Bowling Green, Fla. - FIU Women's Hoops will look to bounce back against Western Kentucky on Saturday, March 2 at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Saturday, March 2 at Western Kentucky
*since 2006
FIU dropped their game to Jacksonville State 80-63, splitting the season series 1-1. It is only the third time this season that the Panthers lost two in a row, and the first time Conference-USA play.
Jax State got off to a blistering start early, going on a 14-2 run over the first 5:41 of the game. The Panthers did not fold, battling back with an 8-0 run of their own from the 5:27-2:30 mark of the first quarter. The Panthers' leading scorer, sophomore Mya Kone led the comeback, putting up 12 points in the first quarter alone, going 5-4 from the field and 3-4 from three in the opening frame. FIU trailed only by one going into the second quarter.
The second frame proved to be a back-and-forth affair, with FIU scoring 15 and Jax State scoring 14 to go into the half locked at 33. Five Panthers scored in the quarter, shooting the ball well at a 58.3% clip. In the second half, JSU shot the ball well, going 42.6% from the field and 33.3% from deep, putting up 47 points in the half, leading to FIU's second loss in a row.
Mya Kone led the Panthers in scoring with 17 points, also coming down with 12 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the year. Another sophomore in Angena Belloso ended with 12 points, with 10 of her points coming in the second half, also racking up three rebounds and three assists. A pair of graduate students in Courtney Prenger and Kaliah Henderson both ended the match with 11, with Henderson ending with nine rebounds. Prenger went 5-5 in the contest tacking on a block and a steal to her stat line.
Scouting Western Kentucky
Western Kentucky (15-14, 6-8 CUSA) is coming off a 45-41 loss to Louisiana Tech on Wednesday, February 28th. The Lady Hilltoppers currently sit at fourth in the Conference-USA standings, and are sixth in scoring offense, putting up 64 points per game. A solid defensive team, WKU is fourth in defensive scoring, allowing only 62.6 points per game. They are fourth in assists per game with 12.45, and have the fourth highest assist-to-turnover ratio with 0.82. Western Kentucky has the most steals per game in CUSA with 10.76, leading to the highest turnover margin in the conference with 4.59.
The Hilltoppers' leading scorer is sophomore Acacia Hayes at 15.1 points per game, which places her at third in the conference. However, the guard has only played 22 games, with guard Alexis Mead playing in all 29 of WKU's games and averaging 11 points per game. The junior also leads the team in assists per game 3.9, putting her at third in the conference in the stat. Mead is also defensive-savvy, coming in at second in the conference in steals per game with 2.
The Panthers will attempt to go for the season sweep of Western Kentucky, beating the Hilltoppers earlier this season 70-60.
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