Miami, Fla - FIU Women's Hoops looks to continue their hot streak into conference play against Jacksonville State on Saturday, January 6th at 1 p.m. at the Oceanbank Convocation Center.
Saturday, January 6th vs Jacksonville State
*Since 2006
FIU (9-5) is coming off a 68-62 win over Utah Tech in their last game of non-conference play before the Panthers started their CUSA schedule.Â
FIU started the game on a 9-0 run over the first 2:30 of the game. Graduate student Kaliah Henderson had the hot hand in the first quarter, scoring six points and swiping a steal in the first 10 minutes to help the Panthers to a 21-14 lead at the end of the first. The guard finished the game with 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Utah Tech had the hot hand in the second and third quarters, battling back and going 52.9% from the field and 60% from three in the third, taking a two-point lead going into the final frame.Â
The Panthers mounted a late comeback thanks in part to the efforts of Senior Maria Torres's second half heroics and Mya Kone's clutch shooting. Down five with 5:20 left to play, sophomore Mya Kone hit a big three to cut the Trailblazers' lead to only two with 5:05 left to play, followed by a Tanajah Hayes layup with 3:53 left to tie the game up. From there, Maria Torres hit two contested layups to put the Panthers on top for good and secure the Panthers' sixth win in their last seven games.Â
Mya Kone had an efficient day from the field, going 8-13 and finishing with 19 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and a steal to round off an impressive performance for the 6'2 guard. Forward Maria Torres had a career scoring day, putting up a career high 15 points on 7-8 shooting. One of the best shot blockers in the conference, Torres was a force on the defensive end as well, finishing the contest with three blocks and two steal to finish off the last game of 2023 for the Panthers.
Scouting Jacksonville State
Jacksonville State will kick off conference play coming off a 55-41 win over South Carolina State on December 29th.
At 5-7, the Gamecocks are currently tied with Sam Houston for fifth in conference USA. Jax State is not a fan of playing on the road, with a 1-6 away record as opposed to a 4-1 record at home. With 64.1 points a game, Jacksonville State is sixth in the conference in scoring, however they put up the second most three-pointers a game in the conference, averaging 7.6 through 12 games this season. They are third in CUSA in rebounds a game with 39, and tied for first with FIU in defensive rebounds a game with 26.9.
A well-rounded team, the Gamecocks leading scorer is junior guard Krystol Ayson, who is averaging 8.8 points a game on the season. Fellow junior Bre'Anna Rhodes is right behind her with 8.3 points per game on the season. The forward is tied with senior forward Keiara Griffin for most rebounds per game on the team with five.Â
This will be the first meeting between FIU and Jacksonville State since 2011, when FIU took down Jax State by score of 79-52.
TICKETS
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