Panther Preview: FIU Women’s Basketball Takes On Marshall

Kevin Calcagno/ Contributing Writer

This weekend, the FIU Women’s Basketball team will face the Marshall Thundering Herd after splitting last week’s series against the Florida Atlantic Owls.

The first game of the doubleheader will be on Friday at 6 p.m and the second will be Saturday at 3 p.m. Both games will be played at FIU’s Ocean Bank Convocation Center.

Last season, the Panthers split their two matches against Marshall with scores of 68-65 and 59-57. Historically, the Thundering Herd have dominated the Panther’s with a 9-3 record since they began playing in 2014. 

FIU will look to sweep both games in an effort to break their 6-6 overall season record, as well as their 3-3 Conference USA record. Their record places them third out of 17 teams in Group A. 

Marshall heads into the matchup with a 3-5 overall record, and 2-4 in conference play, placing them second to last in Group A, behind FAU.

The Panthers’ offense currently ranks as second best in C-USA, but their defense is last out of 14 teams. 

Marshall’s offense is ranked 12th while their defense, on the other hand, is ranked third in C-USA. Their leading rebounder is sophomore forward Alexis Johnson, who averages 7.1 rebounds per game.

FIU will have the challenge of containing Savannah Wheeler, The Herd’s sophomore guard, who is averaging 16.0 points per game. 

This weekend’s doubleheader is a good opportunity for FIU to gain some momentum, as Marshall will have their hands full with FIU’s leading scorer, senior guard Kyla Nelson. She’s the Panther’s leading scorer, averaging 15.2 points per game.

Fujika Nimmo, FIU’s sophomore guard, will be looking to build on a strong performance in her previous game. She recorded 13 points and 6 rebounds in the Panthers’ 65-62 win over the FAU Owls. 

Both games can be streamed on Conference USA TV.