CLEVELAND, Ohio (Dec. 15, 2015) – The FIU women's basketball team (2-6) dropped a hard-fought battle at Cleveland State (3-5), 64-57, on Tuesday afternoon from the Wolestein Center in Cleveland, Ohio.
A 10-2 run for the Vikings in the fourth quarter gave the Panthers a deficit they couldn't overcome, falling to the Horizon League foe by seven.
Five Panthers reached double-figures in scoring led by junior
Tianah Alvarado's 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the floor. Senior
Destini Feagin notched her first-career double-double, posting 10 points and grabbing a career-best 11 rebounds versus the Vikings. Also scoring in double-digits were junior
Janka Hegedus (10), senior
Taylor Shade (10) and freshman
Kristian Hudson (10). Shade recorded a team-high four steals, while Hudson led all Panthers with four assists.
FIU shot 46.4 percent (26-of-56) from the floor and was 2-of-11 from 3-point range (18.2 percent). CSU converted 18-of-45 (40.0 percent) from the floor with half of the team's points coming from beyond the arc (9-of-22 from 3-point range). The Vikings also held a sizable advantage from the free-throw line, scoring on 19-of-24 attempts from the charity stripe as FIU was 3-of-7.
Trailing 6-4, FIU used a 9-0 run in the first quarter to take a 13-6 lead. A 3-pointer by Alvarado capped off the run as the Panthers held the lead for the remainder of the period. FIU's defense held CSU to 2-of-9 shooting in the final 7:44 in the quarter to take a 19-12 lead after one. A jumper by
Soraya Page at the 8:29 mark in the second gave FIU its largest lead (11), 23-12. The Vikings responded with a 13-2 run midway through the second, tying the game, 25-25, following a 3-pointer by Adesuwa Aideyman at the 3:52 mark.
After 20 minutes of action the score was knotted at 27-27. The Panthers shot 54.2 percent from the floor in the first half and held the Vikings to 37.5 percent shooting. However, CSU drained five treys, shooting 50.0 percent from beyond the arc to even the game. FIU held an 18-8 advantage in rebounds as well as an 18-8 edge in points in the paint.
The third quarter scoring went back-and-fourth with the Vikings taking a 39-38 lead heading into the final period of play. CSU used a 7-0 run to start the fourth quarter, taking a 46-38 lead with 8:59 left in the game. A layup by Feagin with 8:21 on the clock ended the Panthers' drought in the fourth, cutting Cleveland State's lead to 46-40. The Vikings held a lead of five points or better for the remainder of the game as FIU fell, 64-57.
For the game, FIU held a 33-28 edge on the glass as seven different Panthers had at least one rebound. FIU also out-scored CSU, 38-16, in the paint.
FIU will next take on Miami (Fla.) on Tuesday, Dec. 22. Tipoff from the BankUnited Center is set for 2 p.m. ET.
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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 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/.
