Florida International Panthers (17-9, 10-5 CUSA) at Missouri State Bears (17-11, 9-6 CUSA)
Springfield, Missouri; Thursday, 7:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Florida International visits Missouri State after Parris Atkins scored 25 points in Florida International’s 66-45 win over the Liberty Lady Flames.
The Bears are 9-5 on their home court. Missouri State is fourth in the CUSA scoring 65.6 points while shooting 40.1% from the field.
The Panthers are 10-5 in conference matchups. Florida International is second in the CUSA with 11.7 offensive rebounds per game led by Rhema Collins averaging 3.8.
Missouri State is shooting 40.1% from the field this season, 1.2 percentage points lower than the 41.3% Florida International allows to opponents. Florida International averages 9.1 more points per game (71.2) than Missouri State gives up to opponents (62.1).
The teams play for the second time in conference play this season. Missouri State won the last meeting 80-69 on Jan. 4. Maiesha Washington scored 19 points points to help lead the Bears to the win.
TOP PERFORMERS: Maycee James is averaging 3.5 points and 2.5 steals for the Bears. Kaemyn Bekemeier is averaging 16.6 points over the last 10 games.
Collins is averaging 17.9 points, nine rebounds, 2.2 steals and 1.6 blocks for the Panthers. Atkins is averaging 15.4 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Bears: 5-5, averaging 63.7 points, 33.9 rebounds, 13.5 assists, 6.2 steals and 2.7 blocks per game while shooting 40.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 58.9 points per game.
Panthers: 7-3, averaging 63.1 points, 31.6 rebounds, 12.9 assists, 10.0 steals and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 39.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 57.5 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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