MIAMI - FIU Women's Basketball to host the FIU Thanksgiving Classic, welcoming Wagner, Sacramento State and Abilene Christian to the Ocean Bank Convocation Center for a two-round tournament, with the first round games being played on Friday November 29 at 12 and 2 p.m., and the consolation and championship games to be played at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Sunday December 1. FIU will play at 12 p.m. on Friday, November 29, and at 1 p.m. on Sunday, December 1.
Friday, November 29th vs Wagner
Sunday, December 1 vs winner/loser of Sacramento State vs Abilene Christian
FIU is coming off their fourth loss in a row to open up the season, recently coming against rival Florida Atlantic last Saturday.
FAU would start the match hot, going on an 8-0 run to start the game. The Panthers would claw their way back, ending the first quarter down five, 16-11.
The Owls extended their lead in the second quarter, going up 31-21 going into the half.
Out of the break, FIU continued to search for their offensive groove, with FAU again extending their lead going into the final quarter, 48-28.
In the fourth, FIU showed a lot of fight. Down 20 with five minutes left in the match, the Panthers started their comeback, going on an 11-0 run from the 4:56 mark to the 2:10 mark in the fourth, cutting the Owls' lead to single-digits. Senior Lucia Fleta Robles and junior Parris Atkins had five and four points in the run respectively, with senior Bineta Diatta addings two for herself.Â
The comeback would fall short, with the Owls winning 62-52.
Parris Atkins led the Panthers with 17 points in the afternoon, leading them in assists with three, and in steals with four as well.
SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS
Wagner is currently 1-4 on the season, averaging 55.2 points per game and allowing 68.6 thus far on the campaign. A good team on the perimeter, the Seahawks are shooting the three-ball at a 33.7% clip and holding opposing teams to just 26.5% shooting from three. They are led by guard Julia Fabozzi, leading the team with 14.4 points per game and 5.8 blocks per game. The graduate student is the only Seahawk to average double-digits this season, with fellow guard Angélie Ricard second on the team averaging 9.8 points per game.Â
SCOUTING THE HORNETS
Sacramento State has started the season well with a 4-2 record so far, averaging 69.5 points per game and allowing just 58.5. The Hornets have two players averaging double-digits on the year, led by sophomore guard Lina Falk with 13.5 points per game. Fellow guard in Sofia Alonso is second on the team with 10.2 points per game, also leading the team in assists with 3.7. Benthe Versteeg, a junior guard from Amsterdam, leads the Hornets with 6.2 rebounds per game this season. After starting the season 4-0, Sacramento State is coming off two losses in a row. This will be the first time in program history the two programs play each other if they in fact do so.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
The Panthers have played Abilene Christian once this season already, dropping the match 76-73. Since then, the Wildcats have gone 1-4 and are 3-4 overall on the young season. They are averaging 65.9 points per game and allowing 62.4. ACU has three players averaging double-digits on the year, led by sophomore guard Payton Hull with 16.1 points per game. Fellow guard Bella Earle is second with 14.1 points per game, and leads the team with 3.4 assists per game. Forward Emma Troxell is third on the team with 10.6 points per game, as well as 6.4 rebounds per game. FIU will look to rebound from their last matchup with the Wildcats if they end up playing them.Â
TICKETS
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SOCIAL MEDIA
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