Paws Up Preview – FIU Women’s Basketball vs Jax State

After a hard-fought win over Western Kentucky, head coach Jesyka Burks-Wiley and the FIU Women’s Basketball program (19-10, 12-6) clinched a spot in the 2025-26 Conference USA tournament as the second seed. They will face the Jacksonville State Gamecocks (16-15, 9-9), the seventh seed, in the second round of the tournament on Wednesday, March 11, at 3:00 pm.

FIU Season in Review

FIU finished the season as the second-best scoring offense, averaging 70.1 points per game, and allowed the fifth-most points per game (64.8).

Leading the charge was forward Rhema Collins, who finished the regular season averaging 17.8 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, 1.3 assists, and was shooting 45.5% from the field. The Ole Miss transfer finished the season as Conference USA Player of the Year.

Buckets 🪣 https://t.co/IY1QFyckMK pic.twitter.com/6ZDusA3Ble

— FIU Women’s Basketball (@FIUWBB) March 6, 2026

Improving in several categories, the Panthers finished second in steals per game (11.79), primarily thanks to junior guard Parris Atkins, who averaged 2.9 steals per game, the second highest in CUSA. She finished the season making the All-Conference First Team.

The finish through traffic 💪

Play of the Game presented by Florida City Gas pic.twitter.com/K784Znd8Hs

— FIU Women’s Basketball (@FIUWBB) March 7, 2026

A big reason for FIU’s high-scoring offense was finishing third in the conference in offensive rebounds per game (14.3). On the flipside, the Panthers were 10th in defensive rebounds per game (22.7).

FIU has forced the second-most turnovers per game this season, leading to having such a fast-paced offense that we are accustomed to under Burks-Wiley.

Scouting the Gamecocks

The Jacksonville State Gamecocks enter this game with a 16-15 overall record, having compiled a 9-9 conference record. Forward Mya Barnes is their biggest weapon, leading the team in both points (11.2), rebounds (8.1), steals (1.2), and blocks (1.2) per game. Kyera Thornsbury leads the team in assists (2.6).

Mya Barnes…BANG! 💥#StayCocky🐔 | #FearTheBeak👌 pic.twitter.com/Ae3q1YxwIc

— Jacksonville State Women’s Basketball (@JaxStateWBB) February 21, 2026

Jax State averages 62.9 points per game, which is fourth in the conference. They give up 58.9 points per game on defense, which was just shy of Sam Houston for first in CUSA. The Gamecocks are the second-worst team in the conference in field goal shooting, with a 0.385 percentage, only in front of UTEP.

They average 10.52 assists, which is third-worst in CUSA. They also only average 5.87 steals, which is the worst in the conference. The Gamecocks have a couple of noteworthy statistics. Their opponents average the fewest free throws (0.660) and the third-fewest three-pointers (0.291).

Season Series

The only game between these two programs took place in Miami, where FIU fell to Jacksonville State in the nail-biter score of 70-67 on January 8th.

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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