Las Cruces, N.M. - FIU Women's Hoops will travel to Las Cruces to take on New Mexico State in their second conference game of the year on Thursday, January 11th at 8 p.m. ET.
Thursday, January 11th vs Jacksonville State
FIU (10-5, 1-0 CUSA) is coming off a dominant 75-50 win over Jacksonville State in the Panthers' first game of conference play.Â
Defense was the name of the game from start to finish, with the Panthers converting 11 points off turnovers in the first frame alone, and 36 in the game. Junior Tanajah Hayes swiped one steal in the opening 10, and four in the contest, her second highest steal total of the season. The guard finished with nine points, a team and season high seven assists, and two rebounds. The Panthers finished the first quarter up 20-10. FIU did not score less than 18 points in a quarter the entire game.
The Panthers never let Jacksonville gain steam. They were highlighted by stellar offense from multiple key players, with Ajae Yoakum taking over a lot of the heavy lifting with 12 first half points on 4-6 shooting. The senior forward ended the afternoon with seven rebounds, one steal and 19 points, tying her second highest point total of the season, with her 30-point masterclass against Alabama A&M being her most of the season.
Mya Kone took over throughout the game, dropping a season and career high of 28 points in 28 minutes played in the win. She surpasses her previous career and season high of 22 points which she put up against Bryant earlier this season. The sophomore did the majority of her work in the first half, scorching 20 points before halftime. The 6'2 guard retakes control of scoring leader on the Panther at 12 points per game.
FIU beat the Gamecocks in every major statistical category in the win, including defensive rebounds per game (31-23) and bench points per game (45-32), both of which Jacksonville State led the conference in prior to the start of their contest with the Panthers.
Scouting New Mexico State
New Mexico State (6-8, 0-1 CUSA) is coming off a loss in their first game of conference play to University of Texas El Paso, 81-72.Â
The Aggies currently sit at sixth in the conference USA standings after 14 games of play. Similarly, they sit at sixth in the conference in scoring offense, at 63.5 points per game. Subsequently, NM State will look to stymie FIU's conference leading scoring offense (71.8) with their 58.8 points allowed, which places second in the conference only behind MTSU. New Mexico State shoots the ball at a high clip, sitting at second in the conference in field goal percentage at 41.8%, and first in CUSA in three-point percentage at 35%.
The Aggies are led by Senior Molly Kaiser, who at 15.3 points per game is first on her team and fourth in the conference. The guard is also second in the conference in free-throw percentage at 87.5%, and shoots the three ball at a 48.5% clip. Junior Sabou Gueye is a force on defense, leading CUSA in steals per game with 2.2. The guard adds on eight points and 4.7 rebounds per game in her 13 games played.
This will be the first meeting between NM State and FIU since 2005, when FIU won 48-45.
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