Junior Tynia McKinize (photo credit: Richard Lewis)

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MIAMI (Nov. 29, 2013) — Double-doubles by senior Jerica Coley and junior Tynia McKinzie guided the FIU women's basketball team (1-4) to a 65-47 win over the Valparaiso Crusaders (0-6) in the opening game of the 2013 FIU Thanksgiving Classic on Friday evening from Lime Court at U.S. Century Bank Arena. 

Coley registered 30 points on 12-of-21 shooting, while going 6-of-8 from the free-throw 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 35-straight games scoring in double-figures, dating back to her junior year. It's the 27th time since the 2012-13 season that Coley has scored 20-or-more points and the 14th time she's scored 30-or-more. Coley also grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season and 10th of her FIU career.

McKinzie poured in career highs in points (11) and rebounds (12) for her first-career double-double. The Oviedo, Fla., native shot 4-of-8 from the floor and converted 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. 

The Panthers opened the game on a 10-point, 12-2 run. Following a Crusader free-throw, Coley took the inbound pass coast-to-coast, putting FIU ahead, 14-3. Valparaiso cut the FIU lead to 14-12 at the 9:56 mark, following a jumper by Charae Richardson to cap of a 9-0 run. The Panthers maintained a two point leading heading into halftime, 29-27. Coley finished the half with a game-high 19 points and was tied for the team-lead in rebounds (6) with McKinzie. 

FIU finished the first half shooting 39 percent from the floor (11-of-28), while holding the Crusaders to 24 percent from the field (8-of-33). Both teams shot well from the free-throw line, as the Panthers converted 77.8 percent from the charity stripe (7-of-9) and Valparaiso made 11-of-14 (78.6 percent). 

FIU opened the second half with a 10-4 run to take a 39-31 lead with 15:46 left in the game, following a jump shot by Coley. A 3-point play by McKinzie followed by a made free-throw by Coley gave FIU its then-largest lead of the game (12) 45-34, with 13:44 left on the clock. FIU extended its lead to 15, 57-42, following a basket by redshirt sophomore Brianna Wright with 7:15 left in the game. The Panthers took their largest lead of the game, 65-46, as sophomore Taylor Shade hit a her second bucket of the night with 1:04 left in the game. 

The win marked the first of the season for the Panthers and 690th of Head Coach Cindy Russo's career.

The Panthers will play the winner of the Montana State-Villanova on Sunday, Dec. 1, in the final game of the 2013 FIU Thanksgiving Classic. Game time is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET.

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/.