AT A GLANCE
FMU Lions (7-5) vs. Texas Wesleyan Rams (5-2)
When: December 17, 2019
Where: Miami Gardens, Fla. | FMU Wellness Center
Tip-off: 7 p.m.
Last Meeting: Dec. 13, 2016, Loss 59-64
Live Stream Video & Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/fmulions/index.htm

 
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Following its big home win over previously undefeated rival Edward Waters College this past weekend, Florida Memorial University's women basketball team will put its spotless home record on the line Tuesday night when the Lady Lions host Texas Wesleyan University on their home floor at 7 p.m.
 
FMU (7-5) is a perfect 4-0 when playing in the friendly confines of the FMU Wellness Center this season – and probably some of its best basketball up to this point in the season during the 66-64 win over Edward Waters, a game in which the Lions led by as many as 19.
 
Tuesday's game is the first of two-game, midweek homestand. The Lions will host Cumberland University Thursday (Dec. 19) before enjoying the holiday break.
 
Florida Memorial manufactured its big lead and ultimately staved off the rival Tigers this past Saturday thanks to a collaborative offensive effort and timely shot-making in clutch moments. Shawnice King scored a season-high 19 points, Isis Lane recorded her sixth-straight double-double, Airneisha Gamble added 11 points off the bench, and two other players finished with at least eight points.
 
In facing Texas Wesleyan, which will also take on Johnson and Wales University while it is in South Florida this week, Florida Memorial will face a 5-2 team that features an upperclassmen-heavy roster. Of the Rams' 16 players, 11 are at least juniors, and their offensive stalwart has been senior guard Nicole Gleason. Gleason leads the team in points, rebounds, and steals per game, as well as ranking No. 8 in NAIA in three-pointers made.
 
What should benefit FMU Tuesday should be the mismatch that the 6-foot-4 Lane creates. Texas Wesleyan's tallest player measures 6-foot-1 and likely won't have the athleticism to match Lane, who is comfortable operating from all three levels of the court.
 
Florida Memorial head coach Gregory Stanback and his team believes the win over Edward Waters could be the spring-boarding confidence builder that they need to close out the 2019 calendar year with a pair of victories.
 
"We know how important it is to get these next two games at home," Stanback said after the team's win this past Saturday. "Wins against teams like EWC give you confidence and it showed our girls what happens when we lock in and play the way we're capable of." 
 

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