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MIAMI (Nov. 23, 2014) – The FIU women's basketball team fell to the Cleveland State Vikings, 73-65, Sunday afternoon from the Lime Court at FIU Arena. The Panthers drop to 0-3 on the year, while the Vikings improve to 2-2.
The Panthers were led by redshirt freshman
Kiandre'a Pound's career-high 24 points. She also contributed a career-high 14 rebounds for the first double-double of her collegiate career. Junior
Taylor Shade had 17 points and added four rebounds with three assists on the day. Senior
Marita Davydova also contributed in double-figures with 14 points.
The game began with FIU taking an early 6-0 lead with back-to-back layups from senior
Tynia McKinzie followed by two Davydova free throws. Cleveland State quickly responded with back-to-back buckets from behind the arch. The Vikings slowly took a double-digit lead after FIU went over five minutes without hitting a field goal. The Panthers went into the locker room only hitting three of their last 14 shots, while Cleveland State finished the first half shooting 60.7 percent (12-of-32) from the field and 66.7 percent (6-of-9) from three-point range.
Trailing 42-28 coming out of the break, FIU hit a quick layup but once again the Vikings would nail a three. The two teams exchanged baskets until Pound converted on an old fashioned three-point play to pull the Panthers within 11. She then hit two free throws to pull FIU within single digits at the 15:09 mark. Over the next seven minutes, FIU went on a 14-6 run to pull within one. With the score at 53-52, the Vikings hit back-to back critical three-pointers to cushion their lead back to seven with 7:32 left in the game. Shade quickly responded with three-consecutive baskets to pull FIU back within three, but the Panthers could not stop the Cleveland State three-point game as they fell in the end, 73-65.
FIU outrebounded CSU, 40-27, but could only generate 13 second-chance points. The Vikings' 55.6 percent shooting on 10-of-18 from behind the arch helped keep the lead just long enough to earn the win over the Panthers.
FIU remains at home for the annual FIU Thanksgiving Classic. The Panthers welcome Arizona, Toledo and Virginia to Miami for the two-day tournament beginning on Friday, Nov. 28. FIU first takes on Arizona at 6 p.m. ET followed by Toledo and Virginia at 8 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 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
