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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Nov. 19, 2013) - The FIU women's basketball team (0-3) fell to the Harvard Crimson (3-1), 64-52, Tuesday night from the Lavietes Pavilion in the team's second road game of the 2013-14 campaign. 

Senior Jerica Coley drained 24 points on 9-of-27 shooting, while going 2-of-8 from 3-point range and hitting 80 percent 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 33-straight games scoring in double figures, dating back to her junior year. It's the 25th time since the 2012-13 season that Coley has scored 20-or-more points. 

Freshman Janka Hegedus tallied nine points, going a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor and hitting both attempts from beyond the arc. The two 3-pointers were the first and second of the Hungary native's collegiate career. Redshirt freshman Brianna Wright and junior Tynia McKinzie each scored six points apiece.

After a quick Crimson 3-pointer just six seconds into the game, the Panthers went on a 21-8 run in just under nine minutes of play. Coley scored two buckets and a 3-pointer during the close-to-nine-minute run. Off an FIU timeout, Shade's basket from beyond the arc at 11:14 gave the Panthers a 21-11 lead against the high-scoring Crimson offense that hasn't been held under 36 points in a half yet this season. Coley knocked down a 3-pointer just shy of 4:30 remaining in the first to give FIU an 11-point lead, as the Panthers headed into halftime up 32-23.

Coley tallied 16 points, shooting 6-of-11 from the floor and led all scorers in the first half. Wright shot 50 perfect from the floor and went a perfect 2-for-2 from the line for six points. The Titusville, Fla., native played the full 20 minutes. It's the first time in Wright's collegiate career that she's played the duration of a half.

Harvard went on a 13-6 run to open the second half and brought the score within two points, before  Hegedus drained one from 3-point land to give the Panthers a 41-36 lead with 14:09 to play in the game. The Crimson's Jasmine Evans gave Harvard its first lead since 15:49 in the first half at just under the 11-minute mark, 45-42. Coley responded with another layup and two made free-throws. McKinzie scored the Panthers next three points, converting a layup and two from the line.  The Crimson went on a 14-6 run in the final five minutes to close out the game.

FIU finished the night shooting 79 percent from the line, converting on 11-of-14 attempts and beat the Crimson 20-15 on the boards. Harvard held a slight edge in rebounds, 41-38, and the two teams were knotted with six steals apiece. FIU's defense was able to keep Harvard in check, limiting the Crimson to its lowest points total of the season and well under its 79.5 points per game average.

The Panthers will face Boston College on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. from the Conte Forum.

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/.