Breakthrough season for FIU’s women’s hoops team hoping to end NCAA Tournament drought
The FIU women’s basketball team, which has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2002, is having a breakthrough season.
Coach Jesyka Burks-Wiley, who is in her fourth season at FIU, has the Panthers (18-7, 9-2) in second place in Conference USA, trailing only Middle Tennessee (21-4, 11-0).
FIU, though, has no scorer among the top 10 in the league. In fact, no Panther ranks in the top-five in any major statistical category, making it unlikely they will have a first-team All-C-USA player.
Not that Burks-Wiley is concerned.
“I’m worried about March, and my players may be even more focused on that,” she said of the postseason. “We don’t have kids consumed with individual glory.”
As a team, FIU is vastly improved from the 6-23 team that Burks-Wiley inherited when she was hired in April of 2020 during the height of COVID.
Her first team went 15-13, the program’s most wins since 2012-2013.
The past two years, however, the Panthers’ record has been stuck somewhere in the vicinity of neutral, finishing 15-16 lin 2022 and 14-19 last year.
Burks-Wiley said this season’s group has “bought in” to team goals.
On offense, FIU features balanced scoring with Mya Kone leading the way with just 11.5 points per game.
That balanced scoring is actually a strength, according to Burks-Wiley.
“You can’t just cut off one pipeline and beat us,” she said.
Defensively, the Panthers employ multiple concepts – man, zone or a combination – and the players are able to pick it up without issues.
FIU’s biggest strength may be on the boards as the Panthers lead the league in rebounding margin (plus-5.96).
Kone, a 6-2 forward from Pompano Ely who played last season for James Madison before transferring back home, also leads FIU in rebounds (8.0).
There are no players on the roster who were at FIU for Burks-Wiley’s first season.
Instead, FIU features six newcomers to the roster this season, including just one true freshman, 6-1 freshman Lauren Stewart, who is not in the rotation.
Tanajah Hayes, a 5-6 point guard from Charlotte who is averaging 10.1 points and a team-high 3.8 assists, is the longest-tenured player on the team, competing in 79 games and counting over the past three seasons.
“She’s very consistent,” Burks-Wiley said of Hayes.
Add it all up, and FIU – with five regular-season games left -- is in good shape for the C-USA tournament set for March 12-16 in Huntsville, Alabama.
The biggest concern for the Panthers is that they are 0-2 against Middle Tennessee, getting blown out 92-62 on Jan. 27 and then losing 73-54 on Feb. 10.
THIS AND THAT
▪ Barry men’s tennis coach Thomas Hipp resigned last week even though the season is ongoing. Hipp won four national titles at Barry – two as an assistant and two as the Bucs’ head coach.
Bucs associate head coach Fredric Bonal will take over the team. Hipp, according to Barry, will next pursue a non-college tennis opportunity.
