Box Score MIAMI (Dec. 30, 2012) – The FIU women's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 65-63 decision to ACC power Georgia Tech in the FIU Sun & Fun Classic title tilt on Sunday evening at U.S. Century Bank Arena. With the loss, the Panthers fall to 7-5 (2-2 SBC) while the Yellow Jackets improve to 6-6 (0-1 ACC).

In the opening stanza, FIU ran out to a 24-7 advantage, but GT went on a 23-10 run to close out the half, as the Panthers took a 37-30 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Yellow Jacket reserves came up big in the first half, out-scoring the FIU bench, 12-2.

The second half saw GT knot the score at 47-47 and then take its largest lead of the night at 60-52 with 5:17 left on the clock. Junior Jerica Coley would then net 11-straight points for the Panthers to put FIU on top at 61-60 at the 2:35 mark, forcing a Yellow Jacket timeout. Out of the break, Coley scored on a layup to increase the Panthers'
advantage to 63-60 before a pair of GT free throws brought the Yellow Jackets to within one at 63-62 with just over two minutes left to play.

Jasmine Blain would then convert a three-pointer from the corner with 47 seconds left in the contest, as GT went on for the 65-63 victory.

Coley registered her seventh, 20-plus point outing and her third, 30-point performance of the season with 37 points on the night. The St. Petersburg, Fla., native has now
scored in double-figures in 11 of 12 games this season and in 68 of 78 career contests. Coley was a perfect 16-of-16 from the charity stripe against GT, besting her own school record for free throw percentage (1.000) for the second time this season.

As a team, FIU converted a season-high 28 free throws for the contest, going 28-of-32 (87.5 percent) from the line.

Junior Marita Davydova led the FIU rebounding corps with nine boards, also contributing 12 points, a team-high two blocks and a squad-high-tying two steals.

FIU shot a season-low 28.6 percent (16-of-56) from the field while GT shot 51 percent (26-of-51) from the floor. The Panthers narrowly out-rebounded the Yellow Jackets, 36-35,
and FIU forced 13 GT turnovers, turning those setbacks into 23 points.

Following the championship game, Coley and Davydova were named to the Sun & Fun Classic All-Tournament Team. Joining the duo on the all-tournament squad were GT's Tyaunna Marshall, Quinnipiac's Samantha Guastella and Northeastern's Deanna Kerkhof, while GT'ys Dawnn Maye earned MVP honors. In the consolation game, QU defeated NU, 83-72.

FIU will close out its non-conference schedule on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013, when the Panthers travel to Tallahassee, Fla., to take on Florida A&M. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. from the Al Lawson Center.

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/