MIAMI – Bethune-Cookman Women's Basketball looks to extend its current four-game winning streak this weekend as the Wildcats travel south to Miami to take on Florida International on Sunday, Dec. 3, at 1 p.m. For BCU, it is the Wildcats fifth game away from home in the first seven contests of the 2023-24 campaign.
 
What: Game Seven
Who: Bethune-Cookman (4-2) vs. FIU (4-4)
When: Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023, at 1 p.m.
Where: Miami, Fla. – Ocean Bank Convocation Center (5,000)
 
Attend: Online Ticket Sales
Live Stats: Click Here
 
IN THE RANKINGS
▪ Bethune-Cookman is not ranked in this week's Associated Press Top 25
▪ FIU is not ranked in this week's Associated Press Top 25
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Keep up with everything Bethune-Cookman Women's Basketball this season by following the Wildcats social media platforms. You can follow @BCU_WBB on Instagram and @BCUWBB on Twitter.
 
NEWS & NOTES
▪ BCU arrives to FIU riding a four-game winning streak – one shy of matching last season's longest run of five consecutive victories from January 28 through February 11.
▪ The last time Bethune-Cookman won four consecutive nonconference games was the beginning of the 2019-20 season.
▪ The Wildcats are 1-2 in true road games this season, falling away to UCF and Florida before defeating Georgia State in the GSU Classic two weeks ago in Atlanta.
▪ Chanel Wilson is currently second in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) in scoring, with the Powder Springs, Georgia native averaging 16.3 points per contest. Kerrighan Dunn (9.8 ppg) and Chanelle McDonald (9.7 ppg) are 17th and 18th, respectively.
▪ BCU's Karianna Woods is third in the SWAC for free throw percentage, as she is shooting at a 79.2 percent clip. She has connected on 19 of 24 at the foul line in all.
▪ Wilson is also tied for second in the league in assists with 3.8 per game handed out. She currently owns a 1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio.
▪ The Cats are averaging 65.7 points per game this season, including pouring in a season-high 74 in an overtime defeat of Iona at home on November 15.
 
RECAPPING BCU'S LAST GAME (VS. JACKSONVILLE)
Bethune-Cookman jumped on Jacksonville quickly to start the contest, jumping in front 9-2. The Wildcats kept the Dolphins off the board for over six minutes as they closed out the first quarter with a 16-5 advantage behind eight early points for Chanelle McDonald. 

The B-CU barrage continued into the second quarter as Kayla White's deep three made it 24-9 in favor of the Maroon and Gold. The Dolphins finally emerged from their offensive funk midway through the second quarter, with three straight baskets prompting a B-CU timeout up 26-15. A shooting foul with a second left in the half sent Bre'yanna Frazier to the charity stripe as Jacksonville closed the frame on a 16-12 run to head to the locker room trailing 38-29. 

Jacksonville continued to claw back into the game, cutting things to as close as 42-35 on an Edyn Battle pull up jumper midway through the third. Back-to-back trips to the free throw line saw the Dolphins cut it to just six with a minute left, but Chanel Wilson's buzzer-beating jumper pushed the Wildcats back to a 53-45 through three quarters of play.

The opening of the fourth quarter saw B-CU scoreless for nearly four minutes of play as Jacksonville came back to take their first lead of the game at 54-53 on a pair of Battle free throws. The Wildcats regained the lead at the 6:09 mark with a pair of free throws from Karianna Woods to make it 55-54, which quickly expanded to a five-point lead on a Kerrighan Dunn jumper.  The back-and-forth continued, primarily from the free throw line, with B-CU seeing their lead climb to six on a D'Shantae Edwards and-one with just over two minutes to play to make it 63-57. 

That was not all for Jacksonville, as a 7-0 run brought them to within just one again at 63-62 with 45 seconds to play.  After a JU timeout, Dunn swiped the inbound pass, but could not convert on the layup as Jacksonville took it the other way, sending Saniyah Craig to the line, where she converted one of two shots to make it a one-point game with 19 seconds remaining. Jacksonville got a look at a game-tying three, but Battle's shot went off the left rim as B-CU iced things with two more free throws to cap off a 68-63 victory. 
 
BCU VS. FIU SERIES
▪ FIU owns a commanding 12-5 advantage all-time in the series between the two "Sunshine State" foes.
▪ Bethune-Cookman has won three of the last four outings between the two sides, including three in a row in 2017, '18 and '19, respectfully.
▪ However, the Panthers claimed the last meeting in 2021, using a 68-57 scoreline in Daytona Beach.
▪ Before rekindling the series in 2017, BCU and FIU had not met in women's basketball since 1992.
 
SCOUTING FIU
▪ Florida International is an even 4-4 overall on the season, as the Panthers defeated Jacksonville – a common opponent between BCU and FIU, in the Panthers last outing Friday evening. The Panthers won that contest, 88-81.
▪ FIU is 3-3 at home inside Ocean Bank Convocation Center, including a win over UTRGV and Bryant.
▪ The Panthers are averaging 74.3 points per game on the year, while holding opponents to an average of 65.6 points.
▪ Mya Kone leads the scoring for FIU with an average of 11.9 points per game, adding 7.9 rebounds and a team-high seven blocked shots.
▪ Ajae Yoakum (10.8 ppg) and Courtney Prenger (10.0) are also averaging double figures scoring for the Panthers. Meanwhile, Yoakum is also bringing down 5.8 rebounds per contest.
▪ Tanajah Hayes and Olivia Trice each tops the team with 17 assists apiece.
 
LAST TIME OUT AGAINST THE PANTHERS
Florida International used three-point shooting to break open a close game and hand Bethune-Cookman a 68-57 setback Tuesday night at Moore Gym. Racquel Ferrer-Bernad and Olivia Trice scored 14 points each as the Panthers hit five of eight from behind the arc in the third quarter and four of eight in the fourth quarter to pull away from a 28-26 halftime game.

Freshman Kayla White scored 10 of her team-high 12 points in the first half as Bethune-Cookman took a 26-23 lead on Camary Harris' three-pointer with 1:33 left in the second quarter before FIU scored the final five points of the period. Morgan Beacham added 10 points for Bethune-Cookman, followed by Tania White with nine and Kayla Clark and Harris with seven apiece. Clark also registered her fifth consecutive double-figure rebounding game with a season-high 13.
 
UP NEXT
Bethune-Cookman will play the first of three consecutive home games in the friendly confines of Richard V. Moore Gymnasium when the Wildcats welcome Warner (Fla.) to Daytona Beach on Saturday, Dec. 9, at 2 p.m.
 
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