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ORLANDO, Fla. (Nov. 15, 2013) – In the team's first road game of the 2013-14 campaign, the FIU women's basketball team (0-2) dropped a closely-played game to the UCF Knights Friday night, 71-66.

Two Panthers scored in double figures, as senior Jerica Coley drained 25 points on 11-of-25 shooting, and went 3-of-5 from the line. The two-time Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and 2013-14 Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year extended her streak to 32-straight games scoring in double figures, dating back to her junior year. It's the 24th time since the 2012-13 season that Coley has scored 20-or-more points.

Redshirt freshman Brianna Wright posted 12 points, going 4-of-9, which is the Titusville, Fla., native's first collegiate double-digit point game. She was one rebound shy of a double-double and was .500 in free throws. Sophomore Taylor Shade added an additional nine points for the night.

A tightly played first 20 minutes never saw a lead higher than five points for either team. FIU jumped ahead to a fast 4-0 off a Wright jumper and Coley layup. The Knights pulled ahead, 24-19, with 7:45 left in the first but a clutch Tynia McKinzie 3-pointer, followed by another Coley layup, knotted the game up at 24-all right before the 7-minute mark. Coley finished the half with 18 points, as the Panthers entered halftime down by three, 35-32.

Out of the gate to begin the second, Shade drained back-to-back baskets from beyond the arc to put the Panthers ahead, 38-36. UCF led by as many as seven in the second, but the Panthers kept chipping away, hitting four from three-point land in the second half alone. Shade led the way with three 3-pointers, while junior Zsofia Labady notched one.

FIU got its first lead of the second, 58-57, with 4:23 remaining, as Wright went 1-for-2 from the line. UCF quickly tied up following a Coley jumper when the Knight's Briahanna Jackson hit a 3-pointer. Freshman Janka Hegedus gave the Panthers back the lead with just under 3:45 to play.

The Panthers and Knights traded buckets the final three minutes, but UCF pulled away, 71-66. FIU went 26-of-59, shooting 44.1 percent for the night, while hitting 9-of-15 from the line. The Panthers beat the Knights, 40-34, on the boards and also led in 3-pointers, 38.5 percent to 22.2 percent. FIU outscored UCF's bench, 7-4.

FIU now heads to Boston, where the team will face Harvard on Nov. 19 and Boston College on Nov. 21. Tip off for both games is slated for 7 p.m. The Panthers return home on Nov. 29 when they face Valparaiso.