Box Score TALLAHASEE, Fla. (Jan. 2, 2013) – Junior Jerica Coley netted 35 points and junior Finda Mansare scored the game-winning basket with six seconds left on the clock, as the FIU women's basketball team defeated Florida A&M, 70-69, on Wednesday afternoon at the Al Lawson Center.

The first half saw FIU (8-5, 2-2 SBC) run out to an early advantage before FAMU (3-10, 0-0 MEAC) came back to lead by 10 points at 34-24 with 4:16 left in the stanza. The Panthers were able to cut into the Rattlers' advantage before the halftime break, scoring six of the final nine points of the half to go into the locker room trailing, 37-30. For the period, FAMU scored 21 points off 12 FIU turnovers.

In the second half, the Panthers battled back to knot the score six times with the final tie coming at 64-64 with 2:48 left to play. Coley scored four-straight points to give FIU a 68-64 advantage with 1:41 remaining in the contest, but FAMU bounced back, netting a three-pointer with 21 seconds left on the clock, putting the Rattlers on top, 69-68.

Following a timeout, FIU drove the length of the court and senior Carmen Miloglav dished to Mansare for a score with six ticks remaining on the clock to lift the Panthers to a 70-69 victory.

Coley led all scorers with 35 points, as she has now scored in double-figures in 12-of-13 contests this season, and in 69-of-79 career games. The 20-point performance marks her eighth such outing of the campaign, and the 30-point performance marks her second-straight and fourth of the season.

Junior Marita Davydova notched her fifth-career double-double with 11 points and a team-leading 11 rebounds against the Rattlers, while Mansare fell one rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine boards.

For the game, FIU shot 47.3 percent (26-of-55) from the field while FAMU shot 44.4 percent (28-of-63) from the floor. The Panthers out-rebounded the Rattlers, 42-27, as FIU held a 32-22 advantage in points in the paint and a 16-7 advantage in second-chance points. FAMU forced FIU into a season-high-tying 22 turnovers, turning those setbacks
into 32 points.

FIU will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 5, when the Panthers jump back into Sun Belt Conference play versus Louisiana. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m. at U.S. Century Bank
Arena, with the FIU men's basketball team set to square off against the Ragin' Cajuns at 7:30 p.m.

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/.