Huntsville, TX - FIU Women's Hoops beats Sam Houston 71-65 behind Tanajah Hayes' season high 24 points as they win their second consecutive game and sweep their road trip 2-0.
The Panthers' high powered offense got started early, with 21 points in the first quarter. Graduate student Courtney Prenger and senior Maria Torres put up five and six respectively in the quarter, with the forward duo dominating down low with 18 points in the paint in the opening frame alone. As a team, FIU put up a season high 44 points in the paint in the contest, beating Sam Houston by 18 points. Prenger and Torres both put up double-digits in the win, with Prenger ending with 13 points, two rebounds, two assists and one block. Torres ended with 11 points and six rebounds, as well as a team high five offensive rebounds.
FIU continued their stellar offense into the second, with 21 points in the quarter. Sophomore Mya Kone led the charge in the frame with eight points. The Panthers' leading scorer on the season finished with a 12-point, 13-rebound double-double, her sixth of the year. Before the contest, Sam Houston was first in total rebounds and in offensive rebounds in the conference. The Panthers out-rebounded the Bearkats 40-35 in total rebounds, and 14-12 in offensive rebounds. FIU went into the half with a 12 point lead.
The Bearkats battled back in the third quarter, putting up 19 points in the quarter and tying the game going into the final 10 minutes.
Sam Houston took their first lead of the game in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter, going up by two, 20 seconds into the last 10 minutes on a pair of free-throws. Angena Belloso quickly tied it back up on the other end with a layup, and a subsequent layup by Maria Torres put the Panthers up for good. Sam Houston led for a total of 37 seconds before FIU shut the door. The Panthers put up their most points in a quarter in the fourth with 23, with five Panthers contributing buckets down the stretch.
On top of Tanajah Hayes' 24 points, the junior racked up four rebounds and four assists, while adding on a steal to round off her afternoon. The guard shot 8-9 from the free-throw line, her most from the charity stripe on the season. At 16-5, this is the most wins the Panthers have had in head coach Jesyka Burks-Wiley's tenure at FIU and is the most wins by an FIU team since the 2012-2013 season when they won 19 games.
UP NEXT
FIU will travel to Middle Tennessee for their second bout against the top team in the conference on Saturday, February 10 at 1:00 p.m. ET.
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