Box Score MOBILE, Ala. (Jan. 27, 2013) – The FIU women's basketball team held off a second-half South Alabama rally, as the Panthers defeated the Jaguars, 50-46, on Sunday afternoon at the Mitchell Center. With the victory, FIU improves to 13-7 (7-4 SBC) while USA falls to 12-8 (5-6 SBC).

FIU quickly ran out to a 12-2 lead, extending that advantage to 28-12 at halftime led by junior Jerica Coley's 16 points. The 12 points mark the lowest scoring output for a half versus FIU this season, as the Panthers held the Jaguars to 21.7 percent shooting (5-of-23) for the stanza.

The second half saw FIU push its lead to a game-high 18 points at 38-20 with 12:24 left to play, but USA would not go away. The Jaguars chipped away at the Panthers' advantage throughout the stanza, scoring seven unanswered points in the final 1:47 of the game to get to within two at 48-46 with 12 seconds left on the clock. FIU was able to withstand the rally, as a pair of Coley free throws ensued, giving FIU a 50-46 victory.

Coley led all scorers with 31 points, good for her 12th, 20-point performance and eighth, 30-point outing of the campaign. The All-America candidate has now scored in double-figures in 19 of 20 games this season, and in 76 of 86 career contests.

Coley was 12-of-19 from the floor and 7-of-9 from the charity stripe, and she also contributed five rebounds, a team-high three steals and one assist on the day. With her first made free throw at the 10:30 mark of the first half, the St. Petersburg, Fla., native took sole possession of second place on the FIU career free throws made chart, as she has now converted 434 free throws for her career.

Leading the Panther rebounding efforts versus the Jaguars was sophomore Zsofia Labady, who registered a career-high 12 boards. In her first-career start, sophomore Tynia
McKinzie tallied a career-best eight boards, while senior Carmen Miloglav dished out a team-high four assists.

For the contest, FIU shot 38.0 percent (19-of-50) while USA shot 34.8 percent (16-of-46) from the field. The Panthers out-rebounded the Jaguars, 38-29, and the USA bench out-scored the FIU reserves, 23-2, for the game.

FIU returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 31, when the Panthers host SBC rival Middle Tennessee. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. from U.S. Century Bank Arena.

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/.