection for the Christmas Classic, averaging 13.3 points on 52.3% shooting and 4.3 rebounds in the three-day event. Prenger also shot well from the free-throw line in the three games, going 13-16 for 81.3% to finish off a great stretch for the Ohio native.Â
Scouting Utah Tech
Utah Tech (7-5, 1-1 WAC) will play their first game since December 20th where they took an 87-61 loss to Oklahoma State in the 2023 Trailblazer Classic.
The Trailblazers currently sit at fourth in the conference,Â
They are led by fifth year guard Breaunna Gillen, who currently sits at fifth in the conference in scoring, averaging 16.36 points a game. The 5'9 guard also leads the team in rebounds per game with 6.8 and assists per game with 5.4. Redshirt sophomore Maddie Warren, is a proven sharpshooter, averaging 16.33 points per game, good for 6th in the WAC. Her twin sister, Macie Warren, is 8th in the WAC in scoring with 14.83 points per game.
This will be the first meeting between FIU and Utah Tech.
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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