Box Score BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (Nov. 19, 2012) – The FIU women's basketball team opened Sun Belt Conference play on Monday night at E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky., falling to WKU, 62-56. With the loss, the Panthers fall to 1-2 (0-1 SBC) while the Hilltoppers improve to 3-0 (1-0 SBC).

FIU pulled ahead early in the first half before WKU ran out to a 25-15 lead. Junior Arielle Durant would then connect on four-straight buckets to bring the Panthers to within two at 25-23 with 3:52 remaining in the stanza, but the Hilltoppers closed out the half on a 10-0 run, taking a 35-23 advantage into the halftime break. For the period, WKU capitalized on 13 FIU turnovers, turning those setbacks into 14 points.

The second half saw the Panthers get to within four at 46-42 on a bucket by junior Jerica Coley, and FIU once again cut the deficit to four at 48-44 on another Coley score at the 7:33 mark. WKU went on another run but the Panthers did not go away, as a long trey by Coley brought FIU to within five at 58-53 with 47.5 seconds left to play. However, WKU was able to withstand the Panther rally, coming away with a 62-56 victory.

Junior Marita Davydova led the Panthers with career-high totals of 17 points and 13 rebounds, marking her second-straight double-double. Durant chipped in with a career-high 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and a 3-of-3 performance at the charity stripe, also adding four boards in a career-best 18 minutes of action.

Coley also scored in double-figures, registering 12 points and falling one rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards. Senior Finda Mansare and senior Carmen Miloglav led FIU with four assists apiece, while Mansare and Coley each added a team-high three blocks.

As a team, FIU shot 35.9 percent (23-of-64) from the floor, holding WKU to 33.9 percent (21-of-62) shooting for the game. FIU out-rebounded WKU, 50-34, while the Hilltoppers forced 21 FIU turnovers and came up with 15 steals compared to zero for the Panthers.

The Panthers will next return to Miami to host the 18th-annual FIU Thanksgiving Classic, held Nov. 23 & 25 at U.S. Century Bank Arena. FIU will take on Iowa in the tournament opener on Friday, Nov. 23 at 6 p.m., followed by a matchup between No. 14/19 West Virginia and LSU at 8 p.m. Regardless of wins and losses, the Panthers will play in the 3 p.m. game on Sunday, Nov. 25, with the fourth contest of the event set for 1 p.m. Both of FIU's contests will be streamed live for free, via PantherVision at
FIUSports.com.

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), 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/.