SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Women's basketball (17-9, 10-5 CUSA) travels to Springfield for their second meeting of the season against Missouri State (17-11, 9-6 CUSA) on February 26 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Thursday, Feb. 26 at Missouri State
QUICK FACTS
The Panthers are looking for their first win in program history over Missouri State, and tie the season-series against the Bears with a victory on Thursday evening. The Bears are currently tied for fourth in the CUSA standings, sitting just one game back of second place FIU.
The Panthers are coming off their most dominant weekend of the season, first setting a program record of fewest points allowed against a conference opponent in a 62-36 victory over Delaware. FIU followed up the victory with another dominant win over Liberty, completing the season-sweep over the Flames, 66-45.
Coming into the matchup, FIU are second in CUSA in scoring on the season with 71.2 points scored per game, and are also second in CUSA-play, putting up 66.2 points on CUSA opponents.
Rhema Collins has been a force all season, coming into the matchup with 12 double-doubles, first in CUSA and 19th in the nation. On the season, Collins is first in CUSA with 17.9 points per game, second with 9.3 rebounds per game and first in blocks per game with 1.6.
Parris Atkins has been as advertised from her CUSA Preseason All-Conference selection. The guard is third in CUSA, averaging 17 points per game, and has been all over the court on defense. With 3 steals per game, she is second in CUSA and 19th in the nation in steals.Â
Rhema Collins scored a career-high 40 points against Georgia State. It is the most points scored in CUSA this season, and the most any player in CUSA has scored since the 2022-23 season. It's the first time an FIU player has had a 40-point performance since 2017, and she is only the seventh player since at least 1994 to achieve 40 points in a game as a Panther.
Parris Atkins scored a career-high 35 points against Missouri State in the Panthers' first game of conference-play this season. She is only the 24th player in program history to score 35 or more points in a game since 2005, and it is the second most points scored that any player in Conference USA has scored this season.
Atkins also scored 20+ points two games in a row from 1/10-1/15/23. She is the first player to achieve that status since the 2022-23 season. Rhema Collins followed that up with another two 20+ point in a row performances in the Panthers' road trip at New Mexico State and UTEP.
Rhema Collins and Adama Badjie Coly both had double-doubles against Western Kentucky this season. This was the first time two Panthers had a double-double in the same game since the opening game of the 2024-25 season.
Freshman Grecia Ferrer Leal has been as good as you can get from a first year, ranking in the top-5 in the league in both assists per game and total assists.Â
Junior Denika Lightbourne had a career day against Jacksonville State when she put up a staggering 25 points in just 16 minutes played. She surpassed her previous career-high of 21 which she achieved in the first game of the season against South Florida.
CUSA Leaders:
OFFENSIVE
Scoring:
Rhema Collins, 1st - 17.9 ppg
Parris Atkins, 3rd - 17 ppg
Rebounding:
Rhema Collins, 2nd - 9.3 rpg
Field Goal %:
Rhema Collins, 3rd - 46.4%
Free-Throw %:
Parris Atkins, 4th - 78%
Rhema Collins, 5th - 74.9%
Assists:
Grecia Ferrer, 5th - 3.9 apg
Total Assists:
Grecia Ferrer, 2nd - 101
DEFENSIVE
Blocks:
Rhema Collins, 1st - 1.6 bpg
Steals:
Parris Atkins, 2nd - 3.0 spg
Rhema Collins, 7th - 2.2
Sophomore Ndate Ndiaye scored her career-high against Florida National with 15 points. She surpassed her previous career-high of 13 points which came in a victory over Seattle in the FIU Thanksgiving Tournament.Â
FIU welcomes back five returners to Miami in senior Parris Atkins, redshirt-sophomore Fantasia James, junior Judit Valero and sophomores Ndate Ndiaye and Claudia Marina.
Parris Atkins and Fantasia James were both honored with CUSA All-Conference awards last season. Parris Atkins, then in her first season as a Panther, was an immediate contributor and made the CUSA All-Conference Second Team. James, a redshirt freshman at the time, was named to the CUSA All-Freshman Team for her performance during the 2024-25 season.
FIU has the most international players rostered in Conference USA. The Panthers boast 12 of their 14 players born outside of the United States.
FIU is coming off a 2024-25 season that saw the Panthers go 11-18 overall and 7-11 in conference-play, ending sixth in the conference.Â
SCOUTING THE BEARS
The Bears are coming into the matchup after a big win over Sam Houston, giving Mo. State nine conference wins and tying the Bears with the Bearkats in the CUSA standings and putting them just one game back of FIU for second place. Currently scoring 65.6 points per game and allowing 62.1 a contest, Missouri State is fourth and seventh in the conference, respectively.
The Bears are led by standout guard Kaemyn Bekemeier, currently second in the conference, scoring 17.6 points per game while also grabbing 8.1 rebounds per game, tied for sixth in CUSA. The Missouri native also leads the conference in free-throw percentage (84.1%) and is tied for sixth in CUSA with 1.9 made triples per game.
Bekemeier is complimented by sophomore forward Lainie Douglas, second on the team, putting up 13.4 points per game on an efficient 55.9% shooting. Standing at 6'3, Lainie is third in the conference in blocks per game with 1.4.Â
The Panthers are looking for breathing room in the standings with a win over Missouri State, currently sitting in second place in CUSA with a 10-5 conference record.
TICKETS
For more information on FIU tickets to FIU basketball home games, including student ticketing, call 305-FIU-GAME or visit HERE
SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Instagram (@fiuwbb), Twitter (@FIUWBB), and Facebook (@FIUWBasketball) for all the latest Women's Basketball news. General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSportson Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.
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