FIU women’s basketball hoping their two star players can lead team to new heights

The math doesn’t seem to work.

FIU’s women’s basketball team – according to a poll of Conference USA coaches – has two of the top 11 players in the league in 5-9 shooting guard Kaliah Henderson and 5-6 point guard Tanajah Hayes.

Yet, out of the league’s nine teams, FIU has been predicted to finish seventh.

“We’re feeling a little disrespected,” fourth-year FIU coach Jesyka Burks-Wiley said. “But it’s just an opinion. It’s our job to shape the facts.”

It would help the Panthers if their two stars have big years.

Henderson last season led FIU and ranked fifth in the league in scoring (15.7). She’s a Tampa native who played her first three college seasons for St. Joseph’s.

Hayes, a North Carolina native, finished second in the league in steals (2.3). She was second on FIU in scoring (10.2), and she led the Panthers in assists (3.4).

But in fairness to the coaches who combined to predict FIU to finish seventh, perhaps their stance is a reflection of a Panthers squad that has been stuck at 15 or 14 wins in each of the past three seasons.

Burks-Wiley, in the fall of 2020, inherited a 6-23 team and led the Panthers to an impressive 15-13 record. However, in the past two seasons, the Panthers have compiled records of 15-16 and then 14-19.

In league play, FIU went 8-8 in Burks-Wiley’s first season. Since then, the Panthers have gone 13-25 in league regular-season play and 1-2 in the postseason tournament.

The Panthers are hoping for improvement from a group of three returning players: 5-10 shooting guard Olivia Trice, who started 22 games and averaged 6.7 points; 6-0 forward Ajae Yoakum, who started 15 games and averaged 5.6 points; and 6-1 forward Maria Torres, who started 29 games and averaged 5.0 points and 4.1 rebounds.

Burks-Wiley praised Torres in particular, saying she has grown from her stubbornness earlier in her career.

“She’s now our ‘glue’ player,” Burks-Wiley said. “It’s not a glamorous designation, but every coach feels it when you don’t have a glue player.”

Perhaps the biggest key for the Panthers will be their five transfers: 5-11 point Angena Belloso (St. Francis Brooklyn); 5-8 shooting guard Aileen Marquez (Clarendon College); 5-10 forward Courtney Turner (South Carolina Upstate); 6-1 forward Courtney Prenger (Xavier); and 6-2 forward Mya Kone (James Madison).

FIU also added one scholarship freshman: 5-9 guard Fantasia James.

Belloso, Marquez and James will provide backcourt depth. Belloso is a savvy point guard who needs to develop more as a scorer. Marquez is a “sniper” as a shooter, according to Burks-Wiley, and she is working on the rest of her game. James is a competitive player who could see early playing time.

Up front, Turner is an undersized post who has impressed Burks-Wiley, and Prenger is a consistent worker.

Kone could be FIU’s top newcomer based on Burks-Wiley’s comment on her.

“She’s the best rebounder we’ve had here,” Burks-Wiley said. “Her game is at the rim.”

Burks-Wiley said she doesn’t have a starting lineup yet, and, even if she did, it could change.

Henderson, for example, started just 11 of her 33 games last season.

“Your starting spots are rented,” Burks-Wiley said. “You do not get comfortable with me. If you blink, you can be on the bench.”

Overall, though, the coach likes how her team.

“We get up and down the court, we trap, and we create chaos for 40 minutes,” Burks-Wiley said. “We demand a lot from our kids. But they also demand it of themselves and their teammates.

“This is the most competitive group I’ve had here.”