MIAMI - Women's basketball (12-8, 5-4 CUSA) will welcome Western Kentucky (5-15, 1-8 CUSA) for the first of a two-game homestand on Thursday, February 5 at 7 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 5 vs Western Kentucky

• Time/Site: 7 p.m. / Ocean Bank Convocation Center

• Series History: WKU leads, 38-13

QUICK FACTS

The Hilltoppers lead the all-time series by a wide margin, but the Panthers have played better against Western Kentucky as of late, going 3-2 against WKU in their last five games.

Coming into the matchup, FIU are second in CUSA in scoring on the season with 73.3 points scored per game, and are third in CUSA-play, putting up 67.7 points on CUSA opponents.

Rhema Collins has been a force all season, coming into the matchup with ten  double-doubles, first in CUSA and 16th in the nation. On the season, Collins is first in CUSA with 18.6 points per game, first with 9.9 rebounds per game and first in blocks per game as well with 1.6.

Parris Atkins has been as advertised from her CUSA Preseason All-Conference selection. The guard is third in CUSA, averaging 17.4 points per game, and has been all over the court on defense. With 3.3 steals per game, she is second in CUSA and 12th in the nation in steals. 

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.

Freshman Grecia Ferrer Leal has been as good as you can get from a first year, ranking in the top-4 in the league in both assists per game and total assists. 

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 - 18.6 ppg

Parris Atkins, 3rd - 17.4 ppg

Rebounding:

Rhema Collins, 1st - 9.9 rpg

FIELD GOAL %:

Rhema Collins, 2nd - 47.9%

Free-Throw %:

Parris Atkins, 5th - 76.1%

Rhema Collins, 7th - 74.3%

Assists:

Grecia Ferrer, 4th - 3.9 apg

Total Assists:

Grecia Ferrer, 2nd - 77

DEFENSIVE

Blocks:

Rhema Collins, 1st - 1.6 bpg

Steals:

Parris Atkins, 2nd - 3.3 spg

Rhema Collins, T5 - 2.4

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. 

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. 

SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS

Western Kentucky comes into the contest last in CUSA with a 5-15 overall record, with a 1-8 record against Conference USA opponents. The Hilltoppers have been a proven force in the paint, currently tied for first in the conference in blocks per game with 4.1.

WKU has just one player scoring in double-figures in the 2025-26 campaign. Sophomore forward Salma Khedr is first on the team in scoring, putting up 10.1 points per game this season, to go along with 3.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals. 

She is complimented by senior forward Zsofia Telegdy and sophomore guard Trinity Rowe, both of which are scoring 9.1 points a game. Telegdy also leads the team in rebounding with 4.7, while Rowe is pacing the Hilltoppers with 4.9 assists per game.

The Panthers are looking for their first undefeated week of conference-play since their first road trip of the new year when they beat New Mexico State and UTEP.

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.