Kevin Calcagno / Staff Writer
The FIU Women’s basketball team concluded their historic 2020-21 season with a successful postseason campaign and invitational.
The Panthers’ season was one of their best in recent history. First-year head coach Jesyka Burks-Wiley led FIU to their first winning season since 2012, and recorded the second most wins for all first-year head coaches in the nation.
In an interview with PantherNOW, coach Burks-Wiley talked about making it to the C-USA tournament in her first season as the head coach.
“It felt really incredible, that moment wasn’t about me or my staff… I was more so excited for our players.”
Conference-USA Tournament
Vs Southern Miss
The Panthers began their tournament run on March 10th with an 85-75 victory over the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. FIU scored the first three points of the game and stayed on top for the rest of it.
The first quarter score remained close, but the Golden Eagles had no answer for junior guard Jiselle Thomas. She nearly earned a double double in the first quarter, scoring 10 points and collecting seven rebounds.
Southern Miss continued to struggle on both offense and defense against FIU in the second quarter. The Golden Eagles failed to score on any of their eight attempted 3-point shots in the first half, but the Panthers scored on five of their 11 3-pointers. FIU went into halftime leading 38-31.
The Panthers offensive efficiency continued in the third quarter, as they extended their lead to double digits. Thomas continued to be a problem for the Golden Eagles, scoring 11 points in the third. Senior guard Kyla Nelson was also involved, adding a 3-pointer of her own.
Forward Emerald Ekpiteta had a big fourth quarter to close out the game. Ekpiteta recorded eight points and seven rebounds as FIU was able to complete their dominant 85-75 victory.
Thomas led FIU in scoring with a career high 34 points with 15 rebounds and four assists as well. Ekpiteta was second in scoring with 20 points and 11 boards. The Panthers were able to out rebound the Golden Eagles 46-31 and scored 10 three-pointers, while the Golden Eagles only scored one.
Vs Rice
FIU proceeded to fall 60-77 to the top seeded Rice Owls on March 11th in the second round of the tournament, with Rice’s tourney-record 26 assists being a large factor.
The Panthers took an early lead over Rice, going on a 12-2 run to start the game with Ekpiteta scoring their first six points. The Owls fought back, trimming the lead to five points, but the Panthers finished the first quarter with a 23-14 score.
Rice took control of the game in the second quarter, outscoring the Panthers 23-12 and taking a slim lead before half time. After a hot start, the Panthers’ offense became cold and the Owls were just getting in rhythm. FIU was only able to score on four of their 20 shot attempts in the second quarter.
After the halftime break, FIU was unable to contain the Owls’ offense. Rice outscored FIU 24-7 in the third quarter, extending their lead to as much as 22 points. The Panthers tried to fight back, but were unable to regain the lead.
Thomas was unable to follow up on her career performance the previous day, only managing to score four points. Ekpiteta led the Panthers in scoring and rebounding, with 17 points and nine boards. Nelson led FIU in assists with four.
Women’s Basketball Invitational
Vs Northern Arizona
FIU was defeated in the opening round of the WBI against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks by a score of 69-82.
The Lumberjacks scored the first six points of the game before Nelson was able to put the Panthers on the board with a jump shot. Nelson scored a three-pointer in the opening quarter, which broke the FIU record for three-point shots made in a season with 66 total.
The lead changed hands three times in the first quarter, as both teams fought hard to try and gain control of the game. Northern Arizona led by two points at the end of the opening quarter.
Both teams continued to wrestle for control in the second quarter, as the lead eight times. Thomas continued her strong postseason play for FIU, scoring eight points, with three of her shots changing the score in FIU’s favor. However, the Lumberjacks were able to take a 33-31 advantage just before the half.
The Panthers struggled after halftime, allowing Northern Arizona to score 24 points in the third quarter. The Lumberjacks took control of the game, leading by as many as nine points. FIU was only able to score on five of their 15 shot attempts in the third, and was unable to score on any of their five 3-point attempts.
FIU fought back, but was unable to regain control in the fourth quarter. The Panthers’ deficit remained in the double digits for the majority of the quarter and was ultimately defeated by the Lumberjacks.
The Panthers were outscored in three quarters of the game and scored on only 38% of their attempted shots. FIU had four players score double digit figures, and senior guard Diene Diane recorded a double double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Vs Abilene Christian
FIU soldiered on against the Abilene Christian Wildcats on March 20th in the WBI consolation bracket, with sophomore guard Fujika Nimmo’s 28 point performance propelling the Panthers to a 78-61.
The opening quarter was closely contested, as both teams’ offenses were scoring efficiently. FIU took the advantage after junior forward Alma Danielsson’s three-pointer, and didn’t surrender the lead for the rest of the quarter.
The Wildcats tied the game in the second quarter, but wouldn’t score for another six minutes as FIU piled on the points. FIU went on a 16-0 run, controlling the game once and for all. After a strong offensive surge, the Panthers led Abilene Christian by 19 points at halftime.
FIU dominated the game after halftime. Abilene Christian was able to trim their deficit to 13 points, but then went into another offensive drought. They only scored six points in the final seven minutes of the quarter, while Nimmo scored seven points for the Panthers.
The Panthers’ offense was contained in the fourth quarter, only scoring 10 points, however Abilene Christian was only able to score 14. FIU ultimately defeated the Wildcats by a score of 78-61.
Nimmo led the way for FIU with 28 points, six steals, and four assists. Thomas and Nelson joined Nimmo with double digit points as well, with 14 and 13 respectively. The Panthers also converted on 47.9% of their three-point shots.
Vs Manhattan
The Panthers defeated the Manhattan Jaspers in the final game of the consolation bracket by a score of 59-58, thanks to some late game heroics.
Manhattan jumped out to an early lead, scoring the first basket of the game. Even though the Jaspers led the Panthers for the entire quarter, FIU refused to let the game get out of hand. Still, FIU trailed 12-17.
FIU struggled defensively in the second quarter, allowing Manhattan to extend their lead to 11 points. The Panthers continued fighting, as they did all game long, and shrank the deficit to just five points before halftime.
Nimmo, Thomas, and Nelson were in good rhythm at the end of the second half and were instrumental in the effort to reduce the Jaspers’ lead. The Panthers’ play improved as the game progressed, scoring more fluently and forcing stops on defense.
FIU brought the Manhattan lead down to just two points after a layup by Thomas on a fast break, but the Jaspers would pull away by scoring seven unanswered points. FIU brought the deficit to just four points before the end of the third quarter.
Neither team scored for the first two and a half minutes of the closing quarter. Manhattan reached out first, scoring five points and extending their lead to nine points with less than five minutes to go. FIU’s offense went on a six point run which was capped off by a Nelson 3-pointer.
FIU took their first lead of the game with just under 2 minutes left after a layup by Thomas. Both teams wrestled for control at the end of the game, but Manhattan took a four point lead with 11 seconds left. Nelson scored another 3-pointer to trim the deficit to just one with three seconds remaining.
When the Jaspers inbounded the ball, they were fouled immediately, and missed both free throw attempts. Ekptiteta was sent to the free throw line after the inbound by FIU, and she scored both free throws to win the WBI consolation bracket for FIU in dramatic fashion.
Coach Burks-Wiley said that the team was able to stay focused in the consolation bracket because of the work that they had put in from the beginning of the season.
“We have the chance to do something special within our team, but we have to believe it.”
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