MIAMI – FIU Women’s Basketball will hit the road and travel to University of Texas – Arlington for a Monday matchup, with tipoff at 5 p.m. eastern time, streaming on ESPN+.
Monday, December 16th vs UT-Arlington
FIU is coming off their third win of the season, a victory over Yale at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center, 82-60.
The Panthers led after every quarter, starting the game close after the first period, 22-18 Junior Angena Belloso led the way with eight points and a perfect 4-4 in the first 10 minutes, ending the match with 16 points, shooting 2-3 from beyond the arc, the guard’s second double-digit performance in a row.
The game continued to stay close into the half, the Panthers still leading 38-33.
FIU took over the game in the third quarter, using a 14-0 run to extend their lead and make it a 59-43 lead going into the final quarter. Aaliyah Pitts led the Panthers with seven points in the run, ending the game with 11 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Sophomore Fantasia James led the Panthers through the fourth quarter with all eight of her points coming in the final frame. As a team, FIU put up 23 points, ending with their third highest point total of the season with 82 points.
Junior Parris Atkins and senior Isnelle Natabou both put up 17 on the afternoon, with Atkins adding on four rebounds, two assists and two steals, and going a career-high 7-7 from the free-throw line. Natabou grabbed seven rebounds and surpassed 800 career rebounds in the matchup, now making her a 1,000 point/800 rebound career player.
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
UT-Arlington has started off the season 3-5 after being picked third in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Preseason Poll. UTA currently ranks fifth in the WAC in both scoring offense with 64.88 points scored per game, and 68 points allowed per game. A dynamic rebounding team, the Mavericks are first in the WAC in rebounds per game, grabbing 40.63 boards per game on average.
They are led by forward Koi Love who is second in the WAC in scoring with 16.13 points per game to go along with 6.13 rebounds per game, sixth in the conference. Her counterpart in fellow forward Avery Brittingham leads the conference in rebounds per game with 9.38, also ninth in the conference in scoring with 13.13 points per game.
This will be the second time the two programs have faced off since November 26, 1996. The Mavericks prevailed over the Panthers in the lone matchup, 48-44.
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 @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.
