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MIAMI (Dec. 29, 2014) – The women's basketball team dropped a 81-44 decision to the Auburn Tigers on Monday evening from Lime Court at FIU Arena in the first game of the 30th-Annual Sun & Fun Classic. With the loss, the Panthers drop to 2-8 on the season, while the win propels the Tigers to 9-3 overall.
 
Junior Destini Feagin and redshirt freshman Kiandre'a Pound led the Panthers in scoring with 10 points each. Pound extended her streak to eight-straight games scoring in double-figures, while Fegin's 10 was a season-high. Senior Marita Davydova grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, while Pound and Feagin added seven and six, respectively. FIU's 44 points and .238 shooting percentage (15-of-63) were season lows.
 
Auburn had five players notch double-digit scoring figures as sophomore Brandy Montgomery led all players with 20 points. Montgomery was 62.5 percent (10-of-16) from the floor to lead the Tigers to a .551 shooting percentage (38-of-69).
 
Things got off to a slow start for both teams, but the Panthers pulled away at the 12-minute mark going on an 8-2 run as they took a 12-6 lead. Auburn would chip away at the early deficit going on an 18-0 run in a span of four minutes to take 24-12 lead with eight minutes left to go in the opening half. Feagin broke the dry spell with a layup under the basket, but the Panthers had no answer for the Auburn defensive pressure as it forced FIU 17 turnovers in the first half which were converted into 20 points for the Tigers.
 
Auburn picked up right where it left off scoring six-straight points coming out of the break, taking a 25-point advantage over the Panthers at the first media timeout. With 15:25 remaining, the Tigers quickly extended it to 30 as turnovers continued to plague FIU as it committed 27 turnovers for the game that were converted into 34 of Auburn's 81 points.
 
FIU will now take on the loser of the Bowling Green and Hampton game that takes place at 8 p.m. tonight. Tomorrow's matchup between the Panthers and the Falcons or the Lady Pirates will begin at 6 p.m. ET, immediately following the championship game at 3:30 p.m.
 
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 offer 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 $8.9 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/.