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SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Feb. 5, 2014) – Head Coach Cindy Russo picked up her 700th career win Wednesday night from the Convocation Center, as the FIU women's basketball team defeated UTSA , 53-40. With the win, FIU improves to 11-10 overall and 5-3 within Conference USA action, while the loss drops the Roadrunners to 11-10 on the season and 2-6 in league play.
Senior Jerica Coley recorded a game-high 20 points, while adding five rebounds, three steals, three blocks and two assists. It is the 19th time this season that Coley has scored 20-or-more points. Joining Coley in double figures was junior Tynia McKinzie with 14. The Ovieto, Fla., native also contributed a team-high nine rebounds followed by junior Zsofia Labady, who finished with seven boards.
The first half was an offensive struggle for both teams. FIU led by as many as six, but lost its edge after being held without a field-goal for over five minutes midway through the first; however, the Panther defense held UTSA without a field goal for the last eight minutes of play, as the Roadrunner's only points from the 8:25 mark on came from eight free-throws. Redshirt junior Arielle Durant and junior Kamika Idom would connect on jumpers on FIU's next two possessions to give the Panthers a 3-point advantage at the half.
The Panthers began the second half outscoring the Roadrunners, 14-6, to take their first double-digit lead of the game that lasted midway through the half. FIU would lead by as many as 12 and did not allow UTSA to get any closer than eight points for the duration of the contest.
For the game, FIU shot 27.4 percent (17-of-62), while the Roadrunners shot 23.4 percent (11-of-47) from the floor.
The difference was points via turnovers, as the Panthers converted 15 points off of takeaways, while UTSA only had six. FIU also forced 21 turnovers for the game.
FIU continues its two-game road stretch on Saturday, Feb. 8, at UTEP. Tipoff is scheduled for 9:05 p.m. ET.
Fans who 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). The official hashtag of the 2013-14 FIU athletic season is PantherNation.
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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 U.S. Century Bank Arena and Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium.
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelor¹s, master¹s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida¹s anchor institutions, FIU is Worlds Ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded 200,000 degrees and enrolls 50,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/
