MIAMI (Dec. 23, 2013) – The FIU women's basketball team (4-6) tips off the 2013 Sun & Fun Classic on Saturday, Dec. 28, taking on the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights in the first game of the tournament at 6:00 p.m. from Lime Court at U.S. Century Bank Arena in Miami, Fla.
Keeping up with the Panthers
Live stats are available for all games and can be accessed via the FIU women's basketball schedule page at FIUSports.com. A FREE live video stream for all FIU home games is available via PantherVision, by clicking
HERE, and fans can also follow the action live on Twitter (@FIUWBasketball).
Last Time Out
The FIU women's basketball team fell to the Florida Gators, 90-74, in the championship game of the 2013 Gator Holiday Classic. Despite outscoring the Gators in the second half, Florida jumped out to a 53-34 first half lead and would never look back.
Senior
Jerica Coley registered a game-high 35 points, converting on 13 field goals, three of them coming from 3-point range. The two-time Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and 2013-14 Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year extended her streak to 40-straight games scoring in double-figures, dating back to her junior year. It's the 32nd time since the 2012-13 season that Coley has scored 20-or-more points, and the 15th time she's scored 30-or-more.
Sophomore
Taylor Shade added 10 points, going 4-for-9 from the floor and also sank two treys. Redshirt sophomore
Brianna Wright collected a team-high nine rebounds, while also tallying nine points. Junior
Kamika Idom scored eight points in the effort.
Scouting the Knights
Under the direction of seventh-year Head Coach Peter Cinella, FDU is 1-8, most recently losing at NJIT, 84-71. The Knights offense is spearheaded by Brianna Thomas and Kelsey Cruz, who are averaging 16 and 14 points-per-game, respectively. Desiree Crawford anchors the FDU defense, averaging 7.3 boards-per-game. The Knights are averaging 59.4 points-per-game, while allowing 74.0 points-per-contest and are being out-rebounded 406-335 in nine contests.
Head Coach Cindy Russo has led her squads to 693 victories over 37 years, making her the ninth-winningest active coach in Division I. For her career, Russo has amassed an overall record of 693-365, and owns a record of 653-343 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 Sun & Fun Classic on Sunday, with the final game of the tournament versus either Wake Forest of Florida A&M. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
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/
