Miami, FL - FIU Women's Hoops will be back at the Oceanbank Convocation Center for their last homestand of the year before the conference tournament for a contest against UTEP.
Thursday, March 7 vs University of Texas - El Paso
*since 2006
Women's Hoops gets back in the win column with a 71-69 victory over Western Kentucky on March 2 in Bowling Green. Down by as many as 16 late in the third quarter, the Panthers chipped their way back thanks to a game-high 23 points from Kaliah Henderson, and a step-back triple with the clock winding down in the fourth from Tanajah Hayes.
Western Kentucky held control from the start of the game, immediately going on an 8-2 run and a 5-0 run to end the first quarter, leading the Panthers 21-15 going into the second. The Hilltoppers kept up their hot shooting in the next frame, putting up 17 points and lengthening their lead to 38-25 going into halftime.
The Panthers started to heat up in the third quarter, with seven Panthers contributing 23 total points in the penultimate frame. As a team, FIU shot 57.1% coming out of the half. The Panthers used an 8-0 run at the beginning of the quarter as well as the end to cut their deficit to eight leading into the fourth quarter. Kaliah Henderson led the team with seven points in the third, ending the game with a game-high 23 points on 9-15 shooting. The guard racked up seven rebounds, two steals and a block to finish her night.
The fourth quarter was a tight affair until the final 1:55, when FIU went on a 9-0 run to end the game. Kaliah Henderson hit a baseline jumper to tie the game, and Tanajah Hayes sunk the game-winning three with the shot clock winding down to give the Panthers the lead. With 10 seconds left, FIU stifled the Hilltoppers on the defensive end to secure the victory and complete their 19th win of the season.Â
Scouting UTEP
University of Texas - El Paso (11-17, 6-9 CUSA) is coming off an 80-63 loss to Liberty on Saturday, March 2. The Lady Hilltoppers currently sit at seventh in the Conference-USA standings, however could jump to as high as fourth depending on the outcomes of the last weekend of games. UTEP is a good scoring team, ranking third in the conference with 67.4 points per game and second in field goal percentage at 43.5%. However the Miners rank eighth in the conference in defensive points per game, allowing 70.9 and in opponent field goal percentage at 43.2%.
UTEP is led by the #2 scorer in the conference, senior forward Jane Asinde, who puts up 16.1 points per game. Asinde is also a prolific rebounds, grabbing 9.2 rebounds per game which is good for second in the conference. The backcourt is led by senior guard Erin Wilson, who is averaging 12 points on the season, good for 11th in the conference in scoring. Together the duo combines for 42% of the total scoring for the Miners.
The Panthers are in search of the season sweep over UTEP, beating the Miners on their home court in their second game of conference play 83-62.
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