Box Score DENTON, Texas (Feb. 9, 2013) – Behind double-figure scoring efforts from three Panthers and a double-double from junior Marita Davydova, the FIU women's basketball team defeated Sun Belt Conference foe North Texas, 72-63, on Saturday evening at North Texas Coliseum. With the win, the Panthers improve to 15-9 (9-6 SBC) while the Mean Green falls to 9-15 (8-7 SBC).

The first half saw the squads fight to a 15-15 tie before FIU pulled ahead by seven at 22-15 with 8:12 remaining in the stanza. NT cut the deficit to 32-30 on a three-point play with 48 seconds left on the clock, and junior Jerica Coley dished to sophomore Zsofia Labady for a three-pointer to give the Panthers a 33-32 advantage at the break.

In the second half, the Mean Green jumped out to what would be its largest lead of the contest at 45-41 with 15:40 left to play. The Panthers stormed back to lead by as many as 10 points at 68-58 with just under three minutes remaining, and FIU went on for the 72-63 victory.

Davydova notched her eighth double-double of the season with a career-high 19 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while junior Jerica Coley (26) and senior Diamond Ashmore (12) also scored in double-figures for the Panthers.

Coley, who registered team-leading marks of four assists and four steals on the night, has now scored in double-figures in 22-consecutive games and in 80 of 90 career contests. The 20-plus point outing marks her 15th of the season. During the second half, the All-America candidate eclipsed the 1,900-career point mark, becoming the third
Panther in program history to accomplish the feat. Coley has scored 1,906 points for her career to rank third all-time at FIU.

Playing in her 100th-career contest, senior Finda Mansare contributed six points, three rebounds and one assist in 14 minutes of action.

FIU shot 47.5 percent (29-of-61) from the field while NT shot 46.9 percent (23-of-49) for the contest. The Panthers out-rebounded the Mean Green, 39-27, and forced 17 NT turnovers, turning those setbacks into 23 points.

FIU returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 14, when the Panthers travel to Troy, Ala., for a league contest versus the Troy Trojans. Tipoff is set for 6:15 p.m. ET from Trojan Arena.

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