Box Score MIAMI (March 21, 2013) – Junior Jerica Coley scored 37 points to become FIU's single-season scoring record holder on Thursday night, as FIU fell to Florida, 75-68, in the first round of the Postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) at U.S. Century Bank Arena.

Coley, who ends the season with an FIU-record 840 points, also moved into second place on the Panther all-time scoring chart, as she has scored 2,135 career points. Albena Branzova (1991-95) holds the FIU career scoring record with 2,515 points.

FIU (19-13) took its largest lead of the contest in the first half, going ahead by 11 points at 30-19 with 6:14 remaining in the stanza. UF (19-14) would then close out the period on a 17-8 run, as the Panthers went into the halftime break with a narrow 38-36 advantage. For the half, FIU shot 51.9 percent (16-of-31) from the floor while holding the Gators to 41.9 shooting (13-of-31).

In the second half, UF saw its first lead of the game at the 15:42 mark as the Gators pulled ahead, 46-44. The Panthers fought to a 66-66 tie with 2:43 left to play, but UF out-scored FIU, 9-2, over the final minutes to come away with the 75-68 victory.

For the contest, FIU shot 36.1 percent (22-of-61) against 46.6 percent (27-of-58) shooting for Florida. The Gators out-rebounded the Panthers, 41-36, as junior Marita Davydova led FIU on the boards (12). Senior Diamond Ashmore tallied a team-best two blocks on the night.

Coley's 37-point performance marked her 30th-straight double-figure scoring game; her 23rd 20-point contest; and her 12th 30-point outing of the campaign. The All-America candidate converted 9-of-24 attempts from the field and 18-of-18 attempts from the free throw line, while contributing seven rebounds and team-high totals of five steals and four assists.

The perfect 18-of-18 mark from the charity stripe ties an FIU single-game record for free throw percentage, a record which has been set by Coley four times over her career – 12-of-12 vs. South Alabama (2/25/12); 11-of-11 vs. UCF (12/13/12); 16-of-16 vs. Georgia Tech (12/30/12). The 18 made free throws put Coley's season total at 208, tying her own single-season free throws made record from a season ago, and the 18 points from the free throw line are the most scored against Florida in the program's history.

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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