Miami, Fla - FIU Women's Hoops will play their second home game in a row at the Oceanbank Convocation Center against Western Kentucky on Thursday, January 25th at 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, January 25th vs Western Kentucky
*since January 11th, 2018
FIU (13-5, 4-0 CUSA) comes into Thursday's contest off of a 70-59 win over Liberty, marking their seventh win in a row and fourth conference win in a row. The Panthers' 4-0 start to CUSA play is their best start to conference play in program history, and their 13-5 record is their best start to the season since the 2004-2005 campaign.
FIU saw themselves down early in the game, with their deficit stretching to six points with 3:36 left in the first quarter. The Panthers were able to gain momentum in the second quarter, going on a 21-8 run and grabbing the lead in the 10 minutes before the half. So far this season, whenever the Panthers have had a lead going into the half, they have been able to pull out a victory.
The Panthers kept their lead steady in the third quarter, scoring 14 points in the paint in the penultimate period alone, maintaining a seven-point advantage going into the fourth quarter. Liberty cut their lead down to five with 1:06 left to play, then proceeded to play hack-a-panther, hoping FIU would miss their free-throws. Sitting at 72.1%, FIU is second in the conference in free-throw percentage, going on to prove why they are so high, hitting 8-8 free-throws in the final one minute of the game and sealing a Panther win.
Three Panthers scored double-digits in the victory, with sophomore Mya Kone leading FIU with 14 points on the night. The Panthers' leading scorer also contributed nine rebounds, one block and three steals. Junior Tanajah Hayes came in clutch in the fourth quarter, hitting four free-throws at the end of the game to secure an FIU win. The free-throws also put her in double-digits, ending the contest with 13 points, complemented by four rebounds and one steal. Graduate student Kaliah Henderson is the final Panther to score in double-digits, putting up 10 points and nine rebounds to go along with three steals on the night.
FIU's bench shined once again in the win, ending the game with 35 points. The Panthers average 29.6 points per game off the bench, good for first in the conference and eighth in the nation. FIU disrupted the Flames defensively, forcing 22 turnovers, capitalizing with 19 points off the turnovers. The Panther's marquee rebounding, which is second in rebounds per game (40.8) dominated once again with 44 boards, including 18 offensive rebounds that followed up with 20 second chance points. The top team in rebound margin in the conference, the Panthers out-rebounded Liberty 44-34.
Scouting Western Kentucky
Western Kentucky women's basketball (13-7, 4-1 CUSA) is coming off a 66-65 win over UTEP Saturday, January 20th, their fourth win of conference play.
The Hilltoppers currently sit at third in the conference, one behind FIU. On average, they score 66.9 points per game, fifth in the conference, but are fourth in scoring defense, allowing only 61.8 points per game. Western Kentucky is last in the conference in rebounding margin, getting outrebounded with a -6.3 rebound margin. Despite their low rebounding rankings, the Hilltoppers play defense with quick hands, averaging 11.05 steals per game, the most in the conference.
Western Kentucky is led by the leading scorer in CUSA, Acacia Hayes, who is averaging 16.4 points per game so far this season. The Hilltoppers have two more players averaging double-digits in Destiny Salary and Alexis Mead, who are scoring 14.8 and 10.7 points per game respectively. Mead leads the team in steals (2/game) as well as assists (4/game) on top of her 10.7 points a game.
This will be FIU and Western Kentucky's first game of the year. In their last meeting, WKU defeated FIU 67-63 in Bowling Green, KY.
TICKETS
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SOCIAL MEDIA
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