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MIAMI (Jan. 29, 2015) – The FIU women's basketball team fell just short of a comeback on Thursday evening, falling to Old Dominion, 80-67, from Lime Court at FIU Arena. Junior Taylor Shade scored 16 second half points to pull FIU out of a double-digit deficit. The loss moves the Panthers to 3-15 overall and 0-7 in conference play.
 
The Panthers got off to a hot start, drilling three, threes in the first three minutes of play to take an 11-4 lead. FIU continued to build on its lead, eventually taking a 10-point advantage at the 13:58 mark. However, the Lady Monarchs crept back over the next couple minutes going on a 15-0 run as they held Panthers without a basket for almost five minutes. Now trailing 22-17, FIU hit some big free-throws and a couple of field goals to tie things back up at 25-25 with 4:54 left to play in the half. Despite the comeback, Old Dominion embarked on a 13-0 run to close out the half and went into to the locker room with a 38-25 lead.
 
After a 4:54 second half scoring drought, FIU opened the half with a breakaway layup that seemed to get the Panthers in a rhythm. They would pull back within eight at the 10:32 point, holding the Lady Monarchs to only one field goal in over four minutes of play. The Panthers continued to close the gap, pulling within one with 7:42 remaining. ODU's Jennie Simms, who finished the game with a career-high 45 points, had ice in her veins as she nailed a huge three-pointer that silenced the crowd on the next possession. FIU could not seem to pull back on the winning side of the scoreboard over the final minutes of play, especially since the Lady Monarchs hit 11 free-throws when FIU needed to foul to stop the clock.
 
Shade led the Panthers with 22 points, while redshirt freshman Kiandre'a Pound, senior Marita Davydova and junior Destini Feagin also contributed double-figures. Pound had 18 points for her fourth consecutive double-digit scoring performance, while Davydova and Feagin chipped in with 10 each. Feagin also put up nine rebounds, one shy of her first double-double on the season, and provided a career-high five assists.
 
For the game, FIU shot 33.8 percent (23-of-68), while Old Dominion hit 43.1 percent (25-of-58) of its attempts. The Panthers outrebounded the Lady Monarchs, 42-40, but only scored 26 points in the paint compared to 32 from ODU. The Lady Monarchs also had 20 points off 15 Panther turnovers.
 
FIU will continue play at home on Saturday, Jan. 31, when it hosts the Charlotte 49ers. Tipoff between the conference foes is set for 6 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 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/.