MIAMI – FIU women’s basketball got themselves back in the win column with a 70-60 victory over Hampton in their first matchup of the FIU Christmas Classic on Friday afternoon. Parris Atkins had her best scoring day as a Panther, putting up a career-high 21 points.
FIU started on a scoring tear, with 26 points in the first frame led by junior Parris Atkins with 12 on 6-7 shooting from the field. It was the bulk in what would end up being a division-1 career-high for the guard, also adding six rebounds, two assists and four steals in the contest. The Panthers ended the first up 26-18.
The second quarter saw the Panthers continue their high scoring day with 17 points in the period before the half. FIU used a 25-5 run over the end of the first into the second quarter to extend their lead over the Lady Pirates and never look back.
Senior Bineta Diatta led the way with six points in the frame, ending in double-digits for the fourth time this season with 11 points. The forward added three rebounds, two assists and a steal to round out her afternoon. The Panthers went into the half with a 43-28 advantage.
Hampton fought back in the third quarter, cutting the FIU lead to 10 at 52-42 with the final quarter still to play.
The Panthers kept their foot on the gas, not letting the Lady Pirates gain any more ground before the final buzzer sounded. Freshman Ndate Ndiaye hit a couple big triples down the stretch and led the way with a career-high six points in the quarter and game.
FIU played lock down defense, holding Hampton to just 37% shooting on the day, while forcing 20 turnovers, their seventh time this season turning a team over 20+ times in the 2024-25 campaign.
The Panthers were dominant in the paint, out-rebounding the Lady Pirates 37-30, and scoring a staggering 40 points in the paint to Hampton’s 18.
FIU forced Hampton to play from behind for the majority of the contest, holding the lead for 36:41 of the game’s 40 minutes.
UP NEXT
FIU will play their final game on non-conference play and of the FIU Christmas Classic against Miami (OH) on Saturday, December 21 at 1 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats available.
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