MIAMI (Nov. 18, 2013) - The FIU women's basketball team (0-2) heads up to Boston for two mid-week games, first facing Harvard tomorrow at 7 p.m. from the Lavietes Pavilion.
Last Time Out
FIU is coming off a 71-66 loss to the UCF Knights on Friday, Nov. 15. 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.
Scouting the Crimson
Harvard is 3-1 and riding a three-game win streak entering tomorrow's game against the Panthers, most recently winning, 84-56, over North Dakota State. Through four games, Harvard hasn't been held under 75 points, averaging 79.5 points per game, while holding opponents to 74.5 points per game. Christine Clark spearheads the offense, shooting 86.4 percent for the season, averaging 18.2 points per game. Temi Fagbenle and Erin McDonnell are both averaging double-digit points per game (10.2 apiece) as well. The team is going 72.2 percent from the line, while tallying 43.5 percent from the boards.
Head Coach
Cindy Russo has led her squads to 689 victories over 37 years, making her the ninth-winningest active coach in Division I. For her career, Russo has amassed an overall record of 689-365, and owns a record of 649-343 in 35 seasons at FIU. Her 34 full seasons at FIU are the fifth-most across all NCAA institutions, regardless of division, for number of seasons spent with one program.
#HolyColey up for the Senior Class Award
Coley has been recognized as one of 60 men's and women's basketball student-athletes who excel both on and off the court for the 2013-14 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate basketball. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
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). The official hashtag of the 2013-14 FIU athletic season is PantherNation.
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. 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 bachelor¹s, master¹s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida¹s 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. FIU has awarded 200,000 degrees and enrolls 50,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
