Box Score MIAMI (Feb. 6, 2013) – The FIU women's basketball team defeated Sun Belt Conference and local rival Florida Atlantic, 65-55, on Wednesday evening at U.S. Century Bank Arena. With the win, the Panthers improve to 14-9 (8-6 SBC) while the Owls fall to 10-12 (7-7 SBC).

Junior Jerica Coley led all scorers with 33 points on 12-of-17 shooting from the floor and a 7-of-7 performance from the free throw line. The All-America candidate has now scored in double-figures in 21-consecutive games and in 79 of 89 career contests, as the 33-point outing marks her 14th, 20-point plus performance and 10th, 30-plus point outing of the season.

With her seventh made free throw at the 11:25 mark of the second half, Coley became FIU's all-time leader in career free throws made with 454. The junior also jumped from fifth place to third place on the Panther career field goals made chart, as she has now converted 664 career field goals.

Also scoring in double-figures for the Panthers was senior Diamond Ashmore with a career-high 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and 2-of-2 shooting from the charity stripe. Ashmore added a career-best eight rebounds and two blocks in a career-high 30 minutes versus the Owls.

Leading FIU on the boards for the 14th time this season was junior Marita Davydova with 10 rebounds, while senior Carmen Miloglav dished out a career-high 10 assists on the night, also notching the Panthers' lone steal of the contest.

FIU got on the board quickly with a score from Davydova just 15 seconds into the game, and the Panthers' pushed their lead to 36-30 at the halftime break, courtesy of 24 points from Coley. In the second half, FIU extended its advantage to as many as 17 points, as the Panthers went on for the 65-55 victory.

As a team, FIU shot 50.9 percent (27-of-53) from the field, compared to 31.8 percent (21-of-66) shooting by FAU. The Panthers out-rebounded the Owls, 44-26, for the contest.

FIU returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 9, as the Panthers travel to Denton, Texas, for a league matchup with the North Texas Mean Green. Tipoff is set for 6 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).

About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports, and is a proud member of the Sun Belt Conference and an affiliate member
of Conference USA (men's soccer). 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 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's 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 and enrolls nearly 48,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. More than 140,000 alumni live and work in South Florida. FIU is a member of the Sun Belt Conference and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.