FIU Defeats UMBC In Game One of the Thanksgiving Classic

MIAMI, FL – For both teams, the game started slowly on offense. The UMBC Retrievers jumped out to a 19-10 lead in the 1st quarter and were up by as many as 13 points in the 2nd. However, the momentum started shifting for the Panthers once they outscored the Retrievers 19-12 in the 2nd quarter.

By halftime, FIU was down by just a basket and eventually took control of the game in the 3rd quarter for good after a 13-2 run. FIU defeated UMBC 86-76 in game one of the Thanksgiving Classic.

FIU Takes Advantage of Turnovers

From the start of the game, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, had been turning the ball over at a tremendous rate. At first, though, FIU was not converting those free plays into points. They missed their first four three-point attempts following UMBC’s turnovers.

It was not until the 2nd quarter that they truly started to take advantage of the points off turnovers. At the end, the Retrievers had 31 turnovers while FIU had only 20. FIU scored 28 points off turnovers.

Thankful for defense➡️offense 👏 pic.twitter.com/9tyseVrMbw

— FIU Women’s Basketball (@FIUWBB) November 28, 2025

Backcourt Leads the Way for Panthers

The best players on the court were Rhema Collins, Parris Atkins, and Denika Lightbourne. Collins followed up on her double-double at Jacksonville with a team-leading 19 points and eight rebounds. She also had two steals and a block. Atkins, on the other hand, had a team-leading five assists and six steals.

She scored 18 points and grabbed six boards. Lightbourne didn’t play as many minutes as the other duo, but she still balled out. She scored 19 points, grabbed a pair of rebounds, and earned two steals.

Float game on point 🤌 pic.twitter.com/p9p8tgzuXi

— FIU Women’s Basketball (@FIUWBB) November 28, 2025

Up Next

FIU Women’s Basketball takes on the winner of the Presbyterian-Seattle game tomorrow at 1:30 PM at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.

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.

See author's posts