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MIAMI (Jan. 8, 2015) – The women's basketball fell in its second Conference USA contest of the season, 75-60, to Middle Tennessee on Thursday from Lime Court at FIU Arena. With the loss the Panthers dip to 3-10 overall and 0-2 in league play, while the win lifts the Blue Raiders to 8-4 on the season and 2-0 in C-USA.
 
Senior Tynia McKinzie led FIU in scoring with 17 points, while redshirt freshman Kiandre'a Pound and senior Marita Davydova chipped in double-digit scoring figures with 11 and 10, respectively. Davydova led the Panthers on the boards with nine, one shy of her fifth double-double of the season. Freshman Aajah Hawkins and senior Zsofia Labady stepped up big on the glass with six rebounds apiece. The six rebounds for Hawkins were a career-best. Sophomore Olivia Jones had a game-high 27 points for MTSU, 19 of which came in the first half.
 
FIU and Middle battled for the majority of the first half as the Panthers never trailed by more than five points before a 7-0 Blue Raider run gave them an eight point advantage. However, Taylor Shade stepped up and hit a huge basket from behind the arc that sparked a small 6-0 run as the Panthers pulled within two. MTSU quickly responded with eight-straight points, and it took a 10 point lead with 4:11 left in the first. The FIU defense held Blue Raiders to only one of their last six field goals over the final two minutes of play. With 10 seconds remaining, freshman Aajah Hawkins blocked a Middle layup, got the rebound and made the outlet pass to Shade. As time expired, Shade nailed a half-court shot that pulled the Panthers within eight heading into the locker rooms.
 
Middle scored six unanswered points to open the second before a Zsofia Labady hit a jumper for FIU at 18:20. From there, the Blue Raiders went on to hit their next couple of baskets to take a 14-point lead, their largest of the night. However, the Panthers fought back going on a 12-0 run over 5:17 to pull within two. With 10:53 left to play, both team played extremely well defensively, but it was MTSU who pulled away in the end, holding FIU to two field goals in the final four minutes of play while forcing seven turnovers.
 
FIU shot 46.5 percent (20-of-43), while Middle Tennessee was 40.5 percent from the floor (30-of-74). This was the second time all season the Panthers have out-shot their opponent and the only time FIU tied its opponent in rebounds. The Blue Raiders had 17 second-chance points, compared to FIU's six and had 25 points off of the Panthers' 29 turnovers. The difference also came in the lane as MTSU scored 46 of its 75 points in the paint, compared to 26 from the Panthers.
 
Next up, FIU hosts the UAB Blazers on Sunday, Jan. 11 from Lime Court at FIU Arena. The game is slated to tipoff at 12 p.m. ET and will air on Fox Sports Net.
 
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/.