Box Score MIAMI (Nov. 23, 2012) – Behind the late heroics of junior Jerica Coley, the FIU women's basketball team defeated Iowa, 66-65, on Friday night in the opening game of the FIU Thanksgiving Classic at U.S. Century Bank Arena. With the victory, the Panthers improve to 2-2 on the season, while the Hawkeyes suffer their second loss of the season, moving to 4-2.

FIU went into the halftime break facing a 34-25 deficit and fell behind by as many as 13 in the second stanza, as Iowa went ahead 43-30 at the 16:48 mark. The Panthers would then go on a 14-0 run, capped off by a three-pointer from Coley, to take their first lead of the contest at 44-43 with 13:09 remaining in the contest.

The teams battled back and forth to a 52-52 tie before a layup from senior Finda Mansare gave FIU a lead at 54-52 with 7:12 left to play. Iowa pushed back, going ahead by eight at 62-54 at the 2:34 mark, and the Panthers kept chipping away at the deficit, getting to within one at 65-64 on a trey from Coley with 18 seconds left on the clock.

A pair of missed Hawkeye free throws ensued, and Coley went coast-to-coast for a layup as the clock expired, giving FIU a 66-65 victory.

With a season-high 31 points on the night, Coley moves into eighth place on the FIU all-time scoring chart with 1,366 points through 70 career contests. For the game, the 2012 Sun Belt Conference Preseason Player of the Year was 11-of-28 from the floor, including a 3-of-9 mark from three-point land, and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe, also registering six rebounds, a team-leading four assists, two steals and one block.

Mansare added a season-best 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field and a 3-of-4 performance from the free throw line, also adding a team-high eight boards, one steal and one block in the victory. Senior Carmen Miloglavposted a squad-best three steals, as the Panthers tallied six steals on the night, compared to one swipe for the Hawkeyes.

As a team, FIU shot 36.9 percent (24-of-65) from the floor, while Iowa notched a field goal percentage of 42.1 percent (24-of-57). The Hawkeyes narrowly out-rebounded the Panthers, 39-37, for the contest and also won the blocking battle, 5-3. FIU forced 16 Iowa turnovers, turning those setbacks into 20 points, while the Panthers committed 10 turnovers for the game.

FIU will face LSU in the FIU Thanksgiving Classic championship game on Sunday at 3 p.m. at U.S. Century Bank Arena. The consolation game will be played at 1 p.m., featuring Iowa and No. 12/14 West Virginia.

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