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MIAMI (Nov. 14, 2014) – Junior Taylor Shade led two FIU players in double-figures with 28 points, but a big second half from Tennessee Tech helped the Golden Eagles soar to a 73-56 win in women's basketball action Friday night from FIU Arena. With the loss, the Panthers start their season 0-1, while the win puts Tennessee Tech at 1-0.
 
Joining Shade in double-figure points for FIU was senior Tynia McKinzie with 14. McKinzie also grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds to register the game's lone double-double. In addition to Shade's 18 points, the Boynton Beach, Fla., native tied a career-high four steals on the night.
 
The Golden Eagles were led by Samaria Taylor's 17-point performance, while Hannah Goolsby chipped in with 15. Candace Parsons led all players with 12 rebounds.
 
The Panthers opened up their season taking an early 4-0 lead after hitting back-to-back jumpers, but the Golden Eagles tied it up after hitting a couple layups. The game swung back-and-forth until midway through the first, as a 6-0 run gave Tech an eight-point advantage. FIU would get back within four, but could not find its offensive groove as it headed into the locker room with an eight-point deficit.
 
Coming out of the break, FIU committed a quick foul sending TTU to the line. After hitting one-of-two from the charity stripe and a layup, the Golden Eagles took their largest lead at 11 with less than 90 seconds in the second half. FIU quickly called timeout to stop the bleeding with 18:58 remaining, but the Golden Eagles continued to build on their lead after converting on two consecutive layups. With Tech up by 15, FIU finally hit its first field-goal of the half after a Marita Davydova second-chance layup with 16:35 left in the game. FIU remained down by double-digits for the majority of the half, eventually trailing by its largest deficit at 23 with at the 5:03 mark. The Panthers had many chances, but could not claw their way back as the dropped their first game of the season 72-56.
 
For the game, the Golden Eagles shot 47.7 percent (31-of-65) from the floor and were 69.2 percent (9-of-13) from the free throw line. The Panthers were limited to 31.9 percent (15-of-47) from the field, including only a 30.8 percent (8-of-26) in the second half. Tennessee Tech edged out FIU in rebounds, 73-56, and also forced 26 Panther turnovers which were converted into 29 Eagle points.
 
Next up, the Panthers head Fort Myers, Fla., to take on the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles on Tuesday, Nov. 18. Tipoff is slated for 7:05 p.m. ET and will be aired on ESPN3.
 
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).
 
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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 FIU Arena and Ocean BankField at FIU Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers 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 contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.