GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Dec. 20, 2013) – The FIU women's basketball team (4-5) continued its winning streak, defeating the La Salle Explorers, 84-58, in the first game of the Gator Holiday Classic. The win marks the third-straight victory for the Panthers. The 84 points from the Panthers are the most the team has scored since they put up 100 against Florida Atlantic on Feb. 19, 2011.
Senior
Jerica Coley registered 33 points, three points shy of her season-high, shooting 10-of-27 from the floor and going 12-of-13 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 39-straight games scoring in double-figures, dating back to her junior year. It's the 31st time since the 2012-13 season that Coley has scored 20-or-more points, and the 14th time she's scored 30-or-more.
Junior
Tynia McKinzie registered a career-high 15 points, shooting 7-of-11 and grabbed seven rebounds. Sophomore
Taylor Shade also scored 15 points, three shy of her season-best, in a 6-of-9 effort from the floor, while hitting 3-of-4 shots from beyond the arc, tying her season-high. Junior
Kamia Idom added 11 points, going 11-of-12 from the line. The 11 made free-throws is a career-high for the St. Petersburg, Fla. native.
FIU fell behind, 7-2, to open the game before McKinzie converted a three-point play to give the Panthers its first lead of the night, 9-7, with 15:05 to play in the first half. A Coley jumper and free throw at the 12:28-mark, followed by a McKinzie layup, put FIU ahead by nine, 18-9. Shade hit her first 3-pointer of the night with just over 10 minutes to play, giving the Panthers a 10-point, 21-10, lead. FIU was up by 14 points with just under seven minutes to play after Idom hit her two shots from the line, making it four-straight for the junior. Heading into the half, FIU led 46-28, which is the most points the Panthers have put up in the first half all season.
Coley led all scorers with 22 points through the first 20 minutes on a 7-of-15 shooting performance, while hitting 8-of-9 free throws. McKinzie led all players with six rebounds, while she and Shade each contributed seven points apiece. FIU shot 47 percent from the floor in the first half, converting on 14-of-30 shots, while continuing its hot-streak from the line, hitting 17-of-20 attempts.
La Salle opened the second half on a 9-4 run, cutting the its deficit to 50-37 with just under 17 minutes to play. McKinzie hit a jumper with 15:31 remaining and then stole the Explorers' ball just over a minute later to keep the score 55-39. Idom drained both her attempts from the line just before the clock hit 10:50. FIU went ahead by 20 points with 9:34 to play, courtesy of another Shade 3-pointer. Shade then converted a 3-point play at the five minute mark, giving FIU a 25-point, 77-52, lead. Junior
Zsofia Labady's free-throw, followed by a Coley jumper closed out the Panthers scoring opportunities for the night.
FIU finished the night shooting 41 percent, making 26-of-64 shots from the floor and went just shy of 85 percent from the charity stripe (28-for-34). The FIU bench contributed 26 points, tying its season-high (Dec. 6 vs. Prairie View). The most FIU led by at any time during the game was 29 points, which came in the second half, with under five minutes to play.
The Panthers look to make it four-straight tomorrow, when the team plays either host Florida or Tennessee State, depending on that game'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/
