MIAMI (Nov. 13, 2015) – Five Panthers reached double-figures in scoring, including junior Janka Hegedus, who posted a career-high 25 points, as the FIU women's basketball team (1-0) defeated the Florida A&M Lady Rattlers (0-1), 81-65, on Friday evening from Lime Court at FIU Arena.
 
Along with Hegedus, sophomore Jade Cheek (12 pts.), senior Taylor Shade (11 pts.), junior Soraya Page (10 pts.) and junior Tianah Alvarado (10 pts.) rounded out the Panthers' leading scorers.
 
Hegedus finished the night shooting 7-of-15 from the floor and 10-of-12 from the free throw line, while grabbing a team-high seven rebounds. Cheek converted 4-of-8 from the floor and drained both of her attempts from the charity stripe, while recording six boards. Shade, who was a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line, made 3-of-7 from the floor and tallied five assists.
 
The Panthers, who shot 42.9 percent from the floor (27-of-63) and were 20-of-25 (80 percent) from the free throw line, jumped out to a 21-10 advantage after the first quarter. FIU extended its lead, 47-20, as both teams went into the half. The 27-point advantage at halftime was took much for the Lady Rattlers to overcome as FIU would go on for the 16-point win.
 
In a game in which FIU never trailed, the Panthers held FAMU to 34.8 percent (23-of-66) shooting for the game and 21.1 percent (4-of-19) from beyond the arc. FIU forced 22 FAMU turnovers resulting in 27 points for the Panthers.
 
FIU will next travel to Orlando, Fla., to take on the UCF Knight on Tuesday, Nov. 17. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET.
 
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Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUWBB) 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).
 
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 Bank Field 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/.