Box Score JONESBORO, Ark. (Jan. 9, 2013) – Junior Jerica Coley registered her second-straight double-double as the FIU women's basketball team dropped a 49-43 decision to Sun Belt Conference foe Arkansas State on Wednesday evening at the Convocation Center. With the loss, FIU falls to 9-6 (3-3 SBC) while ASU improves to 7-9 (4-3 SBC).

FIU led for most of the first half until ASU took a 16-14 lead with just over four minutes remaining in the half. The squads fought back and forth to a 20-20 tie before the Red Wolves hit a three-pointer with nine seconds remaining in the stanza to take a 23-20 advantage into the halftime break.

The second half saw FIU go ahead 26-25 on a layup by Coley but ASU stormed back, taking its largest lead of the night at 39-33 with 5:42 left on the clock. The Panthers got to within one at 42-41 before an ASU trey put the deficit back to four with 1:19 remaining in the game.

With less than a minute to play, Coley dished to sophomore Kamika Idom for a score, cutting the Red Wolves' lead to two at 45-43. However, ASU closed out the game with a three-point play, and an extra converted free throw to go on for the 49-43 victory.

Coley led FIU with 15 points and 12 rebounds to mark her second double-double of the season and the ninth of her career. She has now scored in double-figures in 14 of 15 games this season and in 71 of 81 career contests. Coley also added team-high marks of four assists, two steals and one block on the night.

The Panthers shot 33.9 percent (20-of-59) from the floor en route to a season-low 43 points, while the Red Wolves shot 37.8 percent (17-of-45) from the field. FIU out-rebounded ASU, 42-30, for the contest.

FIU will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 12, when the Panthers travel to Little Rock, Ark., for a league contest at UALR. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on the Sun Belt Network and via ESPN3.com (subject to regional blackout).

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/.