MIAMI (Nov. 2, 2014) - Led by sophomore Kiandre'a Pound's 16 points and 13 rebounds along with a stingy Panther defense, the FIU women's basketball team cruised to a 73-46 victory over Palm Beach Atlantic Sunday night at FIU Arena.
 
The Panther defense forced 25 turnovers and limited Palm Beach Atlantic to only 34.5 percent shooting from the field. On the other end, Pound and senior Tynia McKinzie (18 points) paced an FIU offense that saw 10 different players score.
 
The Sailfish got on the board first with a jumper right outside the lane, but the Panthers quickly responded with back-to-back jumpers from Taylor Shade in the opening minutes of play. FIU continued to build on its lead going on a 6-0 run going into the first media timeout. Following the break, the Panthers continued on the offensive going on an 8-3 run at the 10 minute mark.  FIU would lead by as many as 14 before PBA cut it down to eight with 5:16 left. With the score 31-23, the Panthers went in the locker room on a 5-0 run to put the score at 36-23.
 
FIU came out of the break on a 9-0 offensive tear and held the Sailfish scoreless for two minutes and ten seconds before a jumper in the lane ended their drought. Despite multiple attempts to get back in the game, Palm Beach Atlantic could get nothing going offensively as the Panthers continued their stifling defense, holding the Sailfish 35.7 percent from the field in the second half. FIU also utilized its bench as 11 players saw action for the Panthers. 
 
Pound's 16 points came on 6-of-8 shooting from the field including 4-of-6 from the free throw line. She also led the Panthers with three of the team's four blocks, while adding 13 boards, three steals and one assist. McKinzie shot 4-of-10 from the field and 10-of-10 from the charity stripe. She also contributed two rebounds and two steals. Shade, FIU's top returning scorer, tallied 13 points, four assists and a steal.

FIU closes out its exhibition schedule on Friday, Nov. 7 against cross-town foe Barry. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. ET.
 
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 4-00 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.