Women’s basketball hyped for home opener


FIU women’s basketball will hold their home opener Nov. 20 at 4:30 p.m. when the Panthers (1-2) welcome Eastern Kentucky (1-1). This is the first-ever meeting between the two squads, and the Panthers are 24-11 all-time in home openers.

FIU picked up its first win of the season last weekend when the team edged Rice, 66-65, in the World Vision Invitational hosted by No. 2 Baylor. Though FIU dropped games to Baylor and Montana State, the Panthers showed there was a lot to look forward to this season.

In FIU’s win over Rice, freshman guard Jerica Coley had a breakout performance, leading four Panthers in double figures with 16 points. Redshirt junior Fanni Hutlassa was queen of the boards, leading FIU in each game with an average of 8.0 per game while junior Rakia Rodgers and senior Michelle Gonzalez led the offensive charge by posting double figures in two of the three games.

The Panthers were nearly automatic from the free throw line last weekend, posting a 22-of-26 showing over three games, including their 12-of-13 performance (.923) against Rice. As a result, FIU currently leads the Sun Belt in free throw percentage (.846).

Eastern Kentucky returns eight letterwinners, including four starters from last season’s squad that finished tied for fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference. Post player Alex Jones is back to lead the team after earning second team All-OVC honors as a freshman last season. In 2009-10, she paced the team in scoring (12 ppg), rebounding (8.7 rpg), steals, blocks and field goal percentage.

A former star for EKU, Chrissy Roberts is in her third season as head coach. Roberts, an EKU Hall of Famer, transferred as a junior from Kentucky in 1996 and led the Lady Coloniels to their first-ever conference tournament title, advancing to the NCAA tournament for the first time.

The first 100 fans in attendance will receive a drawstring bag, and the game will also serve as a Panther Points event.

— FIUSports.com

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