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MIAMI (Jan. 22, 2014) - The FIU women's basketball team (8-10, 2-3 C-USA) dropped a 66-59 decision to North Texas (8-10, 2-3 C-USA) on Wednesday from Lime Court at U.S. Century Bank Arena. 

Senior guard Jerica Coley led all players with 28 points. The St. Petersburg Fla., native has scored double-digits in all 18 games this season and has netted 20-plus points in 16 games. Junior Tynia McKinzie also contributed 11 rebounds.

North Texas opened the game with a 14-4 run over the first six minutes of play. After a McKinzie free throw and a Coley layup, the Mean Green would continue its offensive rampage as it went on another 14-4 run over the next seven minutes, putting the score at 28-11. 

North Texas forced 10 Panther turnovers in the first half and scored 18 of their 31 points in the paint, compared to six FIU points in the paint. Despite the rocky start, FIU finished the half strong as it went on a 12-3 run heading into the break down, 31-23.

The Panthers opened the first four minutes of the second half on a 16-2 run, pulling ahead 39-36.  Both teams exchanged baskets over the next nine minutes. FIU continued to remain ahead until an 8-2 North Texas run pulled the Mean Green up, 51-49, with 3:50 left in the game. The Panthers tried to climb back using a Coley surge to tie the game twice, but fell short in the final seconds. 

FIU will hit the road this weekend as they take on UAB on Saturday, Jan. 25, in C-USA action. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET, and will be broadcast on FSN. 

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). The official hashtag of the 2013-14 FIU athletic season is PantherNation.

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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. 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 bachelor¹s, master¹s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida¹s 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. FIU has awarded 200,000 degrees and enrolls 50,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visithttp://www.fiu.edu/