MIAMI (Dec. 19, 2013) – The FIU women's basketball team (3-5) kicks off the Gator Holiday Classic tomorrow, taking on the La Salle Explorers in the first game of the tournament at 4:30 p.m. from the O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla.
Keeping up with the Panthers
Live stats for the Gator Holiday Classic can be accessed by clicking
here.
Last Time Out
FIU rolled past the Tennessee Tech Eagles, 70-65, on Monday, Dec. 16 to make it back-to-back victories for the Panthers. Senior
Jerica Coley registered 25 points, shooting 8-of-17 from the floor and going 8-of-9 from the line while collecting seven rebounds. The two-time Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and 2013-14 Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year extended her streak to 38-straight games scoring in double-figures, dating back to her junior year. It's the 30th time since the 2012-13 season that Coley has scored 20-or-more points.
Redshirt junior
Arielle Durant scored a season-high 11 points following a 4-of-9 shooting performance, hitting both her shots from the charity stripe. Sophomore
Taylor Shade collected 12 points, the second-highest total for her this season, shooting 50 percent for the night. Junior
Tynia McKinzie was one point shy of a double-double, finishing with nine points and a team-best 10 boards. Redshirt junior
Brianna Wright finished with nine points in 31 minutes.
Scouting the Explorers
Under the direction of fourth year Head Coach Jeff Williams, La Salle is 3-5, most recently losing at home to Villanova, 83-47. The Explorers offense if spearheaded by Micahya Owens and Khristin Lee, who are averaging 13 and 12 points-per-game, respectively. Alicia Cropper is third on the team with 11.3 point-per-game, as they are the only three players averaging double-digit points-per-game on the team. Leeza Burdgees anchors the La Salle defense, holding a slight edge over Siobhan Beslow in rebounds, 6.5-6.4 boards-per-game. La Salle is bested by its opponents slightly in scoring, 63.9-60.0, although the Explorers are averaging just over three rebounds-per-game more than opponents, 41.0-37.6.
Head Coach
Cindy Russo has led her squads to 692 victories over 37 years, making her the ninth-winningest active coach in Division I. For her career, Russo has amassed an overall record of 692-365, and owns a record of 652-343 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.
Next Up
The Panthers continue the Gator Holiday Classic on Saturday, with the opponent and time dependent on the first day's outcome.
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/
