Box Score BOCA RATON, Fla. (March 2, 2013) – Junior Marita Davydova posted a double-double and junior Jerica Coley netted 29 points, as the FIU women's basketball team defeated Sun Belt Conference rival Florida Atlantic, 68-65, on the road Saturday afternoon at FAU Arena.

With the victory, the Panthers end the regular season with an overall record of 18-11 and a conference mark of 12-8 SBC. The 12 SBC wins are the second-most in program history.

FIU will next travel to Hot Springs, Ark., for the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Women's Basketball Championship, held March 8-11. The Panthers earned the No. 5 seed for the tournament, receiving a first-round bye, and will face No. 4 seed Arkansas State on Saturday, March 9, at 12:30 p.m. ET on Convention Center Court at Summit Arena. Fans can watch for free via the Sun Belt Digital Network at SunBeltSports.org.

In the first half, FIU led by as many as 10 points, going ahead 25-15 at the 7:03 mark. FAU stormed back to take a 26-25 lead with 3:05 left on the clock, but a Coley trey and a bucket from junior Arielle Durant put the Panthers back on top for the remainder of the half. FIU went into the halftime break with a narrow 34-33 advantage.

The second half saw five tie scores and a pair of lead changes, as FAU took its largest lead of the game at 51-46 with 13:01 left to play. The Owls did not fall behind for the rest of the contest until Davydova connected on 1-of-2 free throws with 32 seconds remaining to put FIU ahead, 66-65.

Senior Carmen Miloglav would then come up with a steal, dishing to Coley, who was fouled with 16 seconds left on the clock. Coley sank both free throws to give the Panthers a 68-65 advantage, and an FAU three-pointer came up short, as FIU held on for the win.

Coley led all scorers with 29 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 shooting from the free throw line. The All-America candidate has scored in double-figures in 27-consecutive games and the 20-point performance marks her 20th such outing of the season. Coley added five rebounds, five assists and a team-high four steals against the Owls.

Davydova registered her 10th double-double with 13 points and 11 boards, as she has now led the Panther rebounding efforts in 19 games this season. Miloglav dished out a team-leading six assists on the day, while senior Finda Mansare registered FIU's only block of the contest.

For the game, the Panthers shot 48.2 percent (27-of-56) from the floor, 50 percent (2-of-4) from three-point range, and 75 percent (12-of-16) from the free throw line. FAU shot 43.8 percent (28-of-64) from the field and just 27.3 percent (6-of-22) from three-point land, and 60 percent (3-of-5) from the charity stripe.

The Panthers out-rebounded the Owls, 40-29, as FIU out-scored FAU by a 10-3 margin in second-chance points. Both teams capitalized off turnovers, with FIU scoring 23 points off 18 FAU turnovers, and the Owls netting 25 points off 20 Panther turnovers.

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