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MIAMI (Nov. 28, 2014) –The FIU women's basketball team dropped a 65-58 decision to the Arizona Wildcats on Friday night in the first round of the FIU Thanksgiving Classic. With the loss, the Panthers fall to 0-4 on the season, while the win brings the Wildcats to 2-3.
 
Redshirt freshman Kiandre'a Pound led the Panthers' offensive efforts with a career-high 25 points, and junior Taylor Shade followed with 15. Senior Marita Davydova led the Panthers on the boards with a game-best and career-high tying 15. Pound also notched double-digit rebounding figures with 13 to garner her second consecutive double-double.
 
After a back-and-forth battle over the first several minutes, Arizona scored seven unanswered points to with 7:50 to go in the first half. The Panthers eventually pulled within three at the end of the first, trailing 27-24.
 
The game continued to swing back-and-forth until a Pound free-throw tied the game at 33-33 with 16:33 remaining in the game. Arizona would quickly respond with an easy layup. After exchanging baskets, FIU took its first lead courtesy of a Shade three-pointer with 14:01 left. The two teams continued to battle as the second half featured six ties and four lead changes. With 3:05 remaining, the Cats went on a 6-2 run to secure a seven-point lead. The Panthers had their chances, but could not hit a field goal until it was too late.
 
For the game, FIU was 34.8 percent (23-of-66) from the floor, while Arizona hit 47.6 percent (30-of-63) of its attempts. Arizona also saw 28 points from the bench and 48 points in the paint, compared to FIU's four fast-break points and 30 points in the paint. The Wildcats also forced 13 Panther turnovers, which they converted into 14 points.
 
FIU returns to the court on Sunday, Nov. 30, when it takes on either Virginia or Toledo for the tournament consolation game. The game is slated to begin at 2 p.m. ET from Lime Court at FIU Arena.
 
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/.