FIU Women’s Basketball Eliminated In CUSA Tournament

It was a one-and-done for FIU Women’s Basketball this afternoon against the Western Kentucky Lady Toppers. As soon as the Hilltoppers made their first pair of free throws in the first 1:25 of the game, they owned the lead for good. WKU came out swinging in the first quarter, going on a 14-0 run.

The Panthers were able to cut the lead down to two a couple of times in the third quarter, but it wasn’t enough. A poor performance at the free throw line led to FIU losing this one 73-66 to the Lasy Toppers in the Conference USA tournament opener.

The Simple Things Weren’t So Simple

It wasn’t hard to notice how abysmal FIU was shooting from the free-throw line. Shots just weren’t clicking on that part of the court. They had way more trips to the free-throw line than the Lady Toppers. Compared to 16 attempts for Western Kentucky, the Panthers had 35 attempts. Only 19 of those went in, making it a 54 FT%.

WKU had more aggression on defense and thus were over the limit early on in each half. The chances were there for the Panthers to take advantage of those free points.

The three-point play by the Panthers was also another key factor in this loss. FIU went just 3-14 (21%) from behind the arc.

Isnelle Natabou once again led the Panthers with 23 points and nine rebounds. Bineta Diatta scored 14 points and grabbed six boards. Aaliyah Pitts had the most solidifying performance on the court with 11 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.

Unfortunately, the rest of the FIU Women’s squad wasn’t as effective as a unit. Angena Belloso, in particular, didn’t have her best day on the floor, going 2-13 shooting-wise.

Time To Hit The Reset Button

After falling to 11-19 (7-11) in the season, Coach Jesyka Burks-Wiley will have some recruiting work to do this spring. Four of the team’s starting five are seniors, so the new starting lineup for next season will undergo a makeover.

About Post Author

Ricardo Urrusuno

He’s a diehard 305 native who roots for his hometown teams in the good, the bad, and the ugly. Recently, he graduated from FIU with an MBA, but now he’s a Lemonhead covering UM basketball. Known to be anywhere and everywhere, you may catch him at a Miami sporting event.

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