Women’s Basketball Goes for Back-to-Back Wins with MLK Day Matchup Against FIU

DENTON, Texas (Jan. 15, 2023) – Coming off its largest win of the season, North Texas women's basketball returns to the court Monday for a special Martin Luther King Jr. Day matchup against FIU at 3:30 pm looking to win back-to-back games for the first time this season.

It will be the 26th all-time meeting between the two programs in a series that dates back to 2001. FIU knocked off UNT 86-67 in Miami earlier this season, their second straight win in the series.

FIU sits at 8-7 overall this season and 3-3 in C-USA play thus far. The Panthers started conference play with a 3-1 record but have dropped back-to-back games against FAU and WKU heading into the matchup.

Quick Hitters

UNT heads into the matchup with a 2-1 record in C-USA home contests and have posted four of their five wins inside the Super Pit this season.
Senior Quincy Noble leads UNT offensively with 17.6 points per game this season, a figure that is second Conference USA and 55th in Division I. Noble has scored in double figures 14 times this season for North Texas and scored her 1,000th career point on the road at FIU.
Junior Tommisha Lampkin has been one of the top post players in C-USA, sitting second in the league with 7.7 rebounds per game and third with 1.6 blocks per contest.
Freshman Ereauna Hardaway ranks third in C-USA with a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio on the year. The freshman leads the Mean Green with 3.8 assists per game.
UNT has two of the top-10 players in C-USA in blocked shots this season in Lampkin and Aniyah Johnson. Lampkin sits third in the league with 1.6 blocks per game while Johnson is eighth at 1.1 blocks per contest.
In total, the Mean Green rank third in the conference with 3.3 blocks per game as a team.
UNT has been one of the top teams in C-USA in distributing the basketball this season. The Mean Green rank second in the league with 14.7 assist per game in conference-only games this season.
In C-USA matchups, UNT has two of the top six assist leaders in the league in Hardaway at 4.3 assists per game (5th) and sophomore Kendall McGruder at 4.2 APG (6th).
Through the first six C-USA games this season, sophomores Kendall McGruder and Aniyah Johnson have turned their game to a new level.
In conference-only games this season, both McGruder and Johnson are averaging in double-figures with McGruder scoring 14.2 points per game and Johnson averaging 12.2 points per contest.
Last time out against FAU, McGruder had a career-day with 29 points, five steals and three assists to bring her scoring average this season to 8.1 PPG.
Johnson is now averaging 7.2 rebounds per game in C-USA contests. That figure is tied for the fourth-most in conference-only games this season.
Through 16 games this season, the rebound battle has been an indicator of success for UNT. The Mean Green are 1-9 this season when losing the team rebounding battle and are 4-1 when outrebounding their opponents.

Series History

UNT holds a narrow 13-12 lead in the all-time series against the Panthers and have won 6 of the last eight contests.
FIU has won each of the last two matchups between the two teams, including an 86-67 victory earlier this season in Miami. Kaliah Henderson led the Panthers in that contest with 19 points off the bench going 7 for 10 from the floor.
Jalie Mitchell is 4-2 all-time against FAU as a head coach and is a perfect 3-0 vs. the Panthers inside the Super Pit.

Prepping for the Panthers

FIU comes into the matchup at 8-7 overall and 3-3 in conference play.
Kaliah Henderson is the leading scorer for the Panthers averaging 13.5 points per game. In the last five games for FIU, Henderson is averaging 18.2 points per contest and is coming off a 24-point performance last time out against WKU.
Tanajah Hayes is one of the top defensive players in the league, leading the conference in steals per game with 2.6.
FIU is one of the best rebounding teams in the country, averaging a league-best 42.0 rebounds per game. Specifically, the Panthers crash the offensive glass hard ranking eighth in Division I with 16.7 offensive rebounds per game.

Things to Know

An iPad will be awarded to a student at halftime courtesy of Credit Union of Texas.
In Honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, UNT players and staff will wear shirts for warm-ups and on bench to commemorate Dr. King's life mission.
Gate A of the Super Pit remains closed for construction until further notice. Fans are encouraged to enter through Gate B.
Tickets for the contest can be purchased here.

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