Owls Get Revenge, Beat FIU In Defensive Battle

MIAMI, FL – It had been nearly a month since FIU Women’s Basketball lost a game. From the start, both teams struggled to find an offense. Instead, they grinded it out through the other side of the ball.

Ultimately, this game came down to the final stops as FAU beat FIU 60-57 in a defensive battle. FAU gets its revenge for losing to FIU earlier this week and puts its five-game winning streak to a halt.

Defense Decided the Game

FAU didn’t score the game’s first basket until there was 6:14 left in the 1st quarter. It took FIU 7:39 to score its first basket, making it a 3-2 deficit. That was an indication of where this game was headed. By the quarter’s end, the Panthers were up 11-9.

End of 1st
FAU 9 | FIU 11

Shooting has been off for both programs. The Owls are shooting 19% from the floor, while the Panthers are 25%. FIU has scored 6 points in the paint.#FIU | #Panthers | #PawsUp

— Ricardo Urrusuno (@RickScores) December 20, 2025

The Owls outscored the Panthers in the 2nd quarter and entered halftime with a slight 24-22 lead. At the time, FAU was shooting 26.7% while FIU was shooting 24.2% from the floor.

The 3rd quarter featured more back-and-forth with the Panthers winning it out 14-11 for a close 36-35 lead.

As predicted, the 4th quarter came down to the last minute. Denika Lightbourne made a pair of free throws to make it 56-54. After the Owls missed a 3, Fantasia James had two chances to make a layup but missed. FAU would score for the tie and then score on the next basket for the go-ahead points.

FIU had no choice but to then foul FAU, ultimately costing them the game.

Shooting Woes

Parris Atkins made the most significant impact in the game for the Panthers with 21 points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Unfortunately, she couldn’t do it all by herself.

PARRIS FOR THE LEAD‼️ pic.twitter.com/hvAv9uH8Kv

— FIU Women’s Basketball (@FIUWBB) December 20, 2025

FIU just missed way too many shots today. Not that the Owls fared any better, making 21-of-53 shots (40%), but they did enough to get the job done. The Panthers made just 19-of-65 (29%) shot attempts.

Both teams combined for 45 turnovers, and the Panthers did a great job in outscoring FAU on points off turnovers 23-9.

Even at the charity stripe, the Panthers found themselves struggling, making 13-of-20 (65%) attempts. Behind the arc, they only made 6-of-22 (27%) shots.

On Deck

FIU will have over a weeklong holiday break before playing the FNU Conquistador on December 30 at 1 PM at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center. It will be their last non-conference game of the season.

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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