MIAMI (Oct. 25, 2012) – The Panther women's basketball squad was victorious in its first exhibition game of the 2012-13 season, as FIU defeated the University of Quebec (UQAM), 80-57, on Thursday evening at U.S. Century Bank Arena.

FIU shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half, connecting on 16-of-32 attempts, as the Panthers took a 41-25 advantage into the halftime break. Junior Marita Davydova led the Panthers with 16 points and seven rebounds in the opening stanza, while junior Jerica Coley chipped in with nine points, six boards, three blocks and two steals, and senior Carmen Miloglav registered six assists.

In the second half, FIU continued to shoot well, with the Panthers taking their largest lead of the game at 80-51 on a layup by freshman Taylor Shade with 2:29 left to play. UQAM managed six more points in the contest, before FIU went on for the 80-57 victory.

Davydova finished with a game-high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor and 6-of-9 shooting from the free throw line, also adding eight rebounds, while Coley netted 14 points (6-of-18 FG, 2-of-2 FT) and posted team-high totals of nine rebounds and four blocks. Rounding out FIU's double-figure scorers was Shade, with 13 points on a 5-of-8 shooting performance, including a 3-of-4 outing from three-point land. Leading the Panthers in the assist category was Miloglav with seven helpers, as she also picked up a
team-best five steals on the night.

As a team, FIU shot 45.9 percent (28-of-61) for the contest, while holding UQAM to 37.9 percent (22-of-58) shooting. The Panthers out-rebounded the Citadans, 44-31, and forced 23 UQAM turnovers, turning those setbacks into 25 points.

FIU will host Barry in a second exhibition game on Nov. 2, at 6 p.m. at U.S. Century Bank Arena, an event which will also serve as the official FIU Women's Basketball
Preview. Fans are invited to come out to the game and enjoy free food, drinks and giveaways, as well as a postgame autograph session.

The Panthers will officially open the 2012-13 campaign on Nov. 11, when FIU welcomes North Florida to the friendly confines of U.S. Century Bank Arena. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m.

For FIU women's basketball ticket information, call 305-FIUGAME or log onto FIUSports.com. New to the 2012-13 season, Panther fans unable to attend home games can tune into PantherVision for a free live video feed of each home contest. For more information, log onto FIUSports.com and access "Live Events" from the "Multimedia" tab.

Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUWBasketball) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUWBasketball) for all the latest FIU women's basketball news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Google+ (FIU Athletics), Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), Pinterest (FIUAthletics), and Instagram (FIUathletics).

About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports, and is a proud member of the Sun Belt Conference and an affiliate member
of Conference USA (men's soccer). Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including U.S. Century
Bank Arena and Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium.

About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU is worlds ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission and enrolls nearly 48,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. More than 140,000 alumni live and work in South Florida. FIU is a member of the Sun Belt Conference and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.