Box Score LAFAYETTE, La. (Jan. 23, 2013) – The FIU women's basketball team defeated Sun Belt Conference foe Louisiana, 64-63, in overtime on Wednesday night at Earl K. Long Gym. With the win, the Panthers improves to 12-7 (6-4 SBC) while the Ragin' Cajuns fall to 7-13 (1-10 SBC).

The overtime game marked the first of its kind for FIU this season, as the Panthers improve to 12-11 all-time in OT with the victory. FIU has now won four-straight overtime contests, dating back to the 2009-10 season.

In the first half, the two squads battled back and forth until ULL took a 20-17 lead at the 6:01 mark. Two-straight buckets from junior Jerica Coley would then put FIU on top, and the Panthers went on to take a 27-25 advantage into the halftime break.

The second half saw ULL lead by as many as five points, but FIU kept fighting back, taking a 56-52 lead on a Coley layup with 1:35 left to play in regulation. The Ragin' Cajuns would then score two-straight buckets to knot the score at 56-56 to force overtime.

In the extra period, FIU narrowly out-scored ULL, 8-7, to escape with a 64-63 victory.

Coley led all scorers with 34 points on 15-of-23 shooting from the floor and 4-of-6 shooting from the free throw line, as she has now scored in in double-figures in 18 of 19 games this season and in 75 of 85 career contests. This season, the All-America candidate has notched 11, 20-plus point outings and seven, 30-plus point performances.
Coley is now tied for second place on the FIU career charts for free throws made (427).

Junior Marita Davydova led the Panther rebounding efforts with six boards, while Coley registered team-leading marks of three blocks and three assists. Senior Carmen Miloglav also added three helpers on the night.

As a team, FIU shot 51.0 percent (25-of-49) from the field while ULL shot 44.8 percent (26-of-58) from the floor. The Panthers out-rebounded the Ragin' Cajuns, 33-26, and FIU
forced 14 ULL turnovers, turning those setbacks into 20 points.

FIU will return to action on Sunday, Jan. 27, when the Panthers travel to Mobile, Ala., to take on the South Alabama Jaguars. Tipoff is set for 3:05 p.m. ET from the Mitchell 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