Miami, FL - FIU Women's Hoops secures their 20th win of the season as they cruised to a 88-62 victory over University of Texas - El Paso on Thursday night. It is the first time since the 2011-2012 season that an FIU Women's Hoops Team has won 20 or more games. Six Panthers ended in double-digits in the win, led by Tanajah Hayes' 15 points.
UTEP started out the night hot, going on a 9-0 run over the first 3:04 of the game. The Panthers immediately responded, going on a 10-0 run of their own from 6:33-3:57, and officially taking the lead for good at the 3:31 mark of the first quarter. Graduate student Kaliah Henderson led the charge in the opening frame with five points, ending the contest with 11, also securing four rebounds, two assists and one steal. Five Panthers scored in the first, leading to an 18-15 FIU advantage after the first.
The Panthers took UTEP by storm in the second quarter, using a 9-0 run and a 7-0 run to give the Panthers a sizable lead. FIU put up an astonishing 32 points in the quarter on 60% shooting and 44.4% from three. The Panthers outscored the Miners by 20 in the frame, going into the halftime locker room up 50-27. Junior Tanajah Hayes continues her stellar play, putting up nine points in the second quarter and 15 overall. The guard almost ended with a triple-double, grabbing nine boards and dishing seven assists. She also came up with three steals just for good measure.
FIU kept the good times rolling in the third, putting up 19 points, led by Angena Belloso with seven in the quarter. The guards ended the contest with 12 points, six rebounds and two steals, leading FIU to the fourth quarter 69-39 lead. The fourth quarter was much of the same, with the Panthers putting up 19 again and cruising their way to their 20th win of the season.
Three more Panthers in Courtney Prenger, Mya Kone and Olivia Trice scored in double digits in the game. A pair of graduate students Prenger and Trice ended with 10, With Trice also grabbing three rebounds and four steals. Sophomore Mya Kone was the last Panther to score in double-digits, putting up 13 points and grabbing five steals, while being a menace on the defensive end with two blocks and two steals.
FIU won in almost every statistical category, forcing 21 turnovers and capitalizing with 27 points off turnovers. Furthermore, the Panthers crashed on the glass, grabbing 46 boards as opposed to the Miners 34, with 17 of those being offensive rebounds. FIU put up 21 second chance points as a result of their rebounding prowess. The Panthers also played big down low, with 40 of their points coming in the paint.
UP NEXT
The Panthers will play their final game of the season and go for their 21st win of the year against NM State on Saturday, March 7 at 1:00 p.m.
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