Box Score HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (March 9, 2013) – The FIU women's basketball team defeated Arkansas State, 57-50, on Saturday afternoon, advancing to the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Women's Basketball Championship semifinals for the third-consecutive season.

With the victory, the Panthers improve to 19-11 while the Red Wolves fall to 15-15. Fifth-seeded FIU will face SBC regular season champion and top-seeded Middle Tennessee on Sunday, March 10, at 1 p.m. ET. The semifinal matchup will be televised on the Sun Belt Network, and fans can stream online for free via the Sun Belt Digital Network at SunBeltSports.org.

FIU led by as many as 12 points in the first half, as the Panthers went into the locker room with a 27-18 halftime advantage. For the period, FIU shot 34.3 percent (12-of-25) while holding ASU to 13.6 percent (3-of-22) shooting from the floor. The Panthers out-scored the Red Wolves, 18-4, in the paint, and out-rebounded ASU, 27-18.

The Red Wolves opened the second half on a 22-9 run to knot the score at 36-36 at the 11:40 mark, and again tied the score at 40-40 with 8:38 left to play. FIU would then out-score ASU 17-10 over the remainder of the contest to go on for the 57-50 victory.

Junior Jerica Coley led FIU with a game-high 25 points, while senior Finda Mansare also scored in double-figures, netting 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Coley has scored in double-figures in 28-consecutive games and the 20-point performance marks her 21st such outing of the campaign.

Leading FIU on the boards for the 21st time this season was junior Marita Davydova with 13 rebounds, as the Panthers out-rebounded the Red Wolves, 50-40, for the contest.

Senior Carmen Miloglav registered a career-high-tying and team-best four steals on the day, also notching a team-high-tying two assists, along with Coley and Mansare.
Senior Diamond Ashmore, Davydova and Mansare each recorded one block for the Panthers.

As a team, FIU shot 36.7 percent (22-of-60) from the floor, while holding ASU to 24.1 percent (14-of-58) shooting for the game.

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