Panthers Earn First CUSA Victory Against Kennesaw State

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MIAMI, FL – FIU Women’s Basketball was hungry and in dire need of a Conference USA win. The Panthers began to run away with the game in the 2nd quarter, holding a lead as large as 13.

Then the Kennesaw State Owls turned the entire game around by dominating the third quarter and eventually taking the lead in the next quarter. However, the Panthers responded in the clutch moments of the game to earn a 76-65 victory against Kennesaw State.

“I’m really proud of how we responded,” said coach Jesyka Burks-Wiley. “We had two really tough lessons, especially at home and it definitely got gritty down the stretch, and I think we needed this type of win. I told our girls, I love 20-point wins, don’t get me wrong but I think we needed this type of win to show that we still have that fight.

It may not go our way but that doesn’t mean that we can’t change it. I think our kids, they did a great job of responding and getting a huge, huge home win, and a huge conference win.”

Close Game Turns into FIU Domination

Both teams made their shots in the opening quarter of the game, with FIU finishing it off with a 19-17 advantage. Carrying that energy from the first quarter, the Panthers had 14 unanswered points midway through the second quarter.

They collectively used their defense to win the quarter by limiting Kennesaw State to just six points and entered halftime with a strong 33-23 lead.

Take it yourself AB 🏃‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/tnBpw5qRh6

— FIU Women’s Basketball (@FIUWBB) January 10, 2026

Adama Badjie Coly led FIU with eight points through the first half in what eventually became her best performance of the season. The guard from Spain finished the game scoring 16 points on 6/7 shooting while making 2/2 from the three-point line. She also grabbed six rebounds.

“You all have to play hard,” said Badjie Coly. “At the minimum [if] you’re not paying attention, or you’re relaxed, they can beat you.”

Kennesaw State Comes Back, but FIU Pulls Through

The Owls busted through the Panthers’ defense and went on a 13-2 run in the third quarter. Suddenly, it was just a 38-36 advantage for FIU.

FIU responded with a 7-2 run to have a seven-point lead, but Kennesaw State came back and ended the quarter down just 52-51.

The Owls were on the doorstep of retaking the lead they had at the beginning of the game, and they eventually did just that in the fourth quarter.

BIG THREE AB‼️ pic.twitter.com/DXzTUIl5Pg

— FIU Women’s Basketball (@FIUWBB) January 10, 2026

However, FIU’s defense stepped up again, and they retook the lead for good in the final four minutes. Both Parris Atkins and Rhema Collins emerged in the quarter with eight points each.

A Masterclass From Atkins

Atkins led the team in scoring with 23 points, going a perfect 12/12 at the free-throw line in what was her sixth 20-point game of the season. The senior guard had five rebounds, three steals, and two assists.

“P is just, she’s special,” said Burks-Wiley. “She is one, just a joy to coach, you know, very similar to AB where this great personality, and just this great light about them. But just an absolute monster. You know, I was joking AB and Parris about AB’s got a tie up the last three seconds and she’s ready to scrap with 13. And Parris is like chill out and if Parris is telling you to chill out, this is saying a lot right now.”

“But when you have a kid that can just turn it on like that from a standpoint of having a great personality, being a teammate, and all those things. But then, when the 40 minutes goes up, just has this absolute, just killer mindset, it makes your job as a coach a lot easier, and allows your culture to go through the right direction a lot easier.”

Collins led the team with eight rebounds while scoring 16 points, making three steals, and blocking two shots. The junior guard has scored in double digits in 10 of her 11 games at FIU.

Statistically Speaking

FIU had a lead time of 29:07, which signifies that they led in several categories. They outrebounded their opponent 34-25 and scored 10 second-chance points compared to the Owls having five. The Panthers scored 36 points in the paint and took far more trips to the free-throw line, going 27/37 (73%). Kennesaw State committed 29 turnovers, and FIU flipped that into 29 points off turnovers.

“We can’t keep learning the same lessons,” said Burks-Wiley. “I think the last two games we just weren’t great defensively and it showed. In this conference, everybody’s got at least one to two go-to’s and I thought we allowed their go-to’s to be good and I thought we allowed some reserved kids to kind of be better than they should be.”

“And it cost us and so I think tonight we did a really good job of…you know, Berry [Keyarah] had a really good game, she’s a really good player, but I thought we took care of business the rest of the way. We were able to string together multiple stops, which for us offense hasn’t really been an issue, but as being able to string multiple stops together when we were kind of struggling to score, I think it allowed us to open up a lead and some comfort.”

What’s Next

FIU will now head on the road to face New Mexico State on January 15th at 8 PM, and then UTEP on January 17th at 2 PM.

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